Doug’s passing a sad day for Villa – but Dean offers hope for future
MY two main opinions this week: Dean Smith and John Terry are the right combination for Aston Villa. Happy days ahead!
But sadness on the passing of Villa president and former chairman/owner Sir Doug Ellis.
He may now be appreciated more in passing than he was when hundreds of Villa fans carried cards with ‘ELLIS OUT’ some years ago. What did they know?
Some of the things that have occurred since would not have happened on his watch ....
Last week I re-wrote my column (the Sports Editor is my only witness) – the first one submitted stated ‘forget the big names, Dean Smith is my choice.’
Then a club source told me that Thierry Henry and John Terry were first choice. So I unwisely changed it only for Monsieur Henry to take up an offer from French club Monaco.
I gave Terry more chance after last season in the Championship than Henry. So I kicked myself afterwards!
The appointment of Smith is better for both Villa and Terry, who will benefit from this experience.
Smith has done his time with Walsall and Brentford, knows this league and is ready for this big job with huge expectations from arguably the most fickle fans in the West Midlands.
Their support in numbers is to be applauded and they are loyal... but they are short on patience at times.
The club are a long way off competing with the Premier League elite.
They may have to wait another season even being in the same league.
Since Ellis left (he appointed Martin O’Neill), Villa have since had eight managers in eight years under three different owners!
Maybe it’s time for the club and supporters to calm down, show consistency and patience.
The announcement of Smith’s appointment came less that 24 hours before Sir Doug passed away peacefully in his sleep at 1.30am. His supportive wife Heidi and loyal PA Marion Stringer were with him.
The previous lunchtime he had shared a gin and tonic with his great close friend Andre Parsons, who used to drive Sir Doug in the president’s Rolls-Royce to Villa matches where I would sometimes join them in the directors’ box. In his latter years Doug was frail and struggling to walk unaided but, as they say, he still had his marbles. He still had a mental sharpness and pulled me up on a couple of minor things recently! It gave me great pleasure in recent years to see many Villa supporters asking him for an autograph and a selfie. At last some of the detractors realised what they had, at times, been missing.
He made some mistakes, like all of us, but he got many things right for Villa including both the ground and training ground and property around Villa Park.
He missed out on the league title and European Cup but at least give him credit for appointing Ron Saunders who I would claim was the best manager in Villa’s history.
Sir Doug had two long spells as chairman and appointed 13 managers (and sacked them all, although Graham Taylor on his first spell left to become England manager).
Actually by today’s standards and bearing in mind Villa’s recent record, Sir Doug hardly warranted the nickname Deadly. Mind you, it’s time to put the record straight on how he got it from Jimmy Greaves. Deadly did change the history on this moniker a bit.
I sent Jimmy up to Scotland for The Greaves Report with Doug salmon fishing.
It is true that Jimmy called the chairman ‘Deadly’ when he watched him kill a salmon on a stone. But that is NOT where it originated. I know because I was in the live Central TV studio on a Friday night when Jimmy first called him Deadly Doug because of his reputation of sacking managers.
Not that it really matters. Anyway, Jimmy and Doug were very fond of each other and the fishing was a fun item.
Sir Doug knew his football and would not be panicked into sacking a manager but he did like to make a keynote signing at times either to boost season ticket sales or to appease the crowd on that front.
Our friendship began shortly after my arrival as the new ATV sports presenter. He gave me the exclusive story and interview on ATV Today about the sacking of Vic Crowe as manager.
It was the start of a 46-year friendship. I will certainly miss him.
This was shortly after I moved up from Plymouth and Westward ITV. When the local wonder schoolboy Trevor Francis was 14, he gave me his first live interview in the studio. I was 23. Not sure who was more nervous!
I followed him to Birmingham and we have been great friends ever since.
So I was delighted to present him with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Birmingham Sports Awards in Edgbaston.
November will bring another big football name at the Coventry Sports Awards.
My valued number two at ITV Central for many years, Jeff Farmer, has sadly passed away, 24 hours after Sir Doug Ellis.
Jeff, who was 78, was also head of ITV football and a director of WBA.
Tributes were paid by ITV Racing and Gareth Southgate after the Croatia-England match.