Ron Saunders Interview - 8th Feb 1982

Bob Hall interviews Ron Saunders, manager of Aston Villa football club, about the change in his contract which he is unhappy about.
Saunders is not happy at the changes made and a recent meeting of the Aston Villa board. He also reveals that there is no money to buy new players.

[@seanmccurry7762]

Ron is still the greatest manager Villa have ever had. When he took over they were in the 2nd Division. By the time he left 7 years later they had won promotion to the first division, won the first division title, 2 league cups and were in the quarter final of the European Cup. Ron Saunders is not just a Villa Legend he is a football legend. RIP Ron. (by the way I am not a Villa supporter).

[@damienabbott9805]

As Tony Morley once pointed out if Ron had stayed on, Villa would have become the team of the 80s. I'm sure if he had finished his career there (as he should have done) they would have become Liverpool's biggest rivals during that period and not Howard Kendall's Everton. By the time Everton had won their fourth and final trophy of that decade, Villa had been relegated and Ron Saunders' managerial career had come to a sad and sorry end with WBA following a turbulent four year spell with Birmingham City.

[@hikerwoody182]

surely the biggest mistake Doug ever made

[@Mellbergfan]

@@hikerwoody182 actually at that time, Doug Ellis wasn't at the club, he left in 1979 and returned 6 months after we won the European Cup

[@hikerwoody182]

@@Mellbergfan interesting, I wonder how things would've changed had he remained because I guess the success between 80-82 was built by Ellis and Saunders

[@paulcarter6146]

That's if the board would have supported him the bendels took the money out for them selves 😢

[@damienabbott9805]

@@paulcarter6146 It is regrettable what happened because Villa have never be the same again. Other big city clubs like Liverpool, Everton, Arsenal, United, Chelsea and City have all won the title multiple times since as well as something in Europe.

[@deejay5224]

It's mind-boggling that after leading us to our first title in over 70 years, he wasnt given the terms he wanted.

[@Macca-rb5ok]

Gross mismanagement from the Villa boardroom - they should have sought fresh investment to deal with the fallout from building of the North Stand. We have paid for their poor stewardship for forty years.

[@lennylaa1686]

I vaguely remember some sort of shenanigans or corruption about the North Stand
project. Something went wrong, what was it?

[@MrSandalwood]

Biggest mistake my uncle ever made