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Sir Doug Ellis


Eastie

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https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/aston-villa-watch-sir-doug-10825037

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Sir Doug Ellis’ Aston Villa connections have prompted an act of kindness benefiting a Birmingham hospital.

The former Villa chairman has funded a £250,000 piece of equipment at Queen Elizabeth Hospital after being touched by the plight of Steve Stride’s son.

RIP Deadly

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13 hours ago, mjmooney said:

Like BOF, I'm still biting my tongue... 

You better bite it harder then, as I just read a report that there are "calls" for  Herbert statue to be put up.

From who, I don't know :rolleyes:

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30 minutes ago, TRO said:

This is not the time to be saying this but there was only one Mr Aston Villa imo

William McGregor.

you may be right....but why say it then.....why not wait???

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47 minutes ago, TRO said:

This is not the time to be saying this but there was only one Mr Aston Villa imo

William McGregor.

I think George Ramsey has now been dead for long enough that it's OK to say it, TRO

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1 hour ago, TRO said:

This is not the time to be saying this but there was only one Mr Aston Villa imo

William McGregor.

the media and other teams fans dont tend to write about him much though do they?

i think to almost 2 generations of neutral football fans and journalists he probably is the character synonymous with the club, unfortunately more so than any player or manager which says a lot about us

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'I stayed at his house' Former Aston Villa favourite on why the players loved Sir Doug Ellis

Sir Doug Ellis was popular with the AVFC players

The tributes continue to flood in for Sir Doug Ellis following his death at the age of 94.

England manager Gareth Southgate is the latest to remember the former Aston Villa chairman and owner with affection.

Southgate captained Villa during the late 1990s and has fond memories of when he first joined the club from Crystal Palace, especially how welcoming Ellis was.

"He was a brilliant chairman from a players perspective," he said. "I think slightly hard work for some of the managers but brilliant as a player.

"The day I signed he took me to dinner with Brian Little and then I stayed at his house rather than having to travel back to London. He made me welcome right from the start.

"He was hugely passionate about the club. He was a fantastic custodian for the club.

"When you look at his period in charge, not only were we always competitive in the top six, but the club owned their own fantastic training ground and ground and had no debt when he sold it on."

You can watch Southgate's tribute in the video at the top of this piece.

Dion Dublin's tribute

Did Sir Doug Ellis invent the bicycle kick?

Former Aston Villa striker Dion Dublin has paid a lovely tribute to Sir Doug - and posed the question we've all been asking.

Sir Doug has passed away at the age of 94.

Dublin joined fellow members of the Villa family and the wider footballing world in mourning the loss of the club's former owner.

He took to Twitter to pay his respects and even mentioned Sir Doug's claim to fame.

Sir Doug Ellis factfile

1924: January 3 - Born, Chester.

1968: Ellis, a millionaire from his business in package holidays, takes over as chairman at Aston Villa for the first time.

1970: Sacks manager Tommy Docherty with club struggling at bottom of old Second Division.

1975: Steps down as chairman.

1979: Leaves Villa board.

1982: Returns to Villa - then European champions - as major shareholder and chairman after a brief spell as a director at Wolves.

1987: Villa relegated from old First Division.

1990: Villa finish second in First Division under Graham Taylor; Appoints England's first foreign manager in Jozef Venglos after Taylor takes up England post.

1994: Sacks Ron Atkinson as manager just months after winning League Cup.

1996: Sells shares following Stock Exchange flotation, reducing his stake to from 47% to 39%.

1998: Manager Brian Little resigns.

2002: Undergoes treatment for prostate cancer; Manager John Gregory resigns.

2003: Rejects takeover bid from former Manchester City defender Ray Ranson.

2004: Relinquishes role as chief executive, appointing Bruce Langham.

2005: Awarded OBE for services to football; Undergoes heart bypass surgery; Langham resigns after apparent bust-up with Ellis.

2006: Criticised in a statement to the media purported to have been made by players; Indicates willingness to sell stake in club and instigates takeover talks.

August 14 - Accepts takeover bid from American billionaire Randy Lerner.

September 19 - Sells the club to Lerner and is given the title President Emeritus (Life President).

2013 - Birmingham City University name a sports centre after him.

2015 - Donates more than £1 million to the University of Birmingham School and the Institute of Translational Medicine.

2018: Sir Doug Ellis dies at the age of 94.

During his many years in football Ellis boasted that he had invented the bicycle kick - including telling the story to Dublin on the day he joined from Coventry City in 1998.

Here's what Dublin tweeted: "Mr Chairman Sir! A man that would have undoubtedly bled Claret & Blue. Thank you for the opportunity to play for your GREAT CLUB!! @AVFCOfficial

“Did you really invent the overhead kick ?”

"That’s what he told me, in his office, when I signed haha!

"Rest In Peace my friend."


fghttps://www.birminghammail.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/i-stayed-house-former-aston-15271722

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3 hours ago, rjw63 said:

You better bite it harder then, as I just read a report that there are "calls" for  Herbert statue to be put up.

From who, I don't know :rolleyes:

In place of or as well as the stand that currently bears his name? :o

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Nobody seems to have mentioned that Big Fat Ron is in hospital, and was late in hearing about Doug's demise. 

Talking about the death of his former boss Big Ron said: “The one thing I would say to his credit is that he developed Villa Park very, very well. He had made it into a super stadium and that is his legacy.” 

Either he's a master of sarcasm or he's seriously losing his marbles. 

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A further tribute to Doug from the jack of kent blog

"I date the beginning of the decline to the then manager Martin O’Neill’s dreadful and eternally unforgivable decision to deliberately play an under-strength team in a UEFA cup match in Moscow in 2009. "

http://jackofkent.com/2018/10/a-posthumous-apology-to-sir-doug-ellis/

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27 minutes ago, John said:

In place of or as well as the stand that currently bears his name? :o

I have a feeling we will be left lumbered with his name adorned on the Witton Lane Stand for good now. I guess it must have been early 90's that he gratified it. 

That probably is a fitting reflection of his time at the club though in fairness as he put it there himself which pretty much sums up what owning the club was all about for him.

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12 hours ago, Eastie said:

JG said he decided not to go for Keane and Doug had given him the ok to get him , however Gregory said on watching him again at wolves he found it odd that wolves fans were urging him to buy Keane and it was then that JG decided not to proceed with things .

As a Black Country villan who knows a lot of wolves fans - I can assure you the dingles really idolised Robbie Keane.

i think JG was very cute where Doug was concerned and knew which side his bread was buttered  imo 

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