--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I first showed up at Villa I thought…" description: "\"When I first showed up at Villa I thought we had a weird old dressing room.\" — Paul Merson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/paul-merson-9263_dressing-room_when-i-first-showed-up-at-villa-i-though_2397948.png" --- # When I first showed up at Villa I thought we had a weird… ![“When I first showed up at Villa I thought we had a weird old dressing room.” quote by Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/paul-merson-9263_dressing-room_when-i-first-showed-up-at-villa-i-though_2397948.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/paul-merson-9263_dressing-room_when-i-first-showed-up-at-villa-i-though_2397948.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/paul-merson-9263_dressing-room_when-i-first-showed-up-at-villa-i-though_2397948.png) > “When I first showed up at Villa I thought we had a weird old dressing room.” [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He was surprised by an unexpected, outdated setting that seemed out of place. **In simple terms:** Unexpected setting felt odd. Key Takeaway Adjust expectations when encountering unfamiliar environments. Themes surprise expectation environment Mood curious confused Type observational reflective When to use this quote - travel - first day at work - new venue - adjusting to change Key Concepts perception first impressions Questions to Reflect On - How do you react to unexpected surroundings? - What assumptions do you make about new places? A Different Perspective The setting may have been intentionally quirky for artistic effect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Dressing room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dressing-room/) ## Related quotes > [I'm like an eight year old with the dressing-up box. I have the luxury of being able to change on a whim.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylie-minogue/i-m-like-an-eight-year-old-with-the-dressing-up-box-i-have-the-luxury/) [Kylie Minogue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylie-minogue/) > [There's comfort to an awful old dressing-gown a pretty peignoir is powerless to provide, and aging bra elastic, is, I suspect, as near to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-whitehorn/there-s-comfort-to-an-awful-old-dressing-gown-a-pretty-peignoir-is/) [Katharine Whitehorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-whitehorn/) > [Sunderland, West Ham and Orlando City wanted me but Villa wouldn't sell me, saying I was too vital in the dressing room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micah-richards/sunderland-west-ham-and-orlando-city-wanted-me-but-villa-wouldn-t/) [Micah Richards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micah-richards/) > [I played at Aston Villa for four years and most of the time I loved it there, but typically it took me a while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/i-played-at-aston-villa-for-four-years-and-most-of-the-time-i-loved/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [If you're a senior player, and you really want to make an impact in the dressing room, it's difficult if you have players there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schmeichel/if-you-re-a-senior-player-and-you-really-want-to-make-an-impact-in/) [Peter Schmeichel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schmeichel/) > [When I did 'Racing Demon' by David Hare, I worked with Paul Giamatti, who had stacks of books in his dressing room. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-o-hare/when-i-did-racing-demon-by-david-hare-i-worked-with-paul-giamatti-who/) [Denis O'Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-o-hare/) > [A dressing room is both a personal space and a workspace. It changes with the flick of a switch: turn on the relay -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathew-horne/a-dressing-room-is-both-a-personal-space-and-a-workspace-it-changes/) [Mathew Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathew-horne/) > [As soon as I score, my mother texts me, so when I go in the dressing room, her text is there waiting for me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimitar-berbatov/as-soon-as-i-score-my-mother-texts-me-so-when-i-go-in-the-dressing/) [Dimitar Berbatov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimitar-berbatov/) > [Obviously, there will be different character traits in the dressing room, but I'm there to bring happiness and a smile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-lingard/obviously-there-will-be-different-character-traits-in-the-dressing/) [Jesse Lingard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-lingard/) > [My grandmother and I would go see movies, and we'd come back to the apartment - we had a one-room apartment in Hollywood -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carol-burnett/my-grandmother-and-i-would-go-see-movies-and-we-d-come-back-to-the/) [Carol Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carol-burnett/) > [For one thing, my English isn't fantastic, and communicating in the dressing room is not always easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlos-tevez/for-one-thing-my-english-isn-t-fantastic-and-communicating-in-the/) [Carlos Tevez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlos-tevez/) > [I like to pick out a certain part of each show I'm in and I watch it when I'm not onstage or in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-donnell/i-like-to-pick-out-a-certain-part-of-each-show-i-m-in-and-i-watch-it/) [Colin Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-donnell/) > [I have never been a bad influence in the dressing room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-adebayor/i-have-never-been-a-bad-influence-in-the-dressing-room/) [Emmanuel Adebayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-adebayor/) > [And then, all of a sudden, you're like, all that's great and fun, but Arthur Miller's in my dressing room. This is the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-krause/and-then-all-of-a-sudden-you-re-like-all-that-s-great-and-fun-but/) [Peter Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-krause/) > [Each transfer brings a change to the dressing room that I must protect - that is my job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-tuchel/each-transfer-brings-a-change-to-the-dressing-room-that-i-must/) [Thomas Tuchel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-tuchel/) ## More by Paul Merson > [Don't put too much pressure on Jack Wilshere... in years to come I think he will be an Arsenal great like Liam Brady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/don-t-put-too-much-pressure-on-jack-wilshere-in-years-to-come-i-think/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [When Everton knock it long, they don't knock it long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/when-everton-knock-it-long-they-don-t-knock-it-long/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [ The best player I ever played against was Paolo Maldini. We \[Arsenal\] played against Milan in the European Supercup \[in 1995\]. Maldini marked me… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/the-best-player-i-ever-played-against-was-paolo-maldini-we-arsenal/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [If you keep walking past the barbers, eventually you'll get a haircut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/if-you-keep-walking-past-the-barbers-eventually-you-ll-get-a-haircut/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [You don't want to bite your nose off to spite your face](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/you-don-t-want-to-bite-your-nose-off-to-spite-your-face/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [Never worry about what people think. That's what drove me to drinking a lot of time, worrying about what people thought of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/never-worry-about-what-people-think-that-s-what-drove-me-to-drinking/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [When you see your friends going out every Friday night, and earning two hundred quid at the building site, and you're earning twenty-five pounds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/when-you-see-your-friends-going-out-every-friday-night-and-earning/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [Football's all about yesterday, it's all about now](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/football-s-all-about-yesterday-it-s-all-about-now/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [David Nugent tore up the Championship but he’s gone to Portsmouth and he’s a fish up a tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/david-nugent-tore-up-the-championship-but-he-s-gone-to-portsmouth-and/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [If you’re chopping and changing the team you don’t get that word I can’t pronounce beginning with ‘C’.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/if-you-re-chopping-and-changing-the-team-you-don-t-get-that-word-i/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [Every single player on the pitch is now in the Birmingham box, apart from two of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/every-single-player-on-the-pitch-is-now-in-the-birmingham-box-apart/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [But I was just a normal person really. You see, I didn't get it in my head that I was just a professional footballer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/but-i-was-just-a-normal-person-really-you-see-i-didn-t-get-it-in-my/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [Reading won't have the confidence to be confident](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/reading-won-t-have-the-confidence-to-be-confident/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [I went to AA, which was a major help for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/i-went-to-aa-which-was-a-major-help-for-me/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) > [We grew up in an age of playing reserve team football at the stadium. If the first team were playing away, you'd be playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/we-grew-up-in-an-age-of-playing-reserve-team-football-at-the-stadium/) [Paul Merson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) [Explore all 74 Paul Merson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/) ## More Dressing room quotes > [Meanwhile someone is shining my head to get it dry to attach my top-hat to my head with toupee tape. I get into microphone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tituss-burgess/meanwhile-someone-is-shining-my-head-to-get-it-dry-to-attach-my-top/) [Tituss Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tituss-burgess/) > [“I’m hopping on one foot and grasping at the curtains, because that’s what dressing rooms are these days, curtains instead of walls so you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-bellassai/i-m-hopping-on-one-foot-and-grasping-at-the-curtains-because-that-s/) [Matt Bellassai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-bellassai/) > [Each transfer brings a change to the dressing room that I must protect - that is my job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-tuchel/each-transfer-brings-a-change-to-the-dressing-room-that-i-must/) [Thomas Tuchel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-tuchel/) > [Most dressing rooms are sterile and they feel like someone else's space. But over two weeks of previews, before the show officially opens, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathew-horne/most-dressing-rooms-are-sterile-and-they-feel-like-someone-else-s/) [Mathew Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathew-horne/) > [I've worked with so many teams, so many dressing rooms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rafael-benitez/i-ve-worked-with-so-many-teams-so-many-dressing-rooms/) [Rafael Benitez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rafael-benitez/) > [Everything was set for us to play a real good game. Then we left the dressing room and everything went to hell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-fraser/everything-was-set-for-us-to-play-a-real-good-game-then-we-left-the/) Curt Fraser > [You have different characters in the dressing room. If you have a go at someone, someone might answer back, other people will take it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-pulis/you-have-different-characters-in-the-dressing-room-if-you-have-a-go/) [Tony Pulis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-pulis/) > [My parents are actors as well, so I grew up around that world. It was always a very romantic, mythical world. They did a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-fox/my-parents-are-actors-as-well-so-i-grew-up-around-that-world-it-was/) [Phoebe Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-fox/) > [Don't ask me about emotions in the Welsh dressing room. I'm someone who cries when he watches Little House on the Prairie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-norster/don-t-ask-me-about-emotions-in-the-welsh-dressing-room-i-m-someone/) Bob Norster > [And then, all of a sudden, you're like, all that's great and fun, but Arthur Miller's in my dressing room. This is the third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-krause/and-then-all-of-a-sudden-you-re-like-all-that-s-great-and-fun-but/) [Peter Krause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-krause/) > [“I hate shopping for clothes," Kate said. "I liked when I was in the military and all I needed was camouflage gear." "Shopping can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/i-hate-shopping-for-clothes-kate-said-i-liked-when-i-was-in-the/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [I have never been a bad influence in the dressing room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-adebayor/i-have-never-been-a-bad-influence-in-the-dressing-room/) [Emmanuel Adebayor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-adebayor/) > [Home is a place not only of strong affections, but of entire unreserved; it is life's undress rehearsal, its backroom, its dressing room, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/home-is-a-place-not-only-of-strong-affections-but-of-entire/) [Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/) > [I will try to lead by example, by my voice in the dressing room and then one-on-one if necessary. It's not top of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-fletcher/i-will-try-to-lead-by-example-by-my-voice-in-the-dressing-room-and/) [Darren Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-fletcher/) > [I like to pick out a certain part of each show I'm in and I watch it when I'm not onstage or in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-donnell/i-like-to-pick-out-a-certain-part-of-each-show-i-m-in-and-i-watch-it/) [Colin Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-donnell/) [Browse all 431 Dressing room quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dressing-room/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I first showed up at Villa I thought we had a weird old dressing room.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Paul Merson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/when-i-first-showed-up-at-villa-i-thought-we-had-a-weird-old-dressing/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dressing room" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/when-i-first-showed-up-at-villa-i-thought-we-had-a-weird-old-dressing/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/paul-merson-9263_dressing-room_when-i-first-showed-up-at-villa-i-though_2397948.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/paul-merson-9263_dressing-room_when-i-first-showed-up-at-villa-i-though_2397948.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/paul-merson-9263_dressing-room_when-i-first-showed-up-at-villa-i-though_2397948.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I first showed up at Villa I thought we had a weird old dressing room.” — Paul Merson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Paul Merson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-merson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I first showed up at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/when-i-first-showed-up-at-villa-i-thought-we-had-a-weird-old-dressing/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-merson/when-i-first-showed-up-at-villa-i-thought-we-had-a-weird-old-dressing/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```