AV40 - 40th anniversary tribute | Vital Football

AV40 - 40th anniversary tribute

Great memories. Bill Shankly envisaged The Villa as joining the elite on s permanent basis but boardroom infighting, despite the glories of Bayern and Barca led to a long painful decline. Make no mistake,Randy,for all his naievity,was a knight in shining armour.The club was in a real mess after Doug's iron lock led to inertia.
 
In honour of 40 years on....revised and hopefully even better

I still remember it like it was yesterday
40 years on from the trail that they blazed
Paisley, Clough , Robson and all the rest
Would have to fight it out for second best
When we were the best in the land
Soldiers under Saunders' command
Bedecked in my claret and blue
Villa – a team the whole world knew

Opening day victory on the 16th day of August
Away to Leeds who were no match for us
Norwich and Coventry our first games at home
Both of them beaten by a solitary goal
Top end of the table we glowed with pride
But Ipswich were a constant thorn in our side
Bragging rights in October down at St Andrews
A satisfying 2:1 victory over them Blues

It began a sequence of 5 wins on the trot
Till a draw at the Baggies and it came to a stop
Just before Christmas our main city rivals we'd meet
Soundly we beat them as we scored three
Another unbeaten run of 12 games began
Ended in March down at Tottenham
The two horse race for the English Crown
A showdown at Villa with Ipswich Town

They'd already knocked us out of the FA Cup
Those pesky Tractor Boys from Suffolk
A home defeat caused a media circus
“Do you want to bet against us?!!”
At Highbury we made our final stand
Robson's boys with a game in hand
Losing 2:0 but the away fans were cheering
John Motson couldn't believe what he was hearing

A jam packed away end all singing as one
Yippe-ai-ay Yippee-ai-yo Holte Enders in the sun
Spilling onto the pitch as the final whistle blew
That Middlesbro double and we all knew
The lions of Brum roared with all their might
And parties went on into the night
Mission complete a job well done
Villa – League Champions of 80/81

Me walking tall and Villa marched onward
English title winners now Europe to be conquered
Seven past Valur of Iceland who could not compete
Dynamo Berlin would prove harder to beat
Disaster loomed before the quarter final tie
Ron walked out and we all wondered why
But we overcame Kiev back at the Villa
Now Belgium's finest promised a thriller

Just a solitary goal between the 2 sides
And it was Villa who continued the ride
The class of 82 stormed into Rotterdam
The imperious Bayern Munich now before them
From Rimmer in goal to young striker Shaw
Their names now immortalised into Villa folklore
Brian Moore's commentary of that winning goal
Forever in our collectives hearts and soul

I still get a shiver run down my spine
I've replayed that moment for a lifetime
“There's a good ball in for Tony Morley. Oh it must be and it is!!”
In off the post by Peter Withe
Dennis held the trophy in his hands
Officially now the best team in the land
Highs and lows we have seen our fair share
To see glory return and say once more “I was there”
 
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A book by the team of 82 is due out very soon, the launch has been somewhat spoiled by covid really and the plans for a season of events for the 40th.
 
mike_field said:
I was thinking FP as well but hadn't got as far as asking! lol
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If it is starchilds, then hold off until the book is ready, can make a nice promo that will get passed newsnow. I've also got the poem I did for them and there is the preface to the book, that I was privileged enough to be asked to write.
 
yep just came into my head today reading about 40 years ago when we beat Leeds on our way to the league title. Had to find ways to make end words rhyme but all in all maybe 30 mins to jot down. Feel free to share no royalties required lol
 
starchild65 said:
awesome... maybe I should have put my real name to it if it's going to be read by Villa Royalty lol
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feel free to pm me, or if you want your real name when MF front pages, then that works nicely for articles, as opposed to forum posts. Totally up to you. But will send it to them mate.
 
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