A Look at Why Aston Villa has So Many Fans from Ireland

There have been plenty of Irish footballers that have played in the first division of English football, and Aston Villa have given more top-flight appearances to Irish players than all but two other teams, and these are Sunderland and Manchester United. Sunderland have had 39 Irish players play for them in the top-flight, while Villa sit in second place with 19 Irish players. As a result of having all these Irish players, it makes perfect sense that Villa have a lot of fans from Ireland. In this article, we are going to take a look at why Aston Villa have a huge fan base in Ireland.

Alex Ferguson Played a Huge Role

In the mid-to-late 1980s, Villa were going through a bit of a bleak time, but in the early 1990s they returned to prominence under the management skills of Graham Taylor and Ron Atkinson. However, it was Sir Alex Ferguson’s frustration and bafflement with Paul McGrath’s drinking that played a huge role in creating many Villa fans throughout Ireland.

In 1989, Ferguson had convinced McGrath, who suffered from a lot of injuries, to retire and he was offered a testimonial match in Dublin. The shy and pliable McGrath had agreed to this plan, but Kevin Moran noticed his lack of enthusiasm and asked him if he really wanted to do it. After thinking about it, McGrath declared that he would love to carry on playing football at the top level of English football. The testimonial was called off and McGrath, the most loved footballer in Irish football history, made his way to Birmingham. Naturally, all those who loved McGrath, started to keep an eye on Aston Villa. 

Graeme Souness Played His Part Too

Over on Merseyside, Graeme Souness was taking over from Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool, and he decided to axe many of the players that he had just inherited, most of who were Irish. Ronnie Whelan was sent into the wilderness, while Ray Houghton was sold at the end of the 92 season. Meanwhile, Steve Staunton, who was 22 at the time, was one of the first to be got rid of. Aston Villa, who were then managed by Ron Atkinson, ended up signing Staunton and Houghton. 

In 1992/93, Ireland were peaking as a footballing nation and Villa were making a serious attempt at the Premier League title. Villa were at the top of the table for most the season until a poor final two months allowed Manchester United to overtake them and claim the league. All of the best bookmakers that accept Irish players, such as the ones you can find at www.betinireland.ie, would have had Villa as clear favourites to win the title with just two months of the season remaining. There was a tiny consolation and this was that McGrath was voted as the PFA Player of the Year for that season, which only helped to increase the number of Aston Villa Irish fans.

The Coca Cola Cup (League Cup) Success

Another reason why Villa has so many Irish fans could be due to the Coca-Cola Cup, which is now known as the League Cup. In a period of time when few homes in Ireland had access to Sky Sports, League Cup games were still shown live on ITV 1. Aston Villa, who had signed Andy Townsend in 1994, won the Coca-Cola Cup, beating Man United 3-1 in the final, and many Irish football fans would have sat down to watch that final and gained a love for the team from the Second City. Two years later, they won it once again, beating Leeds United in the final. 

In the period between 1992-96, there were a lot of Irish Aston Villa fans that were born from the success that they had. There are other factors outside of football the contributed to Villa’s popularity among the Irish. For example, Birmingham, like a lot of big cities in England, attracted many immigrants from Ireland in the 20th century. Since Villa is the biggest football team in Birmingham, despite what their rivals like to say, those Irish immigrants naturally started to support them.

If you ask an Irish Aston Villa fan in his forties or fifties why he supports The Villa, then they will likely tell you that it is because they had many great Irish players in the late 80s and throughout the 90s. Nowadays, their only Irish player Conor Hourihane, but he is out on loan and is unlikely to see his contract renewed in the summer. If we could bet on such a market at a great football betting site such as www.betiton.com/sport/football, we would be happy to put a lot of money on Hourihane moving permanently to another club in July. 

The Best Irish Players for Villa

As we mentioned above, there have been a number of Irish players that have plied their trade at the magnificent stadium that is Villa Park. Some of the more recent ones have been Stephen Ireland, Conor Hourihane, Shay Given, Ciaran Clark, Enda Stephens, Samir Carruthers, Richard Dunne, and Robbie Keane. Below we are going to take a look at four of their best Irish players. 

Andy Townsend

He is technically English, but he qualified for Ireland due to the fact that he has Irish family members. He was seen as a legend by the Irish faithful, and in 2015 he was added to the FAI Hall of Fame. The very talented midfielder had a really successful time at Villa Park, spending four years there, captaining the team and picking up two League Cup titles. What made him such an accomplished player was his great ball control and excellent vision.

Steve Staunton

Staunton was born in Drogheda and played a vital role in Villa’s League Cup victories in the 90s. He made 208 appearances for Villa from 1991-98, and was a regular captain of the side. He left for Liverpool in 1998, but returned to Villa in December of 2000 on a free, and made another 73 appearances for the Claret and Blue. He was a tough defender who did not take any nonsense from opposing attackers.

Ray Houghton

Houghton was born in Scotland, but he was eligible to play for Ireland because his dad was from Ireland. He spent most of his prime playing time at Liverpool, but he was certainly not a has-been when he signed for Aston Villa in 1992. He went on to make 121 appearances for The Villans and scored 11 goals to boot. While he was unforgiving on the pitch, he was an absolute gent off of it and was adored by the fans. 

Paul McGrath

McGrath was born in England, but he was able to play for Ireland thanks to his Irish mother. He is without a doubt the most legendary Irishman to play at Villa Park, and is still referred to as a “God” by many Villa fans. Despite a dodgy knee, McGrath played most of his career at Villa Park and was part of the team that finished as runners-up in the Premier League in 1992. He was also integral to Villa winning the 1996 League Cup. Overall, he made 252 appearances for the club.