Gerry Hitchens - Along with Alfredo di Stefano my favourite Centre Forwards of all time. I recall as a kid my Dad telling me that The Villa Board had sold Gerry to Inter Milan for 85,000 in the Summer of 62 and I couldn't believe it.
Next thing you knew they sold Peter MacParland to Wolves and IMHO the future for Villa didn't look good and it wasn't.
When they sold him, Hitchens had broken into the England team and was scoring goals freely which is why Inter wanted him. Villa needed the money very badly.
The move ended Hitchens England career with Alf Ramsey wanting locally available players to train with the England squad. Had Hitchens stayed I believe that Villa would have had an opportunity to thrive in the First Division instead of struggling and ending up on the spiral down to Division 3.
While with Villa, Hitchens scored a remarkable 78 goals in 132 games. Hitchens was good in the air and with the ball at his feet and always gave 100% in the games. With Peter Mac on the left wing and Hitchens at CF our attack was exciting.
The thing about Gerry was that he was always focussed on the game and was always on the prowl for goals. He worked the channels and found the gaps and openings for his wngers and inside forwards to work with.
In fact Hitchens availability made it possible for Peter MacParland to score so many of his legendary goals because with Gerry in the middle teams would often not only have a Centre Half on him but sometimes would also have a Full Back or Wing Half as extra cover.
Many of Peter's goals were scored with Peter feinting a cross and then dragging the ball inside with his left foot and lashing out with his deadly shot.
After Gerry left, Villa had a few Centre Fowards, Doogan, Hateley, and Rioch, who while useful just weren't anywhere near as good as Gerry.
Hitchens was the ultimate proof for any manager worth a grain of salt, that you have to have a deadly striker/centre forward. (The current ownership should take note. Keep Bent at the club scoring goals.) Without Hitchens, Joe Mercer's teams struggled and for us nippers behind the goal at the Holte End, life just wasn't the same.
The day Gerry Hitchens left the Villa thousands of us Holte Enders felt our hearts sink.
Lee Child, Villa supporter, author, last summer asked how many Aston Villa supporters were in an audience. He said the thing about Aston Villa is that though it is a great club, it occasionally lets you down. I think he must have been one of us Holte Enders that saw Hitchens leave for Inter Milan.
