James Collins
Nationality :
Welsh
Date of Birth :
23/08/1983
Height :
6' 4" (193cm)
Weight :
14st 2lbs (89.89kg)
Squad Number :
6
Squad Number :
James Collins
Previous Clubs :
West Ham, Cardiff
Position :
Defender
James Collins is renowned for his quality at the back but it was his goalscoring prowess in one particular game which endeared him to the Villa fans in 2010-11.
With Villa trailing 1-0 in the big Second City derby at St Andrew's, Collins popped up with the vital equaliser, slamming home with a brilliant effort.
Darren Bent arrived soon after and he would have been proud of that finish.
It not only saved the day for the fans in the derby cauldron, it was also an important point, with Villa in the drop zone at the time.
His other two goals during that campaign were also important to the claret and blue cause.
He scored in the dying minutes to earn a 3-2 win over Blackpool and also bagged the winner in the 1-0 victory over Newcastle, a result which kick-started Villa's elevation to ninth by the end of the campaign.
While his goals and performances were of a high standard in 2010-11, it was the previous campaign when he really made his name in B6.
While Richard Dunne was seen as the star name of Villa's two central defensive recruits, his partner was far from upstaged.
Collins played his part in an outstanding partnership with Dunne in 2009-10.
A few eyebrows were raised when Villa snapped up the Welsh international from West Ham on deadline day, for a fee thought to be in the region of £5m.
But it quickly became clear the money was well spent.
He could hardly have picked a better time to score his first goal in claret and blue.
His bullet header proved to be the decisive winner in a 2-1 win over Chelsea at Villa Park in October 2009.
Collins had fond memories of Villa Park prior to joining Villa.
He started the 2006 FA Cup semi-final for Middlesbrough there, as West Ham booked their spot in the final.
From a young age, Collins had been tipped to reach the highest level.
His debut for first club Cardiff City came when he was just 17. Over the next three years he would make just 12 league appearances before establishing himself in the Bluebirds first team during 2003-04.
A string of commanding displays would eventually earn him a big move to the Hammers, where he spent a total of four seasons.
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