MY ALL-TIME GREAT ASTON VILLA TEAM
When people start arguing discussing their all-tiine sides they (me included) invariably pick only their favourite players and/or players they have actually seen, with maybe the odd big name from the past.

After having given the matter some thought, I decided to try and take an objective approach, with the emphasis on popularity (which rules out Steve Hodge) and commitment to the club; years served, apperances, service after retirement etc (which rules out Steve Hodge again). This is the team I came up with:

Billy Walker
531 apps, 244 goals
Mar'15-Nov'33		 Tom 'Pongo' Waring
226 apps, 167 goals
Feb'28-Nov35
Peter MacParland
341 apps, 120 goals
Aug'52-Jan'62		 Gordon Cowans
527 apps, 59 goals
Jul'74-Jan'94		 Dennis Mortimer
406 apps, 36 goals
Dec'75-Dec'84		 Johnny Dixon
430 apps, 144 goals
Aug'44-May'61
Charlie Aitken
660 apps, 16 goals
Aug'59-May'76		 Allan Evans
474 apps, 62 goals
May'77-Aug'89		 Paul McGrath
233 apps, 7 goals
Jul'89-present		 Tom Smart
452 apps, 8 goals
Jan'20-May34
Nigel Spink
440 apps
Jan'77-present
This adds up to total of 4720 appearances, 863 goals and 146 years playing service.

The above team would average 96 goals a season (compared to last year's total of 46 for us and 80 for the red scum) with Waring highest goalscorer on 30 goals and Walker second on 19. Considering that this is averaged over 8 and 19 years respectively, it's quite remarkable ( © David Coleman).

The number of greats missed out would easily fill a couple of coaches: Joe Bache, John Devey, Harry Hampton, Gerry Hitchens, Eric Houghton, Brian Little, Frank Moss, Gary Shaw, Howard Vaughton and Peter Withe to name but a few.

Some of these haven't made my side because they went to Small Heath, some because they didn't play enough games. I wasn't sure about including Mortimer now he's at the Ollbiyun talking absolute bollocks but I've put that down to advanced senility - it's a sharne when it happens to your heroes.

The. really sad thing about the team is the small number of international caps they got (8 for Sid, 5 for Waring, 4 for Evans etc). Scandalous, but it partly explains why England have only won one World Cup and the other home nations sod all.

I'm only old enough to have actually seen half of the team play, but I think the side is beyond dispute (an open invitation for everyone to argue about it). Centegenarians may argue that James Cowan (356 appearances between 1889 and 1902) should play instead of Macca but they can sod off. Macca is God and will always be in my side.

John Griffiths
Taken From Issue 31