Obituary Thread

[IndoMike]

Bob Willis took more than 300 Test wickets. He was very much his own man and didn't stand any cr+p.
His bowling at Headingley, when everyone had given up, was a miracle.
Very sad to hear he's passed.
PS. Unfortunately Bob was another victim of prostate cancer. Get that PSA test done, friends . Apparently it's not conclusive, but it's certainly a guide.

 

[STURTZ]

Met Bob Willis once, in The Trip to Jerusalem in Nottingham after seeing England beat the West Indies at Trent Bridge, slightly dour but a fantastic professional. Loved Bob Dylan, top man.

 

[Hants_red]

Ron Saunders. Former manager of Aston Villa.

 

[Oldsmobile-88]

Ron Saunders. Former manager of Aston Villa (and their manager when they visited in the FA Cup in 1994).

That was Ron Atkinson on that occasion Hants.
Ron Saunders was manager when Villa played at SJP in the League Cup in 1977.

A tough old school manager of that era who guided Aston Villa to a unlikely League Title in 1981.
His team( he left mid season the next year after a row with the chairman) won the European Cup the next season.

 

[Stelios]

That was Ron Atkinson on that occasion Hants.
Ron Saunders was manager when Villa played at SJP in the League Cup in 1977.

A tough old school manager of that era who guided Aston Villa to a unlikely League Title in 1981.
His team( he left mid season the next year after a row with the chairman) won the European Cup the next season.

We always hear loads about the great Celtic, Man U, Liverpool and Forrest sides winning the European Cup in the 60s, 70s and 80s but for some reason hardly anything about Villa. I don't think I've ever seen a clip of that side on TV. I couldn't name a single player.

 

[haka]

It's the classic European Cup (Champions League) trivia question: "Name the English managers who have won it."

Presses buzzer ... "Brian Clough, Bob Paisley ... um, Joe Fagan?"
Quizmaster: "Correct!"
Guy at the back: "Hang on ... "

Maybe because Tony Barton died young, before reunions and nostalgia TV became a mini-industry. Ron Saunders missed out, of course.

 

[Rosencrantz]

We always hear loads about the great Celtic, Man U, Liverpool and Forrest sides winning the European Cup in the 60s, 70s and 80s but for some reason hardly anything about Villa. I don't think I've ever seen a clip of that side on TV. I couldn't name a single player.

I was only a kid and can only just remember but Tony Morley was some winger who seemed to fade away quickly (was it injury?). Gary Shaw's promising career was cut short due to injury. They had a lot of very sound players who as a team were more than their parts. Players like Cowans, Withe and Mortimer stand out in my memory.

 

[Oldsmobile-88]

We always hear loads about the great Celtic, Man U, Liverpool and Forrest sides winning the European Cup in the 60s, 70s and 80s but for some reason hardly anything about Villa. I don't think I've ever seen a clip of that side on TV. I couldn't name a single player.

Without checking..Withe,Shaw,Mortimer,is all I can recall off the top of my head.
A great TV programme knocking about on ITV 4.When England ruled Europe.There is a good section on Villa around that era.
Ron Saunders was as much a character as Clough with some of his quotes,in a dour way.

 

[Billy The Fish]

Kenny Swain ?

 

[haka]

The most memorable player in the final was Nigel Spink. Subbing off the keeper right at the start ended Villa's chances, or so it seemed.

(Nothing else was memorable, TBH).