Heroes & Villains, the Aston Villa fanzine
Heroes & Villains => Heroes Discussion => Topic started by: Rotterdam 82 on May 18, 2020, 10:41:52 AM
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Became our manager 33 years ago today.
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Thank God.
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A great day - the equivalent of Narsil being reforged
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Thank God.
Jesus died at 33.
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Thank God.
Then he signed him
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I wonder what Doug said to SGT to persuade him to leave the 1st Division and become a manager of a 2nd division club? - still remember the chaos at Ipswich trying to get in on for our 1st game in the league that season.
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I wonder what Doug said to SGT to persuade him to leave the 1st Division and become a manager of a 2nd division club? - still remember the chaos at Ipswich trying to get in on for our 1st game in the league that season.
Fuck all from what I can gather, it was more like he chose us, and Doug was lucky (again). Had he had his way we'd be marking the 33rd anniversary of hiring Dave Bassett.
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I wonder what Doug said to SGT to persuade him to leave the 1st Division and become a manager of a 2nd division club? - still remember the chaos at Ipswich trying to get in on for our 1st game in the league that season.
Fuck all from what I can gather, it was more like he chose us, and Doug was lucky (again). Had he had his way we'd be marking the 33rd anniversary of hiring Dave Bassett.
Blimey yes, Bassett looked certain to become our manager, I remember one of the exact sports headlines.."Come and get me Villa", but he took over from SGT at Watford instead which didn't work out.
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I wonder what Doug said to SGT to persuade him to leave the 1st Division and become a manager of a 2nd division club? - still remember the chaos at Ipswich trying to get in on for our 1st game in the league that season.
He'd gone as far as he could at Watford, knew he needed a big club on his CV to get the England job and we were available. His old friend and namesake Dick still ran his shop on Witton Road and the rest is history.
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It's a shambles!
I talked to SGT at Villa Park following an away game at Sheffield United. He took the time to answer my question in the most humble way, when it would have been far easier to ingore it.
I remember going to a North Stand forum where he told everyone a few home truths.
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What might have been, if he'd stayed? I reckon we'd have been up there competing with George Graham's Arsenal and Ferguson's Man Utd on a pretty regular basis - Doug Ellis permitting, of course.
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Became our manager 33 years ago today.
In that case I left school 33 years ago today (apart from going back to sit exams). I ducked into a shop to avoid the old eggs and flour shenanigans going on in the shopping centre and saw his picture on the front page of the Birmingham Mail. I couldn't believe it.
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I see the appointment back then as a guy coming in to really organise a brilliant club that had fallen from grace, and see something similar today. I honestly think Villa is ripe for the picking. Great owners and well run, with the right Manager, for some of you that is Dean, for me, I'd really like us to be more ambitious. A Graham Taylor type appointment right now, might just save us and move us to the next level. Admittedly, Dean may also do that too but I can't see it.
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There are a few more 'big clubs' than was the case back then.
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There are a few more 'big clubs' than was the case back then.
Plus the criteria for what is a "big club" has changed and is more fluid e.g. Leicester are now more attractive for an ambitious manager than some traditional big clubs.
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There are a few more 'big clubs' than was the case back then.
Plus the criteria for what is a "big club" has changed and is more fluid e.g. Leicester are now more attractive for an ambitious manager than some traditional big clubs.
True, although that's built on sand, as Blackburn discovered.
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That 1st season the away days were brilliant - Blues, Albion, and lots more but I remember Huddersfield - where as soon as the ref blew the whistle to start the game the heavens opened and it absolutely pissed down - I knew we should have paid the extra £1.00 and sat in the seats!
Fantastic fun!
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I wonder what Doug said to SGT to persuade him to leave the 1st Division and become a manager of a 2nd division club? - still remember the chaos at Ipswich trying to get in on for our 1st game in the league that season.
I believe SGT was disappointed that despite taking Watford from Division Four to runners up in Division One and into Europe and to an FA Cup final he was being overlooked for the top jobs. I have read over the years that he was annoyed that he wasn't offered the Manure job when Ferguson with no previous experience in English football got the job. Also, with the success he had at Watford he was only a stones throw away from the two North London giants but when Arsenal sacked Don Howe they overlooked SGT and appointed Millwall's manager George Graham. The same year as Ferguson got the United job and Graham got the Arsenal job (1986) David Pleat got the Spurs job despite the fact SGT's Watford had been more successful than Pleat's Luton. I think that after being overlooked for three big jobs in the same year SGT realised he might have to take a different route to a big club and put the word out he would be interested in the Villa job.
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That 1st season the away days were brilliant - Blues, Albion, and lots more but I remember Huddersfield - where as soon as the ref blew the whistle to start the game the heavens opened and it absolutely pissed down - I knew we should have paid the extra £1.00 and sat in the seats!
Fantastic fun!
I left school in 1987 and the 1987-1988 season was my first season going regularly to away games. As you say the away days that season were brilliant but our home form was a bit ropey. We started the season with chaos trying to get in to Portman Road and ended the season exactly the same way trying to get into The County Ground Swindon. We got our first win of the season at Leicester and a group of us who had travelled together were in the front row of the stand when before the game SGT came over to talk to us. One of the lads I had travelled with shouted "When are we going to win Graham"? To which he firmly answered "Today"! Albion away was a night game and Tony Morley and Andy Gray played for Albion. I think we won 2-0 with a couple of Warren Aspinall goals. BFR played George Reilly at centre half and Aspinall ran rings round him. Huddersfield away was the wettest I have ever been at a game. We went to Leeds twice in the league and cup and beat them both times. The Bradford game just before Christmas was a massive result and I think the Gray twins made their debut that day. Man City and Reading were two good days out too. I missed the game at the sty as I was in Australia. I believe it was rather lively that day.