Alan Hutton not a dirty player says Aston Villa assistant Peter Grant
Thursday 27th October 2011, 11:29AM BST.
Villa assistant boss Peter Grant today insisted Alan Hutton is not a dirty player and backed the defender to come good.
Hutton was embroiled in controversy in Villa’s clash with Albion for a tackle on Shane Long which has left the striker on the sidelines for six weeks with a knee injury.
The Scotland international’s tackle provoked a strong reaction from Roy Hogdson who called it “appalling” and stated there was “no room in football” for that kind of challenge.
But Grant countered with a staunch defence of the 26-year-old right-back’s style of play ahead of Villa’s Premier League trip to Sunderland.
“I know what he’s been painted as, but he’s not that type of player. That’s been proved over the years,” said Grant.
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No apology for almost ending a career, just excuses from the Scottish Mourinho… typical Villa, no style, no class, no dignity.
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Good old Peter Grant – He is the Jonah of football. Where ever he goes they go down!
Albion, Blues and hopefully Villa!
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If Long had not taken evasive action he would have a broken leg.The bloke is a thug how Grant can defend him shows what he knows about football
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Is Peter Grant stupid? Hutton was red-carded for breaking Jozy Altidore’s leg when Hutton was playing for Sunderland last year. Or does Grant chose to forget such happenings? The way he is playing it wont be the last leg he’ll be breaking either. It’s only by the grace of God that Shane Long is walking this week. It’s time the FA and Refs sorted these animals out.
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Grant tries to defend the indefensible. Hutton acted like a thug, in the image of his manager. Everyone with a brain could see Villa set out to kick Long of the park, just as McLeish had implied that was what he wanted. Hutton should be banned retrospectively by the FA for as long as it takes his victim to recover.
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