Aston Villa – a club built on tradition, loyalty, doing things the right way and knitting together as one big footballing family. Villa Park has been home to many great players and we will have a look at the best of the best – specifically, the 10 best.
Aston Villa, based in the Birmingham suburb of Aston, is one of England’s most celebrated clubs. From its humble beginnings in the late 19th century to its famous victory in the European Cup final in 1982, the club has produced some great legends.
Villa swiftly became one of the most successful clubs in Victorian England, and as the 20th century rolled in, there were no signs of looking back. Villa helped nurture several players to receive their first England call-ups.
If we look at the history of Claret & Blue, they have acquired several trophies and produced several players who have contributed to the vast success of the club. They have won the FA Cup 7 times, the League Cup 5 times, and the Football League First Division 7 times.
Taking everything into consideration, we count down the best 10 Villans of all time.
10) Dennis Mortimer
Dennis Mortimer dedicated ten years at Villa following his transfer from West Midlands neighbors Coventry. The Liverpool-born midfielder enjoyed an enriching career in the claret and blue strip and will forever be remembered for leading the side in the European Cup final and winning a nail-biter match against Bayern Munich.
Having won the league cup in 1977, Dennis was quite significant in playing the central midfield role as his side went on to win the league in 1980-81 before lifting Europe’s Premier Club title. From 1975-1985, “Sir Dennis” made 403 appearances and netted 36 goals for Villa.
9) Charlie Aitken
Charlie Aitken is the quintessential Aston Villa man and his appearance record is almost unreachable. The Scottish defender turned out 660 times in claret and blue jersey during his 17-year-old commitment at the club from 1959 to 1976. During the colossal amount of appearances, Charlie played in three different divisions, as well as the League Cup, FA Cup, and UEFA Cup—and the Charity Shield, too.
Aitken had to bide his time as he eventually made his Villa debut almost a full year after joining. From there, however, he established himself at left-back, becoming the mainstay at the team. Aitken’s finest moment in a Villa shirt was lifting the League Cup in 1975 as Villa beat Norwich at Wembley.
8) Peter Withe
He is arguably the most distinguished player to wear the famous Number 9 jersey for Aston Villa. Peter Withe scored his most memorable goal in Aston Villa’s 1-0 victory against Bayern Munich in the European Cup Final in Rotterdam in 1982.
With spent five years with Villa following his £500,000 transfer from Newcastle in 1980. And in those five years, the Liverpool-born netted 92 goals in around 230 appearances, with 20 of the goals coming in a title-winning season, which is a prolific record for any player.
7) Pongo Waring
Thomas “Pongo” Waring was a post-World War player to feature on the list of Aston Villa greats. He acquired his nickname after a cartoon character of that time. Players are often remembered for scoring goals and, with a mind-bending strike rate of three goals every four games, Pongo will live long in Villans history.
His 226 appearances for Villa yielded 166 goals, including 10 amazing hat-tricks and a club record of 49 goals in the 1930-31 season, 50 goals across all competitions. Pongo enjoyed the greatest-ever Villa debut—possibly the greatest debut anybody has ever had in the history of football—as he scored a memorable hat-trick against arch-rivals Birmingham City.
6) Allan Evans
Allan Evans is considered as one of Villa’s all-time greatest defenders. To be recognized by a club and its supporters as one of “the greats” is always an honor but what makes Evans’ addition to the Villa defenders’ hall of fame so special is that he was originally signed as a striker.
The Scot signed from Dunfermline in 1977 as a center-forward but was soon converted to center-half where he cherished a phenomenal career for Villa, featuring in 475 matches.
Evans played a key role in Villa’s 1980-81 league-winning season, contributing to a scintillating defensive record that saw the side concede just 40 goals in 42 games. He was one of the most consistent players of his time and was a brilliant header of the ball too. During his career, he claimed a plethora of trophies for his club, including the European Cup.
5) Mark Bosnich
The Aussie won two League Cups with Villa—in 1994 and 1996—and was, without a doubt, played the most important role for his side reaching the final of one of those. Villa looked like exiting the competition at the semi-final stage against Tranmere in 1994 but “Bozzie” made three saves in the shootout as Villa came from behind to go through.
The Australian goalkeeper was someone who was always around controversies during his time with Villa and then later when playing for Chelsea. For all his faults, he was marvelously talented and a blessed goalkeeper and most certainly the guy you’d like to have in between the poles when it came to facing a penalty.
4) Paul Mcgrath
One of the greatest defenders of his generation, Paul McGrath is a former Irish football player. He spent the majority of his career in the claret and blue jersey.
McGrath’s struggle with pace and speed, due to constant knee problems, was never an issue; the Irishman’s ability to read the game made him one of the most ferocious defenders in the world, with many Villa fans regarding McGrath as the greatest player in the Villans history. Paul spent seven years in the Midlands following his £400,000 transfer from Manchester United in 1989. During his time at Aston Villa, he won the 1993 PFA Player of the Year and also added two League Cup winners’ medals to his trophy cabinet in 1994 and 1996.
3) Peter McParland
Peter James McParland accomplished several great things during his time at Villa but the main reason he is widely considered as one of the all-time greats is because of his goals in the 1957 FA Cup final. McParland single-handedly won it for the Villans.
Villa had failed to win the title in the preceding 37 years but his two second-half goals helped Villa to secure their first-ever cup. During his playing career at Aston Villa, he made a huge impact on the team and was arguably one of the finest strikers to have played for the club. Peter also won the Second Division title in 1960 and the League Cup in 1961. McParland has appeared 293 times and scored 98 goals for Aston Villa.
2) Gordon Cowans
Gordon “Sid” Cowans will go down in Villa history as a true club legend. The midfielder made more than 400 appearances in three successful spells for the club he first joined in 1976. Renowned for his sublime passing, the Villan became one of the most decorated players in the club’s history, winning the league, the League Cup, and European Cup, along with the European Super Cup.
Durham-born Cowans arrived at Villa as a 12-year-old schoolboy and is still, at the age of 54, very much part of the club’s fabric. He returned to Villa as a youth coach, alongside Tony McAndrew and Kevin MacDonald, but has since earned a promotion to first-team coach.
1. Dwight Yorke
“The Speedy Striker” was first discovered by the Villa Manager, Graham Taylor during a pre-season tour in the Caribbean countries. Yorke was a terrific striker of the ball and had some impressive abilities and techniques that he could showcase on the field. The Trinidadian went on to make staggering 284 appearances and netting 97 goals for Villa.
Dwight started his career as a right-winger but eventually moved to play the striker’s role -something on which he succeeded- establishing himself as one of the greatest forward players at the Premier League. The veteran stayed at Aston Villa for almost nine years until he left for Manchester United in 1998. Yorke said goodbye to his playing career at the end of the 2008-09 season and went on to become a football pundit.
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