The Bells Are Ringing


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The Bells Are Ringing


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Celebrating 140 years

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Post by Trotters Fri Nov 21, 2014 1:55 pm




Let's keep this thread positive. :)
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Post by Villa_Dan Fri Nov 21, 2014 2:08 pm

That's a cracking video.

Highs and lows come and go, we'll rise again. It might not happen as quick as we like and we might suffer a few more shit seasons but the winds will change and we'll all soon forget the troubles of the last 4 years. Good times will come back and the fans will be there waiting. Keep the faith!!
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Post by Green Villan Fri Nov 21, 2014 2:36 pm

I think it's right to mention Villa's best manager.

Celebrating 140 years George.B.Ramsay

George Burrell Ramsay (1 March 1855 in Glasgow, Scotland – 7 October 1935 in Llandrindod Wells) was secretary/manager of Aston Villa Football Club in the most successful period of their history. His record of six League Championships is second only to Sir Alex Ferguson and his record of six FA Cup victories as manager is still standing.

Ramsay later described the newly formed club's approach to the game as 'a dash at the man and a big kick at the ball'. Ramsay was a gifted footballer, and amazed the players with his dribbling and control that day, so much so that he was persuaded to join them and was quickly made captain of the team. Soon people were coming to Villa matches just see him. He also took charge of training which saw dramatic improvement that showed in the results, introducing what was known as the "passing game". This had become the main style of play in Scotland whereas in England most teams relied on what was known as the "dribbling game".

In addition to the introduction of a radical change in playing style, Ramsay, along with John Linsay discovered the Wellington Road ground at Perry Barr in 1876, which meant the club was able to charge admission for the first time. He was also responsible for the recruitment of Villa legend Archie Hunter. Hunter later recounted the story in his 1890 memoir Triumphs of the Football Field.
“ Aston Villa to me as a club that had come rapidly to the fore and asked me to become a member of it. I hesitated for some time, but at last my friend told me that a "brother Scot," Mr. George Ramsay, was the Villa captain and that decided me. Mr. Ramsay was a Glasgow man and had exerted himself very considerably to bring the Villa team into the front rank. ”

—Archie Hunter, Triumphs of the Football Field

Celebrating 140 years 200px-AVilla1899
The hugely successful team Ramsay assembled at the end of the 19th Century. Ramsay can be seen standing on the far left of the back row.


Villa played at Perry Barr until 1897 when the club moved to the Aston Lower Grounds, next to Aston Hall, which later became known as Villa Park. Club folklore has it that Ramsay was the first man to kick a ball at Villa Park.

Villa gradually improved under his guidance which culminated in Villa winning their first trophy, The Birmingham Senior Cup, in 1880, with Ramsay as captain. Ramsay retired from playing in June 1882, but remained at the club as Secretary from 1884–1926. This position pre-dates the modern role of a football manager, which meant that Ramsay was responsible for the team. His duties not only involved looking after the players but also included controlling recruitment and transfers, supported by a specialist trainer. Although the team was selected by the Committee each week, which consisted of such figures as William McGregor and Fred Rinder. He held this position for a remarkable 42 years, in which time Villa won the Football League and FA Cup 6 times each, establishing themselves as the premier football club in England.

In 1926, at the age of 71, Ramsay retired as Secretary and became honorary advisor and a vice-president of the Club. His replacement W. J. Smith was unable to continue Ramsay's success, although the club did finish runners-up in the league twice under his guidance. In 1934 Smith stood down and the club decided to appoint its first manager, Jimmy McMullan. The following year Ramsay died at the age of 80. Within a year of his death the Midlands giants were relegated, an unthinkable notion in the Ramsay era.

In all Ramsay's association with the football club lasted 59 years, a time which will always be known as Aston Villa's 'Golden Age'. Ramsay was laid to rest at St. Mary's Church, Handsworth, his gravestone reads "Founder of Aston Villa".

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Ramsay
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Post by villabromsgrove Fri Nov 21, 2014 2:52 pm

Superb video. I'm in my sixth decade as a Villa supporter. Remembering the highs allows you to get through the lows, however,when the lows are self inflicted it gets more difficult to bear.

At a time when football has become an ultra professional big business, Villa still remind me of the way clubs used to behave like a bunch of amateurs with their "corner shop" style operations. Looking back over 140 years of Villa history is heart warming, looking forward ten years to our 150th anniversary is heart stopping given our current old fashioned way of doing things.

I love the Villa and I want to be able to celebrate being a Villa fan. I want to enjoy the Villa experience again.

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Post by kimbo Fri Nov 21, 2014 5:02 pm

It's a great video. It's a wonderful club and I love it more than I love most people.

My first match was October 22nd 1988. We beat Everton 2-0, Tony Daley and David Platt scored. I was completely and utterly in love with Aston Villa.

It's not just the likes of absolutely wonderful footballers like Cowans, McGrath, Yorke etc that I've loved; it's the you-can-only-appreciate-them-if-they-play-for-you players - the likes of Chris Price, Alan Wright, Tommy Johnson.

I loved learning about our history when I was little; I watched videos and read books about the 80-82 team, the League Cup wins in the 70's, Brian Little and Andy Gray, us fighting back from the third division, how we began, how we were pioneers, Billy Walker, Gerry Hitchens, Pongo Waring, Peter McParland smashing the Man U keeper in '57... learning that my great-great uncle Walter played for the Villa was a particular proud one.

I loved walking up to Villa Park, seeing the beautiful old Trinity Road stand. I loved hearing the Holte sing and mock the away fans as they sang themselves. I loved that Aston wasn't that far from Castle Vale where I lived; it was local pride and I never understood the glory hunting kids that supported Liverpool or Man U - though I can guarantee their Dad's were always a Bluenose. Every. Single. Time!

Everything about Aston Villa was a massive deal to me, even the minor details; for example I was always of the belief - and still am - that we have the best name of any team, and that our colours are beautiful.

My first hero was Alan McInally, but there were so many more to come. From the likes of Cowans, Platt, Spink and Daley all in the same team, to McGrath and Nielsen, to that wonderful Big Ron team full of experienced winners and leaders that played beautiful football - to this day the most exciting sight I've seen at Villa Park is still Dalian Atkinson running full pelt at the opposition - and even though that remains the best team I've seen, there were plenty of cracking players and good times under Little, Gregory, MON...

If there is one thing I have learnt it is that life as a Villa fan has been pretty darn cyclical, and while right now this is the worst I have known it, I can't help but believe that it will get better again.
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Post by Green Villan Fri Nov 21, 2014 7:39 pm

We can't leave this bloke out,

Celebrating 140 years Mcgregor

William McGregor (13 April 1846 – 20 December 1911) was an association football administrator in the Victorian era who is regarded as the founder of the Football League, the first organised association football league in the world.

After moving from Perthshire to Birmingham to set up business as a draper, McGregor became involved with local football club Aston Villa, which he helped to establish as one of the leading teams in England. He served the club for over 20 years in various capacities, including president, director and chairman. In 1888, frustrated by the regular cancellation of Villa's matches, McGregor organised a meeting of representatives of England's leading clubs, which led to the formation of the Football League, giving member clubs a guaranteed fixture list each season. This was instrumental in the transition of football from an amateur pastime to a professional business.

McGregor served as both chairman and president of the Football League and was also chairman of The Football Association (the FA). He was recognised by the FA for his service to the game shortly before his death in 1911, and was posthumously honoured by the local football authorities and Aston Villa.

Personal life

Born in Braco in Perthshire, Scotland, McGregor first became interested in football after watching a match between locals and visiting artisans at Ardoch. He served an apprenticeship as a draper in Perth, and in 1870, following the example of his brother Peter, moved to Birmingham and opened his own drapery business in Aston, an area just outside the city. Upon his arrival in the English Midlands he became involved with a local football club, Calthorpe, which had been formed by a fellow Scot, Campbell Orr. McGregor was enthusiastic enough about the game to arrange for his shop to close early on Saturdays to allow him to watch matches, and he later sold football kits at the shop, which became a popular meeting place for football enthusiasts.

McGregor was married to Jessie, and the couple had a daughter and a son, also named Jessie and William. A teetotaller, McGregor was a supporter of the Temperance movement, and was active in the local branch of the Liberal Party until his membership lapsed in 1882 due to the increasing amount of time he devoted to football. He was involved in the early attempts to establish a baseball league in the United Kingdom, and served as the honorary treasurer of the Baseball Association of Great Britain and Ireland. Despite his commitment to sport, he held desperately on to his drapery business throughout his life.

McGregor was a committed Christian who was widely respected for his honesty and integrity. He worshipped for forty years at the Congregational church in Wheeler Street, Aston. His pastor, the Revd. W.G. Percival said that the best thing about him "was not so much the genial, kindly, honest sportsman, but the Christian behind it all". He described him as "a man of absolutely unblemished personal character".

Association with Aston Villa

In 1877, McGregor was invited to become a committee member of Aston Villa, a football club formed three years earlier. He also umpired matches for the club. At the time the club played at Aston Park, close to the premises of McGregor's business. He became interested in joining Villa due to the strong Scottish contingent in the club's ranks, the team's exciting style of play and the club's connection to a Wesleyan Chapel. He quickly assumed the post of club administrator helping the impecunious club to survive its financial troubles. After some of Aston Villa's possessions were seized by bailiffs, McGregor allowed the club to use his shop as a store to prevent further seizures. Under McGregor's leadership, Aston Villa won their first trophy, the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1880 shortly after which McGregor became the club's president.

The following year McGregor became a member of the club's board of directors. Villa's standing within the game continued to grow, and in 1887 the club became the first from the Midlands to win the FA Cup, defeating local rivals West Bromwich Albion in the final. In 1895, McGregor became vice-chairman, and went on to become the club's chairman in 1897. During his time at the club he was noted for his organisational skills and ambition and was responsible for adopting the lion rampant depicted on the Royal Standard of Scotland as the club's crest.

Founder of the Football League

As the 1880s progressed, the balance of power within English football began to change. The first national competition, the FA Cup had previously been dominated by amateur clubs from privileged backgrounds, such as Wanderers and Old Etonians. However the 1883 FA Cup Final saw the first victory by a working-class team, Blackburn Olympic. At this time professionalism was not permitted. Clubs from urban areas in the north were strong advocates of the practice, but the southern amateur teams and the FA authorities were firmly opposed. Though not initially an advocate of professionalism, McGregor came to favour its introduction. By 1885 the issue threatened to split the FA when a group of clubs, predominantly from Lancashire, announced their intention to leave and form a rival British Football Association if professionalism was not accepted. An emergency FA conference was called in response. Representing Aston Villa, McGregor spoke in favour of professionalism, the only delegate from the Midlands to do so, and was one of the few delegates to admit that his club had been paying players. Though not as outspoken as stronger proponents, such as Preston North End's William Sudell, McGregor was well respected. The conference ended with the FA accepting professionalism, although each club was permitted only to pay players who had been born or lived for at least two years within six miles of its home stadium.

Professionalism brought fresh complications for club administrators. Many friendlies were cancelled due to opponents' FA Cup or county cup matches taking precedence or clubs simply failing to honour a fixture in favour of a more lucrative match elsewhere. This made it hard for the clubs to pay players' wages on a regular basis. McGregor took action after seeing Villa matches cancelled, to the increasing frustration of the club's fans, on five consecutive Saturdays. On 2 March 1888 he wrote to the committee of his own club Aston Villa as well as to those of Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End and West Bromwich Albion suggesting the creation of a league competition that would provide a number of guaranteed fixtures for its member clubs each season. Corinthian F.C. founder N. Lane Jackson, writing in 1899, stated that McGregor took his inspiration from the existing league set-up used in American baseball, although McGregor himself cited the County Cricket Championship as his inspiration.

McGregor's letter to the clubs read:

Every year it is becoming more and more difficult for football clubs of any standing to meet their friendly engagements and even arrange friendly matches. The consequence is that at the last moment, through cup-tie interference, clubs are compelled to take on teams who will not attract the public.

I beg to tender the following suggestion as a means of getting over the difficulty: that ten or twelve of the most prominent clubs in England combine to arrange home-and-away fixtures each season, the said fixtures to be arranged at a friendly conference about the same time as the International Conference.
This combination might be known as the Association Football Union, and could be managed by representative from each club. Of course, this is in no way to interfere with the National Association; even the suggested matches might be played under cup-tie rules. However, this is a detail.
My object in writing to you at present is merely to draw your attention to the subject, and to suggest a friendly conference to discuss the matter more fully. I would take it as a favour if you would kindly think the matter over, and make whatever suggestions you deem necessary. I am only writing to the following – Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Preston North End, West Bromwich Albion, and Aston Villa, and would like to hear what other clubs you would suggest.
I am, yours very truly, William McGregor (Aston Villa F.C.)
P.S. How would Friday, 23 March 1888, suit for the friendly conference at Anderton's Hotel, London?


McGregor chose 23 March as the date of his proposed meeting because it was the day before the FA Cup final and representatives of the country's top clubs would be in London. Representatives from ten clubs attended, including the FA Cup finalists West Bromwich Albion and Preston North End but it quickly became clear that clubs from the South of England were not interested in McGregor's proposal and none attended. A second meeting was held in Manchester on 17 April, and details concerning the new competition were finalised. McGregor's suggested name for the competition, "The Association Football Union" was rejected as too similar to that of the Rugby Football Union and "The Football League" was chosen, despite McGregor's opposition on the grounds that he felt it might invoke associations with the unpopular Irish Land League. The term English League was avoided, to leave the possibility of future applications from Scottish clubs. McGregor also proposed a rule that only one club from each town should be included. The other founders agreed to this rule, which caused controversy, as it meant Birmingham team Mitchell St. George's were denied membership in favour of McGregor's Aston Villa. Twelve clubs kicked off the first season of League football in September 1888.

McGregor served as the first chairman of the League's Management Committee. One of the committee's main jobs was handling issues of discipline but committee members were not barred from involvement in decisions involving their own clubs. In fact the first disciplinary meeting saw fines issued to three of the four clubs with representatives on the committee. McGregor was re-elected unopposed in 1891. Earlier he had spoken of his pleasure that "of the 132 matches in which the League clubs have taken part and in which about 300 players have taken the field, not a single fatal accident has to be recorded". A year later he oversaw the expansion of the Football League into two divisions when the rival Football Alliance was merged into the competition, but he relinquished his post later that year due to ill health, which caused him to miss meetings.

Celebrating 140 years JJBentley
John Bentley, McGregor's successor as Football League president, criticised McGregor for his failure to attend many meetings during his later spell as League president

After stepping down as chairman, he was unanimously elected to an honorary position of president, a role he kept until 1894, and was named the first-ever life member of the League in 1895. The role was that of a figurehead with little actual authority, but he was used as a mediator to resolve league disagreements. In the second half of the decade McGregor's failure to attend many committee meetings led to criticism from John Bentley, his successor as president. Bentley's criticism achieved the desired effect, from 1899 until his health deteriorated in 1910, McGregor seldom missed a meeting. During this period McGregor was noted for his reserved nature. He was silent for large parts of committee meetings, but would contribute enthusiastically on the occasions he felt his input was necessary.

Other football activities

Between 1888 and 1894 McGregor also served as chairman of The Football Association (the FA), English football's overall governing body, which had existed since 1863.[2] He became known as a football celebrity, writing a weekly column for the Birmingham Gazette and endorsing products such as footballs and a type of football boot which the manufacturer billed as the "McGregor lace-to-toe boot". Though he held many different administrative posts in his lifetime, McGregor never played the sport competitively, his only on-pitch involvement was occasional goalkeeping during Aston Villa practices in the 1870s.

Death and legacy

Celebrating 140 years 170px-Statue_of_William_McGregor_outside_Villa_Park2
The statue of McGregor outside Villa Park

Although McGregor envisaged the League as a friendly union, within which clubs would share ticket revenues and work together in their mutual best interests, the immediate effect of its creation was that football came to be treated as a business for the first time, as opposed to something that players and officials simply regarded as a pastime. All the clubs involved experienced significant increases in their turnover, which at Aston Villa, McGregor's own club, increased more than sixfold between 1889 and 1899. The wages paid to players, however, remained low due to restrictions imposed by the FA, so clubs were able to use their increased profitability to build larger stadiums and accommodate ever larger crowds of spectators. Although the League initially contained a small number of clubs, all of which were based in the northern half of the country, by the early years of the twentieth century it included clubs from all parts of England. At its peak nearly 100 clubs played in the Football League, and it remained the pre-eminent competition in English football until the 1990s, when the top clubs broke away to form the Premier League. In keeping with McGregor's views on mutual support and co-operation gate receipts were shared amongst the clubs until the 1980s, which helped to ensure that a select few wealthy clubs were not able to dominate the competition. McGregor himself had little interest in the business aspect of football, and was adamant that the Football League should not challenge the longstanding authority of the FA. The success of the Football League directly inspired the creation of similar competitions in other countries, beginning with Scotland, where the Scottish Football League was formed in 1890.

In May 1910, McGregor was taken ill and later confined to a nursing home. His condition worsened towards the end of 1911. His last public appearance was a committee meeting on 4 December and he underwent an operation on 19 December. However, after a brief improvement in his condition he relapsed and died the following day. Although a devout Congregationalist he is buried in the grounds of a Church of England church, St. Mary's, in the Handsworth district of Birmingham, alongside his wife, who died in 1908. McGregor is remembered as the "father of The Football League", an Aston Villa legend and a legend of football in general.

Shortly before his death, the FA presented McGregor, who was at that time a vice-president of the association, with a long service medal. After his death, Aston Villa dedicated a bed in the children's ward of one of Birmingham's hospitals in his honour and the Birmingham County Football Association unveiled a commemorative drinking fountain which is now preserved at Villa Park, current home of his former club. In the modern era Aston Villa selected him as one of the twelve inaugural members of its Hall of Fame and named a hospitality suite at Villa Park after him. In 2008, the Aston Villa Supporters' Trust announced plans to further honour him with a bronze statue outside the stadium. The statue, by sculptor Sam Holland, is displayed outside the Directors' Entrance of the Trinity Road Stand, and was unveiled on 28 November 2009. The Trust also raised £1,000 to restore and rededicate McGregor's grave in 2011.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_McGregor_%28football%29
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