The Unsung Heroes Aston Villa xi

[garyellis]

A player who I always felt gave 100% for Villa was Brian Godfrey. We were undoubtedly shit during his period with us but to me (and I was only a kid at the time) he always looked and acted like he cared. One of ours who perhaps gets forgotten but for me he took pride in wearing the claret and blue.

[four fornicholl]

I don't disagree, but read your sentence again...

Took me ages, 

[Dick Edwards]

Going to throw in a controversial one now. How about Gary Shaw? League Championship winner, European Cup winner, Super Cup winner, UEFA young player award. If injury hasn't cruelly ended his career early, then I believe he could have gone on to be the the best player in England (possibly Europe/World). Better player than Grealish. I know that for us fans who lived through the Saunders era then Shaw is reverred, but in the wider footballing world he's very much forgotten.

I wouldn't describe Shaw as an unsung hero Rico. As you say, he was the European Young Player of the Year in 1982 having been the PFA Player of the year in 1981 so was clearly destined for great things. Unfortunately, although he played on for Villa another five years, the injury he got at Forest in 1983 effectively ended his top level career. The football world only saw the best of him for less than three years, but what a career he crammed into that period.

A bigger candidate for unsung hero from that period would be Denis Mortimer. The inspirational captain of the League and European Cup winning teams and didn't receive a single England cap! And at a time when the national team performed particularly unsuccessfully at international level. Scandalous.

[brian green]

Seconded

[martyn ellis]

Very surprised no-one has mentioned Charlie Aitken, appearance record-holder for Villa over 17 seasons, almost an ever-present. Unspectacular but so reliable left back, he had that strange 'splayed' way of running. I'll never forget standing on the old Witton End in the dying embers of a game against Spurs when he ran the length of pitch towards the Holte End, crossed and we score the equaliser (I think - anyone help me out here?). Great servant and I think he's still around VP in some capacity.

[martyn ellis]

Charlie Aitken: 1959 - 1976, just to remind everyone.

[cdbearsfan]

I don't really think of him as unsung though bearing in mind pretty much everyone on here will know who he is even if they never saw him play. I thought the thread was more for players who tend to be a bit forgotten about or under the radar, or those whose skills were never appreciated but have come to be recognised in hindsight.

[martyn ellis]

I agree. For me he was a bit of a hero as he always seemed to be in the team from when I started watching Villa. But he was almost like part of the furniture, a player who was only missed when he wasn't there (if you get my drift) - I take your point though.
Anyone remember that Spurs game?

[LeeB]

Stuart Gray rarely gets mentioned, but he was a solid performer and captain of a team that nearly won the league.

Cost buttons as well.

[RamboandBruno]

I don't disagree, but read your sentence again...

That’s hilarious!! 😂 I’m almost up there with Merson saying Wenger fave him unbelievable belief!!

[Villa Lew]

Martyn mentions left back the great Charlie Aitken, but I would say more of an unsung hero from the 60s was right back Michael Wright, who went onto to play over 300 games for us, whose career cut short by injury at the age of 26.

[Border villan]

When he broke into the first team he was Mickey Wright. It was only later he became Michael Wright.

[Rico]

A bigger candidate for unsung hero from that period would be Denis Mortimer. The inspirational captain of the League and European Cup winning teams and didn't receive a single England cap! And at a time when the national team performed particularly unsuccessfully at international level. Scandalous.
[/quote]

Absolutely bang on regarding Dennis Mortimer. Scandalous that he didn't receive even one solitary cap for England. Equally scandalous though was the general omission of Villa players in the squad for the 82 World Cup. With Mortimer, Cowans, Withe, Morley and Shaw in the team, surely we would have won the World Cup?

[Exeter 77]

This appeared on Brian Little's Twitter feed on Friday.

https://twitter.com/BritPop94/status/1253605379306655744?s=19

Just one cap between them all (although I would probably  not have included Garry Thompson in  that four).

[dcdavecollett]

I've always said that England would have had a great chance of winning the WC in '82 if they had had a policy of picking midlands players with a few guest players from the rest of the country, the opposite of the current system, whereby the squad is full of players from Manchester Liverpool and London and a few others!

Back to '82, how about this for starters? Shilton, Anderson, Swain, Gibson, Statham, Cowans, Robson, Mortimer, Morley, Withe, Regis, Shaw and Francis.

Of the above, those not playing for midlands clubs at the time of the WC had started their careers in the region.

Not a bad squad, eh? though it is missing the great Graham Rix, of course...