Aston Villa Legends On The Glory Years

Dennis Mortimer, Gordon Cowans, Tony Morley, Gary Shaw & Nigel Spink talk about winning the 1980-81 First Division Championship & the 1982 European Cup.

[@southaussieblue]

As an Ipswich fan, 1981 still haunts me (and many others). If it had to anyone, I'm glad it was Villa that got enjoy the championship and European Cup a year later. Seem a nice bunch of lads and you can't ask for more than that.

[@darganx]

Ipswich, so close so many times with Bobby Robson..

[@roxammon5858]

Nigel Spink should have the freedom of the city of Birmingham for that performance. A night I will never forget.

[@tristanwilliams6931]

Brilliant team, brilliant manager, brilliant fans, brilliant club! UTV! - The Silver Fox

[@TheLogicBeast]

Look at that pass by Cowans at 2:18. If Messi did that today the commentary would be wetting themselves. He did that all the time. Top, top player.

[@kailashpatel1706]

I wonder if at the 1982 world cup if a three man midfield of Hoddle (in middle), Robson, left sided and Cowans on the right would have been some midfield..?

[@johnanthonyp]

This should be a movie

[@elephantscantjump2776]

Started supporting the Villa in 1977 as a 7 year old. By the age of 12 id seen us win the league cuo. Division 1, European cup and a super cup. Those were thd days my friend, id though they'd never end. Would settle for top 4 this season. 5:08

[@shahedmc9656]

You've got top 4 this season, congrats!

[@paolo.s1756]

My beloved Villa! What a good time!

[@ARMINIUS44]

If you ever get chance to see the whole Final, you will see that Villa ran themselves into the ground, Bayern had the possession and "better" players but jesus watch the heart that the Villa had that night. True Lions. All of em.

[@duncanedwards7840]

Absolutely :)

[@johnanthonyp]

The defence were absolutely stunning that night. My Irish Dad was amazed. Against Rummenege and Breitner blitz? A lot of players should have went on to play for England. But hey, this was a Birmingham team, they don't count. Absolute shame on the FA

[@darganx]

Morley went to the 82 world cup didn't he? I get what you mean though, if you're not from London or Manchester, the door is shut!

[@kailashpatel1706]

@@darganx Morley did not, neither did Cowans..the potential for Greenwood to have built a first class squad for 1982 was obvious..the 1982 World Cup team was wasted..

[@hyttse]

These were the days I got to be a Villa supporter. I still am and allways will be.

[@GravityBoy72]

I started going down Villa Park in 1968 (club in the dumps)... what a ride over 14 years. I thought football was always like that.

[@penfloyd]

Definately one of Villas best teams in their 140* year history..........

[@liammoloney4047]

R.I.P RON

[@johncambridge7339]

To to what what villa didn't will never be forgotten

[@dtcarthy]

couldn't agree with your more mate! absolute quality pass

[@JP-nb7tm]

Great post. Thanks

[@andysutton1]

A brilliant 14 man team, And not one international cap till later.

[@johnanthonyp]

Andy Sutton Yeh-and Emlyn Hughes and that slack jawed Phil Neil was being picked. This team would have found a way to counter Brazil-they did with Bayern

[@Havencheese]

Doesn't it break your heart when Morley says after Saunders left, something along the lines of it being a platform and that we should've won more silverware in the 80's. I have no doubt it could've happened, five years later relegated under "Mr Ellis". Hmmmm.

[@KidSaturdays]

Ellis decimated that squad after conquering Europe and I will never forgive him for that, we are where we are (Championship '16-'17) regardless of Randy Lerner, because of him. Dr. Tony should rename the Doug Ellis the 'Sid Cowans passes to Tony Morley stand' just to spite the old cunt!

[@thevillaaston7811]

​@@KidSaturdays Yep. The Week that Ellis took over in 1982, Villa were European Champions and Second in the league. A mid-week win at Arsenal would have taken them top. Ellis overstated the debts in 1982, as he had done in 1968. He then went on to wreck the place. Good players sold, replaced by poor signing, Villa Park was covered in advertising in every possible place. A succession of horrible playing strips trashed the Villa heritage. The youth set up went to pot, and so on. His near obsession with private boxes reduced the ground capacity. He would never spend a million when £800,000 would do, as with the Witton Lane Stand seating fiasco. No decent manager would go there for years. When Taylor (The only half decent manager until Atkinson) left, Villa got turned down by Joe Jordan at Bristol City and Gerry Francis at Bristol Rovers. How embarrassing was that. Ron Atkinson later stated that we went to Villa against his better judgement. The word was out, the top blokes would not go there. When Dean Saunders joined Villa the saga went on for I don't know how long. In the end Liverpool said something like, are you going to sign him or what? With all his bluster, Ellis saved about 200k on the deal. Villa were relegated to the Third Division in his first full season as chairman. In his times as Chairman (about 31 years), Villa won the League Cup in 1975, 94 and 96. That was it. He turned the place from potentially being one of the biggest clubs in Britain to something like Sunderland or Sheffield United - no disrespect intended to those clubs, whatsoever. He never had any money of his own, he was the first club director to pay himself a salary, yet he breezed around like he was up there with the top guys. It was because of him that the club ended up with the crook Bendall...and Randy Lerner. His autobiography is appalling. It kind of reflects his desire to be at the centre of attention at Vila. Instead of playing success, he listed x number of years of balance sheets - as if supporters are interested in that. In the book he even tried to claim credit for Villa signing Dwight York. As if. Doug Ellis would not have known a good player from a hole in the road. Am I bitter?.. Yes I am.

[@threeeyedfishy]

@@thevillaaston7811 Totally agree with your post about Ellis. We finished second behind Man U in the first premier league with Atkinson and we should have progressed on a level with United afterwards but Ellis's interference and penny pinching cost us that chance.

[@thevillaaston7811]

@@threeeyedfishy Yep. It was throughout his time there.

[@regaltip8A]

Thanks for your comment. You are absolutely correct. A great team that played as a team - you only have to see on how they outplayed Bayern in the Euro Cup Final.

[@stevenneuchterlien6656]

Villaboy i

[@markmorrid8144]

Love it brings back great memories to a 60 year old villa fan .

[@josephjoyce6337]

Lack of investment was a big problem year we won league we bought one player in the summer Andy Blair 350k from Coventry seems crazy now but that was the stranglehold Ron worked under

[@whatryewatchin]

Unbelievable. Jeff

[@TheLogicBeast]

I don't get this "no stars in the team". Gordon (Sid) Cowans was as good a midfielder as anywhere in the league and Tony Morley was the most dynamic winger there was at the time. Peter Withe would score 25 goals a season without breaking sweat and Gary Shaw would have gone on to be an England great if it weren't for horrendous injuries. Oh, and Nigel Spink was the best keeper who should have replaced the ageing Shilton in the 1990 word cup.

[@johnanthonyp]

NIGEL SPINK-THE MOVIE God Imagine-Nigel Spink-through my eyes. 17-You're on kid. Wha..? Your big chance against the strikers of the World Cup Winners. But... Shut up and take your tracksuit off. You have a long throw. Make it long. It will look like we got out of our half.

[@KidSaturdays]

And Jamie Vardy gets 6 figures a week and a Hollywood movie made about his "journey"......... Absolute joke.

[@ashingtoon]

ha ha ha ha bloody hell!

[@JP-nb7tm]

Not one England international in sight and how shit were England in the 80’s?

[@johnmichel4865]

Not as bad as they were in the '70s!

[@robertpollock1986]

Basic. You build on success. Ron Saunders should have been allowed to build a dynasty ...poor management

[@SexyChickMaria]

Dude all i gotta say is Ipswich are awesome

[@KidSaturdays]

All the bullshit "Real life" sporting movies that are made (Jamie Vardy? Really?!), yet what Villa did in 81-82 is kind of ridiculed by not only local rivals but the whole of the British cockney media, what people don't realise is Villa won a 42 game a season league with only 14 players and they did it with flair, Tony Morley was THE most underrated winger in world football, if he played for Liverpool at the time he'd have 100 caps by the time he was 25 ffs! Shame on the FA for undermining such a great football club.

[@willav9267]

Ahh, England beat Germany to Europe again. Damn it feels good.

[@johnanthonyp]

God.. Nigel Spink .The Irony. He looked the perfect German. Only bigger and not liking of the Germans

[@paulmcdonough1093]

Villa were only good at that time because they had Scousers playing for them

[@anthonybailey1966]

No they were good because they had good players from different parts of the country and a disciplined work ethic