Ginola a hero for Villains after all

Within hours of being booed by Aston Villa fans at Tottenham last weekend, David Ginola was on the phone to his agent, Chantal Stanley. It was time, he announced, to make a statement about his position at the club, which suggested he was ready to end his troubled Villa Park career.

The booing from his own fans appeared to be the last straw for a player who has never established himself at Villa, and who had even been talking of hiring Cherie Blair to pursue legal action against his manager, John Gregory, for those infamous "fattist" remarks.

No one, it seems, is sure whether Ginola has a long-term future at the club, or even if he will be in the side to play Manchester United at Villa Park tomorrow.

But this week, at least, there have been signs of rapprochement. After the 4-1 InterToto cup final win over Basle on Wednesday which catapulted Villa into the UEFA Cup, Ginola blew kisses to the gallery and pointed to the club crest on his shirt - and then abandoned the idea of holding a press conference, while hinting he was prepared to drop his legal action.

For his part, Gregory expressed delight at Ginola's contribution. And the Villa fans once more found the grumbling sound in their throats turning to roars of approval for their Gallic hero.

Not that everything is yet back to normal at Villa Park, assuming anyone knows what that is. The Professional Footballers' Association secretary Gordon Taylor, rather than Cherie Blair, is acting on behalf of Ginola and said: "We have had further discussions and I am still hoping the situation can be resolved."

There is no doubt that there is a culture gap as wide as La Manche between the urbane, L'OrΘal-doused Ginola and the Bruce Springsteen-loving Cockney wide boy Gregory. But the real feud is between Gregory and the club's chairman Doug Ellis.

It was Ellis who was the prime mover in the £3 million signing of Ginola after they met on a Mauritius beach last summer and Gregory's subsequent bizarre treatment of the player has been his way of demonstrating his authority.

Ellis was apparently also the one who gave permission for Ginola to use Villa Park for a penalty shoot-out with Jeremy Clarkson in January, which led to him being dropped for an FA Cup tie against Leicester the next day.

That was the same month that Ellis, infuriated by accusations of meanness on posters draped from the stands, ordered Gregory to spend whatever necessary to buy him some peace. That resulted in the £9.5 million purchase of Colombian striker Juan Pablo Angel, who proved to be an embarrassing misfit last season.

He, at least, looks as though he might finally be finding his feet, instead of tripping over them, after his two goals against Racing Santander in a pre-season friendly with two more against Basle.

Gregory said: "The feel-good factor from these games will help him enormously. He has the ability to produce goals given the right kind of service."

The right kind of service came on Wednesday from Ginola, who also set up the opening goal for Darius Vassell, earning rare praise from Gregory.

Yet, Villa Park still cannot rid itself of the notion that it has been taken over by a Victor Meldrew convention, with everyone constantly moaning.

Last season, Gareth Southgate and Julian Joachim were booed by the fans after expressing their desire to join a more ambitious club, while Paul Merson publicly questioned the club's desire.

A place in Europe is the first sign that Gregory might be shaping a team that can reverse years of underachievement. But even in his moment of glory, he had to bite the hand that fed him, saying: "I still don't like the Intertoto Cup because of what is has done to our pre-season." It was, of course, Ellis, who insisted that Villa entered the competition.

Gregory aims to use his success to further loosen the purse strings, saying: "I am still trying to strengthen the squad. Ideally, I want young, hungry players who will have the current lot looking over their shoulders."

The Villa coffers were reduced by £5.8m yesterday with the completion of the transfer from Dynamo Zagreb of the striker Bosko Balaban.

Gregory, who has signed Balaban on a five-year contract, said: "He is very highly rated in his own country and has a great future."

One certain starter is former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel, who says: "There will be a special atmosphere but it will be just another game for me."

There seems to be no such thing as just another game for Ginola, whose status varies wildly from match to match.

TV: Live on pay-per-view, kick-off 2pm.