Birmingham is probably best known for the Peaky Blinders and Aston Villa FC. And today, we’re going to look back through the history of Aston Villa, one of the founding members of the Football League.
With a long history comes a long list of players that have donned the famous claret and blue jersey of Aston Villa, and some of these players became club legends.
Current Villa manager Steven Gerrard, a man well used to winning, is hoping that the current crop of players can finally put Aston Villa at the top of English soccer once again.
Let’s look at the 9 best Aston Villa players of all time, players whose legacies live on in Birmingham, players who the fans remember fondly as true Villa greats.
9. Johnny Dixon
Embed from Getty Images- Position: Second Striker
| Games | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 437 | 144 | N/A |
Playing your entire professional career for one club is quite an achievement. It’s a statement of loyalty and something that fans warm to.
A loyal player will be forgiven anything; a bad day in front of goal, a sending-off, all will be ignored. Johnny Dixon is a perfect example of the one-club man, playing for Aston Villa for his entire 16-year career.
In the classic Inside-Forward position, Dixon scored a very respectable 132 goals in 392 league games and was a member of the 1957 Villa team that lifted the FA Cup.
Spending all but one of his 16 years as a player in the top division of English soccer, Dixon can’t be left off any Aston Villa list, not just for his loyalty but for his goalscoring abilities.
8. Dwight Yorke
Embed from Getty Images- Position: Centre-Forward
| Games | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 238 | 77 | 13 |
Arguably the greatest soccer player Trinidad And Tobago have ever produced, Dwight Yorke owes his career to Aston Villa.
Legendary manager Graham Taylor, the club’s manager at the time, spotted the young Yorke while the club was in Trinidad on a pre-season tour. The then 17-year-old Yorke impressed during a friendly and was promptly signed for Aston Villa.
Yorke played for Aston Villa for eight seasons and quickly earned a reputation as one of the best strikers in the Premier League. In 238 league appearances, Yorke scored 77 goals, though that doesn’t tell the whole story.
An integral player for the club, Yorke helped the Villans lift the 1996 League Cup, and the exuberant striker became a fan favorite.
Dwight Yorke led the line for Aston Villa until 1998 when an acrimonious transfer to Manchester United left a bitter taste in the mouth of Villa fans.
After the Manchester club enquired about the striker’s availability, Aston Villa understandably refused to sell. Still, when Yorke stepped out for the first game of the new season, it became clear he had downed tools.
Forced into selling their best player, Aston Villa recouped over £12.6 million, a considerable sum at the time.
Yorke couldn’t have timed his move any better, as Manchester United went on to win a historic treble that season; with Yorke partnering with Andy Cole up front, United won the League, FA Cup, and Champions League.
7. Gabriel Agbonlahor
Embed from Getty Images- Position: Centre-Forward
| Games | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 391 | 86 | 60 |
Birmingham born and bred, Gabby Agbonlahor spent 13 years at his boyhood club, becoming one of its longest-serving players. Agbonlahor played for Aston Villa 391 times and is the club’s leading Premier League goalscorer.
Capable of playing both as a right winger and center forward, Agbonlahor was a pacy, versatile player, able to shoot from long distances as well as arriving late into the penalty box.
A crowd favorite at Villa Park, Agbonlahor was nevertheless often blamed when the club hit lean spells; despite being the club’s leading scorer, Agbonlahor often had long periods without a goal.
The Birmingham-born player was loyal to his boyhood club and consistent enough as a player that he was rewarded with several long-term contracts. Agbonlahor retired at the relatively young age of 32.
Still, for his long spell with Aston Villa and his goalscoring feats in keeping the club in the Premier League, he deserves his place on our list of greatest Aston Villa players.
6. Stiliyan Petrov
Embed from Getty Images- Position: Central Midfield
| Games | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 219 | 17 | 12 |
Bulgarian legend Stiliyan Petrov moved to Aston Villa in 2006, following his former Celtic manager, Martin O’Neill, and eventually became the club captain.
Petrov was incredibly successful in Scotland, winning four league titles with Celtic, three Scottish Cups, and three Scottish League Cups. Petrov is also the most-capped Bulgarian soccer player ever.
His move to Aston Villa to follow O’Neill quickly paid dividends, as the player became an integral part of the midfield.
By 2008 Petrov had become the club captain, a role in which he seemed to excel, as he was the supporter’s “Player of the Year” and the player’s “Player of the Year”. Respected by players and fans alike, the Bulgarian had integrated into the Premier League well.
Stiliyan Petrov was diagnosed with Leukemia in early 2012 after falling ill after Aston Villa had played Arsenal. Taking a break from soccer to battle his Leukemia, Petrov attended an Aston Villa home game against Chelsea. In the 19th minute (Petrov wore the number 19), the crowd stood to applaud the Bulgarian.
Every home game for the rest of the season saw the entire crowd at Aston Villa give the much-loved player an ovation in the 19th minute. Despite his leukemia going into remission in August 2012, the player decided in May 2013 to retire from soccer entirely in order to spend time with his family.
As one of Aston Villa’s best captains, Petrov was a superb player and an example of hard work, leadership, and determination.
5. Gareth Barry
Embed from Getty Images- Position: Defensive Midfield
| Games | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 436 | 52 | 37 |
One of his generation’s most consistent and effective defensive midfielders, Gareth Barry played 441 times for Aston Villa, many of them as the club captain.
Moving to Aston Villa at the age of 17, Barry would become an England player only two years later, finishing his career with 53 caps for England.
One of the best players in his position, even at a young age, Barry unsurprisingly became hot property, with Liverpool making several high-profile yet ultimately unsuccessful bids for the Villa player.
Barry wished to play in the Champions League, and the club’s refusal to sell infuriated the player, eventually losing the captain’s armband due to his complaints.
Regardless of this blip, Barry was one of the calmest players on the soccer field, able to break up play, move forwards with the ball, and was the link between the Aston Villa defense and attack.
Barry scored 41 times in the Premier League for Villa, though his defensive abilities made him stand out much more than his offensive talents.
Eleven seasons in the Premier League playing for Aston Villa make Gareth Barry one of the longest-serving players in the club’s history.
Appearing 680 times for Villa, Manchester City, Everton, and West Bromwich Albion, he is also the all-time Premier League appearance holder, with an astonishing 653 appearances.
4. Paul McGrath
Embed from Getty Images- Position: Centre-Back
| Games | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 232 | 7 | 3 |
Irish legend Paul McGrath was one of the strongest, fiercest defenders of the 1980s and 1990s, becoming a hugely popular player at Manchester United before the arrival of Alex Ferguson.
After struggling with terrible knee injuries, and partly due to being a part of the drinking culture present at the time at Manchester United, McGrath was sold to Aston Villa in 1989.
Manchester United’s loss was Aston Villa’s gain, as the player then went on to play 253 times in the English top division for Villa. In his first season, McGrath helped the Birmingham club to second place in the league, only losing out to perennial winners, Liverpool.
Villa again finished runners-up in 1993, this time to Manchester United, with McGrath’s former Manchester United manager Ron Atkinson at the helm for the inaugural Premier League season.
The Irish defender was consistently one of the best in the league, winning the PFA Players’ Player of the Year award in recognition of his massive influence on his team.
Widely regarded as one of the best Irish soccer players of all time, McGrath is undoubtedly one of the best defenders in Aston Villa’s history.
Injuries notwithstanding, McGrath managed 478 league appearances in his career, a number that would have been much higher had his knees been more robust. However, even then, he was still one of the most formidable opponents in the league.
3. Peter Withe
Embed from Getty Images- Position: Centre-Forward
| Games | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 232 | 90 | 5 |
Peter Withe is one of the few players on our list who can claim to have won a trophy with Aston Villa. Having won the First Division and FA Charity Shield in 1981, Withe followed that up the next season with an almost unbelievable European Cup and European Super Cup double.
A strapping center-forward, Withe was tough to dispossess and lethal in the air, all perfect combinations for a target man.
Withe scored 90 goals in 232 appearances for Aston Villa, the ideal partner to a faster, more agile strike partner. Scorer of the only goal in the 1982 European Cup Final, Withe is part of Villa folklore.
Withe’s performances for Aston Villa earned him a call-up to the England squad for the 1982 World Cup, and he ended up with 10 caps for England. The popular player collected four
trophies while at Villa Park; a League title, Charity Shield, European Cup, and European Super Cup. After retirement, Withe moved into management in Thailand but will forever remain a club legend at Aston Villa.
2. Charlie Aitken
Embed from Getty Images- Position: Left-Back
| Games | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 114 | 4 | N/A |
The all-time record for the most appearances in an Aston Villa jersey goes to Charlie Aitken. And the most outstanding left-back in Villa history only turned up for trials with the club to make up the numbers!
After going to the trials for the club with a friend, Wilson Briggs, who also played left-back, both Briggs and Aitken were given contracts.
But whereas Briggs played two solitary games in his career, Aitken would become a club legend, playing 561 times in the league for the club.
This incredible stroke of luck would lead Aitken to a Third Division title, a League Cup victory, and eventually see the player end his career in the NASL, where he would play alongside two of the greatest players ever to play soccer.
In his only season in the USA, Aitken would play alongside Franz Beckenbauer, the greatest West Germany player of all time, and Pele, arguably one of the world’s greatest ever players.
Not too shabby for a player that only went to trials to keep a friend company. And from that stroke of luck, an Aston Villa great was born.
1. Gordon Cowans
Embed from Getty Images- Position: Midfielder
| Games | Goals | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| 453 | 49 | N/A |
An exceptional player was needed to be able to take the top spot in a list of the greatest Aston Villa players; luckily for us, Gordon Cowans fits the bill nicely.
Over three spells with the Midlands club, Cowans spent a combined 12 seasons in the heart of Aston Villa’s midfield.
A member of the team that won the League, League Cup, European Cup, and European Super Cup, Gordon Cowans was one of his generation’s greatest two-footed midfielders. Cowans could easily tackle, assist, pass, and create with an excellent range of passes in his locker.
Over his three spells at Aston Villa, Cowans scored 49 goals and is often regarded by Aston Villa fans as one of the best players ever to play for the club.
After making his debut at only 17 years of age, Cowans’s career spanned over two decades as the wily midfielder played for no fewer than nine different clubs.
After a hugely successful first spell at Villa Park, Cowans was sold to Italian club Bari, where he played for three seasons.
Upon being made available again, Aston Villa manager Graham Taylor wisely used the club’s option at a first refusal to take the midfielder back to Birmingham. This return not only cheered the fans but allowed Cowans to play another 117 times for the club.
He was loved not only for his technical skills but also as a reminder of a brighter past. Cowans also kept returning to the club he had supported as a child.
The Aston Villa fans retain fond memories of this superb soccer player. Gordon Cowans is the most outstanding player Aston Villa has ever produced.
