The hugely talented Collymore arrived at Filbert Street with plenty to prove - both on the pitch and off it. An idol at Nottingham Forest, Collymore was one of the best players in the Premier League when Liverpool signed him in July 1995. He moved on to Aston Villa but, although his footballing form wasn't up to his early standards, Collymore's off-the-pitch problems started to take over.
Headlines on the front and back pages of the national papers had an impact on Collymore's career, and he looked at a move to City, under boss Martin O'Neill, as the ideal chance to try and put that negative headlines to bed somewhat. He signed in February 2000 from Villa and made his debut at Watford in the same month. It was his home debut, however, where Collymore grabbed the headlines for all the right reasons with a stunning hat-trick against Sunderland.
That treble against the Black Cats looked to have set the benchmark for a return to form for 'Stan the Man' but an unfortunate broken leg suffered in a game against Derby County saw his resurgence hit the buffers. It also all-but spelled the end of his Leicester career. A disagreement the following season with new boss Taylor over his fitness for a return to action following that broken leg saw him hand in a transfer request and start looking for a new club.
He was then fined for missing training, hit with an FA charge for an altercation with Paul Gascoigne during his final senior outing for Leicester and was involved in a dressing room bust-up with Trevor Benjamin in a reserve game. He was offloaded on a free transfer to Bradford City, where his instant hit on the pitch was soon overshadowed by more controversy as the Bantams tumbled towards relegation.
Collymore then looked abroad, to Spain, for one last crack in the professional game with Real Oviedo but it was only a short stint. He broke his contract with the club and was issued with a 30-month FIFA ban. Front and back page headlines continued, but, after battling against depression, Collymore got involved with the media side of the game and is currently a football pundit on talkSPORT.
