Aston Villa’s three greatest managers that Steven Gerrard can look up to
The post-war era has been a rocky one for Aston Villa fans, seeing them drop as low as the Third Division and rise to the pinnacle of the European game.
Villa started the era by losing Jimmy Hogan, who helped build the legendary Hungary team of the 1950s, though he would later return to the club as a youth coach.
Since then, Villa have had a long list of managers with some cementing themselves as legends whilst others as complete flops.
As Steven Gerrard looks ahead to his first full season as Villa boss, it is worth looking back at those who came before him to see how he could match them going forward.
For reference, this list will only be including managers after 1945, which excludes the great George Ramsay who won six league titles and six FA Cups with Villa.
Only the best
Villa have had several very good managers that were not quite good enough to make the cut.
These include legendary player Brian Little, Martin O’Neill, John Gregory and Gerrard’s predecessor Dean Smith.
One man who could not be left out however was Ron Atkinson, who managed the club between 1991 and 1994.
Replacing Jozef Venglos after his sole disappointing season at Villa Park, Atkinson built a powerhouse of a team that so nearly achieved greatness.
After bringing in the likes of Dean Saunders and Dalian Atkinson to the club, Villa ran Manchester United to the wire in their first-ever Premier League season.
Villa eventually finished second to Atkinson’s former employer, though he had his revenge in the 1994 League Cup final as Villa ran out 3-1 winners over the Red Devils.
Atkinson restored Villa to the status they had earned under Graham Taylor, but the beloved former Watford manager beats him in this ranking.
Taylor arrived at Villa after their relegation in 1987 and immediately turned their fortunes around.
He replaced almost the entire first-team squad that had gone down the year before, bringing in a younger and hungrier group of players.
They were promoted at the first time of asking and, after a year of adjustment, finished in second place in their second season in the First Division.
While he did not win a trophy at Villa, Taylor completely transformed the culture of the club and restored them to the elite just three years after relegation.
However, only one man can be named as Aston Villa’s greatest modern manager and that is, of course, Ron Saunders.
He arrived at Villa in 1974 with the side in the Second Division but got them promoted in his first season in charge.
Villa won the League Cup that same year, beating Saunders’ former club Norwich City, and won it again in 1977.
His crowning achievement came in 1981, with Villa winning their first league title since 1910 under Ramsay.
Saunders left the club three months before the European Cup win in 1982, but the team was managed by his assistant Tony Barton and was entirely built by him, so it can be considered his win.
He tragically passed away in 2019, but Saunders’ legacy lives on at Villa and he will never be forgotten.
In other Aston Villa news, Manchester City have beaten the club to one of their long-term midfielder targets.