The Full Morty: Dennis Mortimer

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The Germans’ slow build-up was typical, but when they burst to aggressive action, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge shot weakly.

The midfielder is far from alone in being a Villa legend who crossed the second city divide. Indeed, Des Bremner, Nigel Spink and Peter Withe, three of Mortimer's teammates that night in Rotterdam, have all done their time at St Andrews - as did Ron Saunders, who had built the team. Mortimer, furthermore, went on to yet another local rival when he took up a coaching role at West Bromwich Albion. The return leg was just as straightforward, despite the icy gales and smell of rotting fish in the air. Boosted by the return of Shaw, who had been out with a foot injury since a pre-season friendly in Greece, Villa eased through 7-0 on aggregate, the England U21 star scoring both goals in Iceland. A lot of big guns remained in the tournament – Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Benfica – so Villa were reasonably happy to draw Dynamo Berlin in the next round. Second round: Dynamo Berlin Then Dennis Mortimer, a thoughtful skipper who did so much to keep the Villa boat on an even keel after former manager Ron Saunders walked out in those unhappy days earlier this year, took hold of the high-shouldered silver European Cup and thrust it challengingly at the sky. Known for his outspoken personality and controversial punditry, Dennis Mortimer is always a popular choice of football speaker, either encouraging debate or inspiring enthusiasm Mortimer is nothing if not entertaining and is sure to be welcomed – warmly or otherwise – by any and all audiences at after dinner speaker events.Tony Barton, Saunders’ assistant, took over from being assistant when “the gaffer” resigned earlier in the season. He was sensible to keep things together. It was a very good team with the likes of Allan Evans and Ken McNaught in central defence; Des Bremner and Mortimer in midfield, the skills of the glamour boy Gary Shaw, the speed of winger Tony Morley and the powerful striker Peter Withe just to name a few. Match results Under-18 1960–1970". England Football Online. Chris Goodwin and Glen Isherwood. 2 August 2021 . Retrieved 24 July 2022. Dennis George Mortimer (born 5 April 1952) is an English former footballer who played as a midfielder and captained Aston Villa. He made nearly 600 appearances in the Football League playing for Coventry City, Aston Villa, Sheffield United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Birmingham City. [3] Playing career [ edit ] Dennis Mortimer raised the famous silverware into the night sky in Rotterdam after leading the side to glory against Bayern Munich in 1982. But they say little about the emotional intensity of 90 minutes that were decided by Peter Withe’s ricochet goal which was enough to defeat Bayern Munich on a glorious night in the Feyenoord Stadium, Rotterdam.

We went into that game thinking that, if we beat Liverpool, we'd kill them off for the title," he remembered later. Twelve months earlier, the Liverpudlian had played in every game as Villa pipped Ipswich Town to the Division One title and he led from the front as they defeated FC Valur, Dynamo Berlin, Dynamo Kiev and Anderlecht in their debut European Cup campaign to set up a head-to-head against Pal Csernai’s Bayern. Gary Shaw was overelaborate when Withe and Cowans opened a way through, but Villa had settled down well and beaten off any tendency to freeze through nerves. Twenty-three year-old Spink replaced Rimmer to make three startlingly good saves and also to ridicule the fact that his experience this season totals only 36 reserve Central League games. The closest he got to an England cap was when he sat on the bench for the Home Internationals with Scotland and Wales in 1981.Evans then threw himself in the way of Reinhold Mathy’s shot as Villa reeled and were fortunate to escape. Dennis Mortimer". Post War English & Scottish Football League A–Z Player's Transfer Database. Neil Brown . Retrieved 17 September 2016. Aston Villa were so flushed with success after conquering Europe they temporarily lost the European Cup – in a toilet. Dennis Mortimer became Aston Villa's most famous captain when he lifted the Lions’ first League Championship trophy in 71 years. That was in 1981, and he achieved a European Cup win the following year, but his time at the club ended controversially.

That year Emlyn Hughes’ powers were beginning to wane, and he was struggling to hold down a regular starting place. At one point Dalglish would be handed the captaincy in the absence of Hughes, who had succumbed to injury. It was an idea that caused consternation amongst players like Terry McDermott and Phil Neal. Thompson would be in the travelling party, on the road to Wembley, as the Reds got set to take on Arsenal in the 1971 FA Cup final. He would watch from the balcony of the old stadium and sobbed his heart out when his beloved Reds lost the game. This was a Kopite playing for the team he adored, and he would suffer that defeat alongside his fellow supporters. It would make him a tough and sometimes unforgiving coach, a fact that once put him at loggerheads with a young Robbie Fowler. A conflict that resulted in a training ground bust-up, and a very public stand-off between the two. And just for a moment a thought for former manager Ron Saunders. Whatever the current feeling about him at Villa Park, it would be churlish to deny that he created this team. It needed two hands to lift it – it wasn’t like the league championship trophy from the year before, which you could lift with one,” said Mortimer, who was Villa’s longest serving player when they faced the German champions in Feyenoord's stadium.All I could think about in the last few minutes was getting my hands on that trophy,” said Mortimer. There was, so far as Villa fans were concerned, every excuse for the time-wasting during the agonising last minutes. Liverpool had reached their third European Cup Final in four seasons. The stage would be Paris and the opponents were the mighty Real Madrid. Thompson now had the chance to become the first Scouser to lift the biggest trophy in European football. I can picture it as vividly as if it were yesterday,” he said. “I’m sure any of the other players who were involved would tell you the same. Shaw beat Wolfgang Dremmler on the right and Morley, taking the pass with a disco-dancer’s hip wiggle, passed by Augenthaler and skidded the ball along the line to the six-yard area for Withe to prod home the biggest goal in Villa’s history by way of keeper Muller and the post.

And at the end the 11 who finished the game, plus the doleful Rimmer, saluted the supporters, a gambolling, hugging, excited mass of a team surrounded by photographers who made way for the near-delirious party of their victory round. Mortimer, who played more than 400 times for Villa in a 10-year stay at B6, has no problem recalling the events of 26 May, 1982. Shankly’s words would prove prophetic. Phil Thompson would indeed captain the club. He would go on to play 477 times for Liverpool, scoring 13 times and collecting seven league titles, two FA Cups, two League Cups, two European Cups and two UEFA Cups. He would also serve the club in assistant and caretaker manager roles. Aston Villa winger Tony Morley shows a Dynamo Berlin defender a clean pair of heels during their European Cup second round second leg at Villa Park. Photograph: Bob Thomas/Getty Images

Peter McParland

Selective memories soon forgot about the stand! What really happened was that the late Dave Ismay came to see me. a b c d "Villa's Fab 50 top player countdown: 2 Dennis Mortimer". Aston Villa F.C. 24 July 2011 . Retrieved 24 July 2022. Within three minutes, Emlyn Hughes had made it 3-0. Making your professional debut in a 3-0 win away to United can’t be bad, but for Phil, this was only the beginning. Some of them don’t believe me, because it was so long ago, and before a lot of them were born, but they go away and Google it and think ‘Wow, yes, they did win it!’ Mortimer captained Villa to the 1980–81 Football League championship, the club's first League title for more than 70 years. [4] He then led the team to victory in the 1982 European Cup Final; a 1–0 win against Bayern Munich in the De Kuip Stadium came courtesy of Peter Withe's goal, and made it six years in a row that English teams had lifted the trophy. [5] After the game, Mortimer swapped his match shirt with an unknown Bayern player and has since attempted to recover it. [6] From 1975 to 1985 he made 406 appearances for Villa scoring 36 goals. [4]