Herbert Ellis

[purpletrousers]

I don't think I want to hear the 12" remix Dave. Sounds like painful times.

[PeterWithesShin]

I went that night and the club did feck all to promote it, pretty sure only about 2500 turned up to remember the man that gave us our greatest moment because most didn't have a clue it was on. Comes to something when Barry Fry showed more class and respect for Tony Barton than Ellis did.

[PeterWithesShin]

On the plus side I got my programme signed by Super Ron that night, and I have to say that Jose Dominguez looked a really good player, annoyingly.

[ChicagoLion]

Dave
Thanks for the explanation.
Words fail me.

[peter w]

First time I've heard (read) this. fucking wanker. We should try and change it from the name it has now and get something in the name of Tony Barton whilst the old shitbag is still alive. I remember disagreeing with you a while back Dave regarding the role Barton played at the time in terms of how he should be remembered by Villa fans in perpetuity. To be so disrespectful to him is making me angry just to think about it. Absolute wanker. Sod bless Old Doug. Fuck him and fuck his name off our stand.

[JD]

First time I've heard this as well. I've always been a bit indifferent to Ellis but after reading Dave's post I totally understand why people dislike him (and I now join them).

[villa `cross the mersey]

When it comes to stories about Ellis nothing surprises me.
I posted on here a fair few years ago that my late father attended a shareholders meeting in the company of George Edwards (Who my mother used to work for in Hall Green) , Stan Lynn and Harry Parkes. Those guys disliked Ellis immensely, primarily because the way in which they were treated  by Ellis. They shared stories with my father about Ellis that shaped his own opinion of him - later face to face encounters and responses to letters sent to to Ellis just reinforced my fathers dislike of this megalomaniac.
My own experiences of meeting with him have left me: cringing at his overblown ego, embarrassed at his tone towards Villa stalwarts (players, former managers and admin staff) and thoroughly pissed off at his lies about numerous claims of generosity towards the club whilst he was taking money out.
His recent comments about his beloved wife, Heidi (?) made me smile - I know through contacts in the hotel trade that this self penned "family man" makes Donald Trump look like a virgin.
I shall never forget the night I attended a shareholders meeting when Sir GT was manager - Graham was speaking to the shareholders with his back to Ellis and made a comment like " You should never turn your back on the chairman in case he decides to stab you in the back" - cant remember the exact words but that was the gist of it.
Later that evening Graham spoke at length to my mother about the Villa etc - when she approached Ellis he just ignored her.
He may be a charitable man in private but I cant help but think that every move he makes is solely for the benefit of HDE and no one else.   

[Pete]

Sacking Tony Barton a few days before his son's wedding leaves a sour taste in the mouth too. The reception was booked for Villa Park, by the way.

[in exile]

I was a kid when Ellis rocked up so a lot of this went over my head at the time but reading this thread has really pissed me off about the old scrote.

Thanks for everyone's contributions. It's been a real eye opener for me

[FrankyH]

I have met him on a couple of occasions , even engaging in a little small talk , it's amazing how quick the conversation turns out to be about him.

[Diablo]

Sacking Tony Barton a few days before his son's wedding leaves a sour taste in the mouth too. The reception was booked for Villa Park, by the way.

Shit! What did they do? Did they still have the reception at Villa Park?

[dave.woodhall]

And thereby hangs another tale. The week after the season ended, there was a meeting to discuss the manager. Afterwards there were the usual "optimistic for the future" noises and his job was safe. He was sacked a month later.

For an encore, Doug spoke to Roy Maclaren the day before, asked him what he was doing and was told he was just off on holiday to Australia the next day. He got there to find he'd been sacked. 

[Nev]

A few years back, when times were brighter there was an awful lot of revisionism regarding Ellis, in particular when he sat on the Holte for a game.

I never bought in to any of it, and it sounds like many others didn't either.

[PeterWithesShin]

It's also worth remembering that Tony Barton was sacked by Ellis for being a 'failure'. In his 2 full seasons we finished 6th and 10th, reached a EC QF, an FAC QF, a LC SF, won the ESC and obviously in his first part season the EC. And all that despite Ellis dismantling the 80-82 side, having 2 of the best players in the country crocked, although I have little doubt Ellis would have sold them if they'd been fit as he was getting rid of pretty much anything to do with 80-82 that he could. Pretty sure that within about 3 years of Ellis returning only 3 of the 80-82 side were left, plus Shaw whose career was all but over.
Still, at least we had a lot of success under the manager of Shrewsbury.

[Damo70]

Not sure where to start... Taken from the Mail.

Former Aston Villa owner Sir Doug Ellis on his darkest days at Villa Park

Ellis insists he was a prisoner in his own Four Oaks home and had his prized Rolls Royce vandalised during the height of his unpopularity
In our ‘Remember When’ series we look back through the archives for stories from Aston Villa’s past.
Here Sir Doug Ellis recalls the dark days of his own Villa reign.

Ellis insists he was a prisoner in his own Four Oaks home and had his prized Rolls Royce vandalised during the height of his unpopularity at Villa Park.
He sold the club to Randy Lerner in 2006 and 10 years on the American billionaire wanted out with Tony Xia taking over in the summer of 2016.
During his time of troubles, Ellis recalls strolling out of Villa Park one day and looking in horror at his gleaming Rolls Royce.
A jagged groove had been carved into the side of the vehicle, signalling a turn in the campaign to rid the club of an owner dubbed Deadly Doug.
Ellis remembers the episode and says: “Did it alter for one moment my position?”
“Not at all. A club like Aston Villa was more important than a car.
“I had to have broad shoulders to deal with it.
“I’ve lived in this house for more than 50 years,” he added.
“The press and anti-Ellis brigade would be here, particularly at night.

“My wife Heidi will tell you what we had to put up with – we couldn’t go out. We could not put the lights on.
“As soon as we did, the telephone would go and it would be the abusers.
“It didn’t matter either way. I was convinced I was doing the right thing for Aston Villa.”

I am impressed that people found out where he lived and vandalised his car and tracked down his address. Or in other words I'm not sure I actually believe it. But then he did invent the bicycle kick and despite anything the bible says he also created the world and mankind.