Picking the Greatest Aston Villa Player of Every Decade Since 1930
Aston Villa are a club steeped in history and tradition.
The Midlands club were a founding member of the Football League and have a long list of successes—league titles, FA Cups, League Cups and even a European Cup amongst them.
Despite a lack of recent success—not to mention the turmoil they have had to endure—Villa are still one of the most revered sides in English football and have showcased some of the sport's finest talent over the years.
So here we'll look at Aston Villa's greatest player of each decade since 1930.
1930s: Eric Houghton
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Eric Houghton joined Aston Villa in 1927 and enjoyed a career that spanned more than two decades with the claret and blues.
An impressive debut season that consisted of 12 goals in the top flight, Villa's frontman netted 30 during the following campaign—contributing to his side's league record of 128 goals.
Houghton's greatest asset was his ability to hit the ball tremendously hard, particularly from set plays. The Lincolnshire-born forward converted almost 80 penalties during his time with the club before leaving for Notts County in 1946.
Houghton returned to Villa seven years later, however, guiding the team to their 1957 FA Cup win over Manchester United.
His status as a club legend was confirmed some years later when he was made an ambassador—a role which he executed with the same passion and commitment as he had done during his playing and managerial days.
1940s: Johnny Dixon
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Although Johnny Dixon's greatest triumph with Villa came in the following decade as he lifted the FA Cup as captain, the forward was undoubtedly the club's finest player of the 1940s.
Starting in rather strange circumstances as he wrote to Villa for a trial simply because he liked their name, Dixon was offered the chance to play during the war in 1944.
Scoring his first goal in April 1946, Dixon established himself as a regular in the Villa line-up with three goals in five games.
The popular Geordie achieved many things during his time in the Midlands; he finished the season as Villa's leading scorer on four separate occasions, helped the club regain top-flight status and, of course, lifted the FA Cup trophy in 1957.
Dixon turned out 430 times for Villa, scoring 144 goals before retiring in 1961.
1950s: Peter McParland
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Peter McParland joined Villa in 1952 from little-known Irish side Dundalk. The teenager made an instant impact at the club and became a prolific goalscorer—equally comfortable on the wing or playing as a centre forward.
McParland helped Villa secure the Second Division title during the 1959/60 season and scored an extra-time winner as the claret and blues lifted the inaugural League Cup in 1961.
The Northern Irishman spent 10 years with Villa, scoring 121 goals in 341 appearances, but will always be remembered for the role he played in Villa's 1957 FA Cup triumph over Manchester United.
Not only did McParland clash with United goalkeeper Ray Wood in the 10th minute of the match—which left the stopper with a broken jaw—but he also scored two second-half goals as Villa ousted the hot favourites in a 2-1 victory.
1960s: Charlie Aitken
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Charlie Aitken first pulled on the Villa shirt on the day that Johnny Dixon played his final game. Never would have anyone predicted on that day that Aitken would not only surpass the amount of games Dixon played but also go on to set the record for Villa appearances.
The Scottish international joined Villa in 1959 but had to wait until the 1960/61 season to make his debut—an opportunity which he took with both hands.
Establishing a spot as Villa's regular left-back, Aitken played in all three divisions as well as the FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup and Charity Shield.
In a career that spanned more than 17 seasons, Aitken featured for Villa 660 times—a record that will surely never be beaten.
1970s: Brian Little
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Villa entered the 1970s in the third tier of English football after a dismal end to the previous decade. It took the claret and blues five years to return to the first division in what was a pretty forgettable couple of years for the Midlands club, though they did enjoy some success along the way.
Whilst gradually making their way through the leagues, Villa were able to lift the League Cup in 1975 and 1977—and Brian Little was a key figure on both occasions.
The former forward joined the claret and blues as an apprentice in 1969 and progressed through the ranks. Little guided Villa to FA Youth Cup success in 1972 and went on to claim a number of other trophies—the two aforementioned League Cups, of which he scored twice against Everton in '77, as well as the Second Division title in 1974/75.
Little was forced into early retirement through injury following the 1980/81 season, though he later returned as Villa manager.
1980s: Dennis Mortimer
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Villa enjoyed tremendous success during the 1980s, winning their first league title in more than 70 years before going on to be crowned European champions as well as UEFA Super Cup champions.
Quite possibly the most successful era in the club's history, the 1980s saw a host of tremendous players pull on the famous claret and blue strip.
The likes of Gary Williams, Gordon "Sid" Cowans, Allan Evans, Nigel Spink and Peter Withe could all be considered as Villa's greatest player of that particular decade, but one man deserves it more than most, purely for guiding Villa to European cup glory: Dennis Mortimer.
"Sir Dennis," as he was later known, joined Villa in 1975 and was made captain two years later following stellar performances in the centre of Villa's midfield.
The Liverpool-born star donned the armband during Villa's League Championship winning 1980/81 season before eclipsing that feat by leading Villa in their quest to be crowned champions of Europe the following year.
Mortimer captained the side during the memorable 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in Rotterdam on May 26, 1982.
1990s: Paul McGrath
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Villa were fortunate to have great players such as Tony Daley, Dwight Yorke, Dalian Atkinson and Steve Staunton, amongst others, play for them during the 1990s. However, there really is only one player who can be considered as Villa's greatest player of the decade: Paul McGrath.
The Republic of Ireland international was bought from Manchester United and instantly became a hit with Villa fans. Affectionately referred to as "God," McGrath—who battled crippling injuries as well as a debilitating addiction to alcohol during his playing career—is regarded as one of the greatest defenders in Premier League history.
McGrath helped Villa to claim the 1994 League Cup trophy and was unfortunate as his side finished second to Manchester United in the inaugural Premier League campaign.
He left the club in 1996 after making 322 appearances, though his name is still sung during each and every home game to this very day.
2000s: Olof Mellberg
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Swedish defender Olof Mellberg has a spot reserved in the hearts of each and every Villa fan—especially the 3,200 who made the trip to Upton Park for his last-ever game.
"The Viking" arranged for the travelling fans to be presented with a a replica shirt as a parting gift before he headed off to Italian giants Juventus.
Mellberg arrived from Racing Santander for a fee of £5.6 million in 2001 and, after a tremendous debut performance in Villa's 0-0 draw with Tottenham, proved to be a supreme figure in the heart of the claret and blues defence.
John Gregory inexplicably dropped the Swede for Villa's opening-day defeat to newly-promoted Portsmouth during the 2003/04 season but soon realised the error of his ways—reinstating Mellberg and handing him the captain's armband.
The centre-half performed with class, determination and utter professionalism throughout his Villa career—even after signing a pre-contract agreement with Juventus—and will be fondly remembered for his efforts with the club.
2010s: Stiliyan Petrov
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Christian Benteke could prove to be Villa's player of this decade should he stay with the club, but for now I'm going to give the award to Stiliyan Petrov.
The Bulgarian joined Villa from Celtic in 2006 after guiding the Hoops to numerous Scottish League and Cup triumphs but struggled to settle into the Premier League initially.
The ever-professional Petrov persevered, however, and took each opportunity he was given—eventually proving to be a real asset to the club.
His grit and determination saw him rewarded with the captain's armband in 2009, something which he kept until he was forced out of the game in 2012 after being diagnosed with acute leukaemia.
The midfielder retired in 2013 but has since been given the all-clear following his successful battle with the disease.
A real warrior on the pitch and perfect gentleman off it, "Stan" will remain a Villa legend.
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