Venglos showed Money the way

Apr 11 2007 By Brian Halford, Birmingham Mail

WALSALL manager Richard Money today looked back on his time on the coaching staff at Villa Park in the early 1990s as a "great learning experience".

And Money, who has steered the Saddlers to the brink of promotion in his first season at Bescot, flagged up Josef Venglos as a particularly big influence.

Money was Villa's youth coach for four years, during which he worked alongside three first-team managers.

In that trio - Graham Taylor, Venglos and Ron Atkinson - he saw just about the whole range of coaching styles and strategies.

And while asserting that he learned plenty from all of them, interestingly Money picks out Venglos, much-maligned by many Villa fans for his brief spell in charge, as most influential - and "10 years ahead of his time".

"I had four years at Villa under Graham Taylor the first year, then Josef Venglos then Ron Atkinson," said Money. "And it was a great learning experience because in those three men you have pretty much got the whole spectrum of coaching philosophies.

"Taylor was very organised and methodical. Ron Atkinson was a master of motivating players. In between them came Josef, who was much-maligned but probably 10 years ahead of his time.

"He was a terrific guy, very knowledgeable. He was a doctor of physiology who knew the importance of diet and recovery."