Aston Villa Manager Ron Saunders Resigns - 10th Feb 1982

[@jonbarker92]

What a manager he was. I often wonder if we would have still won the European Cup if he had stayed.

[@angelacooper2661]

Takes me right back to childhood memories - first year at senior school and not yet twelve!

[@damienabbott9805]

So sad, sad, sad!!! This was definitely the turning point in the history of Aston Villa FC. Alex Ferguson won the league championship (or the newly formed Premier League) after 7 years in the Manchester United hot seat and so did Ron at Aston Villa. Only difference was Ron’s team went onto to be crowned champions of Europe the following season. Had he been allowed to stay and do his job, Villa would have been Liverpool’s main rivals of the 1980s. Instead that went to Everton.

[@declanbutler5876]

To true fella .

[@FordZaphod23]

You might be right. The following season 1982-83 was the beginning of Villa's decline into the wilderness of football, only winning two league cups for the following 40 years. I used to go sometimes with a villa supporting mate of mine & I've often wondered what happened to the team that won the European Cup & could not follow it up. The following declined too. In the following season I went to a saturday away match in London with him & there were only about a few hundred in the away end!

[@mervyncharter]

Not entirely true in that Villa did much better in the league in the 82-83 season finished 6th out of 22 teams just 3 points behind runners up watford. In early december 82 we had an evening mid-week game away to Arsenal. If we had won that we would have gone top of the table above Liverpool. and we made a good stab at defending our European Cup. Reached the quarter finals unfortunately we got the draw no-one including Liverpool wanted, that fabulous Juventus side that included about 7 members of the Italian team that were World Champions just the previous year along with the best 2 players in Europe at the time Michel Platini and Zbigniew Boniek. We also reached the quarter finals of the FA cup that season. Lost away to Arsenal.

[@paulcarter6146]

Problems with the board at villa then .. a not longer after Mr Ellis took over was a bad period there after.😮

[@mooncalf3130]

Can't imagine Saunders working for long with Ellis, so this would have happened before too long.

[@thelstanedwardsson4374]

Great Manager

[@josephjoyce6337]

Ticket to the moon must read for any villa fan

[@benellis9665]

I'm making a radio documentary for the 82 anniversary. I'm wondering could I possibly use the audio from this please? I'll give you a full credit of course. UTV!

[@matthewleslie4448]

I remember Tony Butler on the radio when this happened touting Ron for the Blues job with City sacking Jim Smith around this time. Wonder if if he got the nudge from Ron to do this? Not unusual back in the day - Jock Stein got Archie McPherson of the BBC to publicly champion him for the Scotland job when Ally McLeod resigned.

[@duncankilburn7612]

Hopefully Unai Emery will be our best manager since Ron.

[@angelacooper2661]

I remember Ron Saunders and would have been in my first year at senior school (not yet twelve). He was an exact contemporary of my father - both born in November 1932. Daddy was three weeks his junior!

[@markstevens3999]

The job aged him?

[@staceygrove5976]

That's football, Brian.

[@damianbentley730]

Another scouser if I'm not mistaken?

[@peteowen3539]

Yes, Birkenhead

[@markhemming318]

No! A Jedi! Same way someone from Dudley is not a Brummie.