Wednesday 20 April 2016 14:50, UK
As Gabby Agbonlahor receives a second club suspension of the season, one more than his total tally of goals, Gerard Brand marks the fall of the Aston Villa striker who once gave defenders nightmares.
In November 2008, Agbonlahor's footballing career was full of promise. An England call-up saw him play 76 minutes in a win at the Olympiastadion against Germany, four days after petrifying the Arsenal defence for his boyhood club Aston Villa in a 2-0 win at the Emirates.
He started that 2008/09 season with a seven-minute hat-trick against Manchester City, celebrating in front of the Holte End as they sang his name, an explicit take on 'Karma Chameleon' by Culture Club.
That song, an ode to Agbonlahor's blistering pace, was heard home and away among Villa fans every week towards the end of last decade, but today you would struggle to hear a speck of praise for the Erdington-born forward.
His fall has been steady but depressing. Chiefly used as a striker alongside Norwegian John Carew during Martin O'Neill's tenure, Agbonlahor enjoyed a four-year period under the Northern Irishman where he scored 50 goals and collected three England caps.
Villa earned three straight top-six finishes under O'Neill, and Agbonlahor's pace was as integral to the system as Carew's aerial presence, Gareth Barry's industry in midfield and Ashley Young's delivery.
He was top league scorer for the club in 2008/09 and 2009/10, scored two winning goals against bitter rivals Birmingham City at St Andrews and was linked with a £15m move to Arsenal, but stuck with Villa as they formed a top-four push.
"Gabby has a willingness to adapt his game and the same street footballer style and the same appetite for the game as Wayne Rooney and that comes through in his game," O'Neill said in 2009.
"When you point out things to Gabby he takes them on board and he is constantly improving. Rooney does those things and that is something that registers with Gabby."
High praise, but the glaringly obvious difference between Agbonlahor and Rooney's career is that the Manchester United forward adapted his game as the years went by.
While his finishing ability phased in and out, Agbonlahor's number one asset was pace, and as soon as that resource was suppressed by either the opposition or Villa's string of managers post-O'Neill, he was a mere spectator.
He was forced out to the wing by Gerard Houllier, Alex McLeish and Paul Lambert, and although he enjoyed a slight up-turn in form with Lambert in 2012/13, he has scored just 28 Premier League goals in the six seasons since O'Neill left.
But this is not just a case of misuse. As they experience relegation for the first time since 1987, Villa's fans are spoilt for choice when it comes to attributing blame on the playing side. Agbonlahor is one of the strongest candidates. March 18 marked the 10-year anniversary of his debut for Villa, but the word 'testimonial' could not be further from Villa fans' lexicon.
The current season has been a disaster for Villa and Agbonlahor, who has just one goal to his name. His first-half performance in the 3-1 defeat by Tottenham in November came under particular scrutiny from the Monday Night Football panel, after touching the ball just nine times, a Premier League low at that time.
"You have absolutely no chance if you don't get the centre forward involved," said Gary Neville that night, and sadly, that summed up Villa's season.
His suspension on Tuesday pending an internal investigation following newspaper allegations that he used nitrous oxide comes just weeks after another probe into his behaviour during a break in Dubai in which he was reportedly seen smoking a shisha pipe. Villa took no action on the Dubai incident, but from the fans' point of view, the damage was done long ago.
Agbonlahor, a Villa fan himself, continued to notch up appearances throughout dry goalscoring periods on the off chance that unforgettable acceleration would be restored and fire the club up the table again. It never did, and the 29-year-old's future at the club looks bleak.
"I can't think that he's not 100 per cent involved and committed to the future of Aston Villa," said Remi Garde last month. "He knows he has a responsibility as a senior player and long-term Villa player."
As Villa drop into the Championship, and with a new manager to come, it remains to be seen whether Agbonlahor will be utilised next season. His first task will be to get himself fit after Villa ruled him out of action while he undergoes a personal regime.
He is Birmingham-born, he has kissed the badge as club captain, has 375 appearances for Villa and had the chance to be a cult hero. Those few remaining romantics among Villa's deflated faithful would long for Agbonlahor to turn around his fortunes under the new manager and 'save' the club from slipping further and lead them to promotion.
But others will point to numerous occasions over the past few seasons where Agbonlahor had the chance to reverse Villa's sleepwalk to relegation, and simply failed to turn up.
