Sir William Dugdale's memoirs.

[Fergal]

But would we have had the highs of 81 and 82 if Ellis and co hadn't rescued the club in 68? I doubt it.
The years 68-75 provided a strong platform for the successes that followed.

As for Ron Saunders, I have the utmost respect for what he did for us when he was here but he also walked out on us at a vital time in our history and within no time was working at The Sty - so I wouldn't be happy to have a stand named after him either.
Plain old Witton Lane Stand is what it should have remained.

In what way was the club rescued? Financially or were we being badly run?

[dave.woodhall]

Interesting man. Won a Military Cross, rode in The Grand National in the fifties, Uncle of David Cameron and responsible for his interest in the Villa, instrumental in appointing Ron Saunders and didn't like Doug. I think you will find that Kartz, Dugdale and Bendall supported Saunders and got together against Doug to force him out. Unfortunately Bendall later fell out with Saunders and Doug was determined to return and make sure when he did he would never be vunerable to being forced out again. So when Bendall's health was declining Doug was able to buy the European Champions for half a million quid and answer to no-one for the next twenty four years.

And a direct descendant of William the Conqueror. He resigned from the board along with Alan Smith and Harry Cressman in 1978 because of the delay in giving Ron Saunders a new contract and also because it was believed Ellis & Bendall were carving the club up between them. In 1979 Doug was desperate for Sir William's support, offering him the club presidency in return, but after originally saying he would abstain the Dugdale shareholding voted with Bendall. Why Bendall later sold his shares to Doug (In the words of Harry Kartz, "For a pittance to a man he despised") is one of the great mysteries of all time.

[Mister E]

But would we have had the highs of 81 and 82 if Ellis and co hadn't rescued the club in 68? I doubt it.
The years 68-75 provided a strong platform for the successes that followed.

As for Ron Saunders, I have the utmost respect for what he did for us when he was here but he also walked out on us at a vital time in our history and within no time was working at The Sty - so I wouldn't be happy to have a stand named after him either.
Plain old Witton Lane Stand is what it should have remained.

In what way was the club rescued? Financially or were we being badly run?

You need to read a couple of the history books - "Children of the Revolution" or "Aston Villa: the first 100 years" are good starters. Or you could talk to our resident expert Mr Woodhall and get him to flog you some of his (excellent) tomes.

[Salsa Party Animal]

Yes read the children of revolution. I never heard of Harry Kartz, why did he sell his shares to Bendall then sold to HDE then Lerner. Shame there is no Randy Lerner in 1977 to take over the Villa. We will be bigger than Barcelona if this actually happens.   and probably win more European Cup than any English club.

[Salsa Party Animal]

I put it on amazon wish list to remind me

[Damo70]

If I remember correctly Bendall sold to Doug because his health was very bad (I think he passed away not long after), the club was in debt and Doug offered more money than Harry Parkes did.

[TopDeck113]

Why Bendall later sold his shares to Doug (In the words of Harry Kartz, "For a pittance to a man he despised") is one of the great mysteries of all time.

Indeed it is.

[Risso]

Interesting man. Won a Military Cross, rode in The Grand National in the fifties, Uncle of David Cameron and responsible for his interest in the Villa, instrumental in appointing Ron Saunders and didn't like Doug. I think you will find that Kartz, Dugdale and Bendall supported Saunders and got together against Doug to force him out. Unfortunately Bendall later fell out with Saunders and Doug was determined to return and make sure when he did he would never be vunerable to being forced out again. So when Bendall's health was declining Doug was able to buy the European Champions for half a million quid and answer to no-one for the next twenty four years.

And a direct descendant of William the Conqueror. He resigned from the board along with Alan Smith and Harry Cressman in 1978 because of the delay in giving Ron Saunders a new contract and also because it was believed Ellis & Bendall were carving the club up between them. In 1979 Doug was desperate for Sir William's support, offering him the club presidency in return, but after originally saying he would abstain the Dugdale shareholding voted with Bendall. Why Bendall later sold his shares to Doug (In the words of Harry Kartz, "For a pittance to a man he despised") is one of the great mysteries of all time.

Did you never get to talk to him Dave?

[dave.woodhall]

Interesting man. Won a Military Cross, rode in The Grand National in the fifties, Uncle of David Cameron and responsible for his interest in the Villa, instrumental in appointing Ron Saunders and didn't like Doug. I think you will find that Kartz, Dugdale and Bendall supported Saunders and got together against Doug to force him out. Unfortunately Bendall later fell out with Saunders and Doug was determined to return and make sure when he did he would never be vunerable to being forced out again. So when Bendall's health was declining Doug was able to buy the European Champions for half a million quid and answer to no-one for the next twenty four years.

And a direct descendant of William the Conqueror. He resigned from the board along with Alan Smith and Harry Cressman in 1978 because of the delay in giving Ron Saunders a new contract and also because it was believed Ellis & Bendall were carving the club up between them. In 1979 Doug was desperate for Sir William's support, offering him the club presidency in return, but after originally saying he would abstain the Dugdale shareholding voted with Bendall. Why Bendall later sold his shares to Doug (In the words of Harry Kartz, "For a pittance to a man he despised") is one of the great mysteries of all time.

Did you never get to talk to him Dave?

Several times. The aristocracy are most obliging to the lower orders.

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Ron Bendall was definetely chairman in May 1981. The film shown at the VP before each home game until about a season ago culminating with Morty lifting the cup showed Bendall in the background. He looks really grumpy, but then again I would doubt anybody ever saw him looking anything but grumpy and grouchy-thats how he always struck me, a big grumpy bloke with a hell of a lot of money.  His son Donald was the one who was more the Villa fan and maybe the reason his Dad got involved in the first place. Sir William Dugdale was a very different kettle of fish, an aristocrat with a ready smile, well spoken and cheerful.
At boardroom level during the 1970s the Villa must have had more political in fighting than any other club in the country. What with Doug, the Bendalls, Sir William Dugdale and various other directors coming and going it's surprising that the whole period on the pitch was one of almost continual progress. Because of the fans share issue in 1969, AGMs used to be held on the pitch in front of the Witton Lane stand and it would always be full (approx 5,000 or so ?). There was a big power struggle in the mid 70s between Doug and another director called Jim Hartley, cant remember exactly but the other directors around at the time were Harry Kartz, Harry Parkes, Harry Cressman, Bob Mackay (father of the disgraced tory MP Andrew Mackay) and Alan Smith (the ex cricketer). There was an extrordinary general meeting called, I honestly cant rememer all the ins and outs but I think it resulted in the beginning of the end of Dougs first spell. All I know for certain is that it was an incredibly heated meeting with brickbats and insults being thown between directors on the stage and big big arguements breaking out all over the stand. This was a time of recession, strikes, 3 day weeks and power cuts but for Villa shareholders this was what used to really get a lot of them steamed up- only because they loved and cared about the club as we all still do. I  remember at cup game up at Burnley and our Dad got talking to someone he knew before kick off about boardroom issues at the time. The next thing we know the two of them are having a full blown arguement and it nearly turn into a physical fight. All over who should be on the board of directors !   

[The Left Side]

Looks like a great read!

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

In what way was the club rescued? Financially or were we being badly run?

In 1968 Villa were a club dying on their feet, on and off the pitch they had been left behind in the 1950s and were rapidly heading for financial ruin. Doug Ellis along with people he brought in such as commercial manager Eric Woodward modernised the club and the whirlwind year of Tommy Docherty got the crowds back. This is why you will generally  find many older Villa fans have more time for Doug. For all his faults, few of us have the same animosty or think of him having just been in it merely for his own financial gain.

[rotterdam.82]

Wasn't it Bendal(l)?

No,  Bendall took over from Harry Kartz in 1980 and was responsible for God, sorry I mean Ron Saunders leaving.
 Harry Kartz quote
But I feel that a club must have a chairman who is able to get on with his manager, so I asked Ron Bendall to take over.

"Then Bendall went to the Isle of Man to live, so we had our arguments over that."

Kartz bitterly regrets the fact that Saunders quit Villa for Blues at a time when Villa really could have challenged Liverpool to become the team of the 1980s.

He said: "I bumped into him at John Robson's funeral. He looked well and we had a long chat.

"He was one of the best - right up there with Bill Shankly and Brian Clough for what he did at Villa.

"When he left I told Ron Bendall we mustn't get a new manager in. When that happens they get rid of players to get their own in and alter the set-up.

"So we went with Tony Barton and won the European Cup. Then Doug sacked Barton in May 1984.

I met Ron Bendall's daughter once.

Ellis opposed Saunders appointment so for all financial stability he might have gave the club imagine our history with no Ron Saunders, no European cup, no league title, no European super cup. I know it's a long time ago now but it was magical and anyone lucky enough to be there at the time will forgive him going to the clowns. Saunders only wanted a 3 year rolling contract, after what he achieved at the club he deserved it.

[Mister E]

In what way was the club rescued? Financially or were we being badly run?

In 1968 Villa were a club dying on their feet, on and off the pitch they had been left behind in the 1950s and were rapidly heading for financial ruin. Doug Ellis along with people he brought in such as commercial manager Eric Woodward modernised the club and the whirlwind year of Tommy Docherty got the crowds back. This is why you will generally  find many older Villa fans have more time for Doug. For all his faults, few of us have the same animosty or think of him having just been in it merely for his own financial gain.

You're right in many respects, ALITA, but I'm afraid my gratitude toward him faded during the 1980's and the share-issue of the 1990's. In the end I felt he had run the club in too conservative a way through the early days of the "Sky revolution"and became a 'dead hand' on its affairs. His obit, I'm sure, will focus on the halcyon days of the mid-1970's when we re-asserted ourselves as a significant club, following the roller-coaster ride of the 3rd Division.
We were certainly a club that had media interest, for its regular boardroom dramas.

[dave.woodhall]

The first boardroom battle was in 1972, just after we'd got promoted from division three. Only Villa could celebrate promotion by deposing the chairman, but we did. Doug was briefly out of office and replaced by Jim Hartley but reinstated at a subsequent EGM with Hartley kicked off the board. There were a number of directors who came and went from 1968 onwards and in 1979 every one of them with the exception of Eric Houghton voted against Doug.