4th May 2020
Q&A with Rob Bishop
Interview conducted by Adam Holt
I recently spoke to ex-Birmingham Post & Mail journalist and now acclaimed football writer Rob Bishop, the author of many books, including 'Euros & Villans', a book which tells the story of all of Aston Villa's adventures into Europe, from 1975-2010. This book is the subject of this Q&A.
He is a vastly experienced writer and journalist, working for various other media organisations over the years not just with the Birmingham Post/Mail.
He is a vastly experienced writer and journalist, working for various other media organisations over the years not just with the Birmingham Post/Mail.
Q1: Do you think there are different pressures facing teams throughout the old European Cup compared to the Champions League nowadays?
There was far more pressure on teams in the European Cup than there is in the Champions League. It was a straight knockout competition, as was the original UEFA Cup, so a defeat over two legs meant you were out. There isn’t the same pressure in the early stages of the Champions League because teams can lose a game and maybe draw another one – and still qualify from the group stages.
Q2: What did you make of Martin O’Neill’s decision to field a significantly weaker team in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 second leg tie against CSKA Moscow in 2009?
The irony is that if Villa had been in mid-table at the time of the CSKA tie, O’Neill would almost certainly have fielded his strongest team and they may even have gone on to win the competition. But they were fourth in the Premier League, with every chance of qualifying for the following season’s Champions League, and the manager decided to prioritise a top-four finish. Most supporters saw the logic in that, but Villa conceded a two-goal lead in a 2-2 home draw against Stoke City on the weekend after the Moscow exit – and eventually finished sixth.
Q3: Who would you say is the best player you would say that Villa have faced in a European competition (Johan Cruyff of Barcelona comes to mind!)?
Villa have faced many great players in European competitions but Johan Cruyff was the best of the lot. Even the claret-and-blue faithful gave him a standing ovation for his brilliant performance at Villa Park in 1978. He had, almost single-handedly, inspired Barcelona to a two-goal lead in the first leg of a UEFA Cup quarter-final. After he was substituted eight minutes from the end, Villa hit back to draw 2-2. That says everything about his impact.
Q4: After winning the European Cup in 1982, Villa got to the Quarter Final in the 1983 edition of the competition, losing to Juventus. Was there a feeling that Villa could go all the way again?
It was quite an achievement to win the competition at the first time of asking in 1982 and then reach the quarter-finals the following year. But I don’t think anyone was under any illusions about the size of the task Villa faced. One reporter described Juventus as “a World Cup team thinly disguised as a club side” and so it proved. Juve were different class in the first leg at Villa Park, winning 2-1, and the second leg in Turin was a formality. It was just a pity they eventually lost to Hamburg in the final. Otherwise, Villa would at least have had the consolation of going out to the winners.
Q5: How heart-breaking was it losing to Uruguay’s Peñarol in the 1982 Intercontinental Cup Final?
It was disappointing but certainly not heart-breaking. This game (or mini-tournament as it has now become) is more about prestige and finance than any sort of competitive element. Villa were far more concerned about the UEFA Super Cup against Barcelona the following month and the European Cup semi-final against Juventus in March.
Q6: What was going through your head when Jimmy Rimmer had to come off injured after just 9 minutes in the 1982 European Cup Final?
It felt like Villa’s chances left the pitch with Rimmer. It wasn’t just the fact that he was such an experienced keeper, his replacement Nigel Spink had only played one first-team match, and that had been two-and-half years earlier. I wonder what odds you would have been offered on a Villa victory at that stage?
Q7: Do you have a favourite anecdote that you featured in your book, Euros and Villans?
I tried to include as many anecdotes as possible in the book, rather than just presenting a record of what people already knew. My favourite was the one related by Pat Heard, one of the unused subs in the European Cup final. He told me that the trophy, which is very heavy and very tall, kept falling over on the coach journey from Rotterdam to the team’s hotel in Amsterdam. They put it on the floor of the loo to keep it upright!
Q8: As mentioned in your book, Franz Beckenbauer was one of the candidates to become Villa boss to replace the departed Graham Taylor in 1990. If Beckenbauer had been appointed, how do you think he would have fared?
I wrote the story about Beckenbauer as a front-page exclusive for the Birmingham Mail and it sent my reputation soaring – even though it never came to fruition! Who knows what would have happened if Doug Ellis had been successful in landing the Kaiser? My belief is that Villa would have fared considerably better than Jo Venglos, whose methods were alien to the players. Villa might even have finished near the top, rather than battling to avoid relegation. After all, they had been runners-up to Liverpool before Graham Taylor left to take the England job.
There was far more pressure on teams in the European Cup than there is in the Champions League. It was a straight knockout competition, as was the original UEFA Cup, so a defeat over two legs meant you were out. There isn’t the same pressure in the early stages of the Champions League because teams can lose a game and maybe draw another one – and still qualify from the group stages.
Q2: What did you make of Martin O’Neill’s decision to field a significantly weaker team in the UEFA Cup Round of 32 second leg tie against CSKA Moscow in 2009?
The irony is that if Villa had been in mid-table at the time of the CSKA tie, O’Neill would almost certainly have fielded his strongest team and they may even have gone on to win the competition. But they were fourth in the Premier League, with every chance of qualifying for the following season’s Champions League, and the manager decided to prioritise a top-four finish. Most supporters saw the logic in that, but Villa conceded a two-goal lead in a 2-2 home draw against Stoke City on the weekend after the Moscow exit – and eventually finished sixth.
Q3: Who would you say is the best player you would say that Villa have faced in a European competition (Johan Cruyff of Barcelona comes to mind!)?
Villa have faced many great players in European competitions but Johan Cruyff was the best of the lot. Even the claret-and-blue faithful gave him a standing ovation for his brilliant performance at Villa Park in 1978. He had, almost single-handedly, inspired Barcelona to a two-goal lead in the first leg of a UEFA Cup quarter-final. After he was substituted eight minutes from the end, Villa hit back to draw 2-2. That says everything about his impact.
Q4: After winning the European Cup in 1982, Villa got to the Quarter Final in the 1983 edition of the competition, losing to Juventus. Was there a feeling that Villa could go all the way again?
It was quite an achievement to win the competition at the first time of asking in 1982 and then reach the quarter-finals the following year. But I don’t think anyone was under any illusions about the size of the task Villa faced. One reporter described Juventus as “a World Cup team thinly disguised as a club side” and so it proved. Juve were different class in the first leg at Villa Park, winning 2-1, and the second leg in Turin was a formality. It was just a pity they eventually lost to Hamburg in the final. Otherwise, Villa would at least have had the consolation of going out to the winners.
Q5: How heart-breaking was it losing to Uruguay’s Peñarol in the 1982 Intercontinental Cup Final?
It was disappointing but certainly not heart-breaking. This game (or mini-tournament as it has now become) is more about prestige and finance than any sort of competitive element. Villa were far more concerned about the UEFA Super Cup against Barcelona the following month and the European Cup semi-final against Juventus in March.
Q6: What was going through your head when Jimmy Rimmer had to come off injured after just 9 minutes in the 1982 European Cup Final?
It felt like Villa’s chances left the pitch with Rimmer. It wasn’t just the fact that he was such an experienced keeper, his replacement Nigel Spink had only played one first-team match, and that had been two-and-half years earlier. I wonder what odds you would have been offered on a Villa victory at that stage?
Q7: Do you have a favourite anecdote that you featured in your book, Euros and Villans?
I tried to include as many anecdotes as possible in the book, rather than just presenting a record of what people already knew. My favourite was the one related by Pat Heard, one of the unused subs in the European Cup final. He told me that the trophy, which is very heavy and very tall, kept falling over on the coach journey from Rotterdam to the team’s hotel in Amsterdam. They put it on the floor of the loo to keep it upright!
Q8: As mentioned in your book, Franz Beckenbauer was one of the candidates to become Villa boss to replace the departed Graham Taylor in 1990. If Beckenbauer had been appointed, how do you think he would have fared?
I wrote the story about Beckenbauer as a front-page exclusive for the Birmingham Mail and it sent my reputation soaring – even though it never came to fruition! Who knows what would have happened if Doug Ellis had been successful in landing the Kaiser? My belief is that Villa would have fared considerably better than Jo Venglos, whose methods were alien to the players. Villa might even have finished near the top, rather than battling to avoid relegation. After all, they had been runners-up to Liverpool before Graham Taylor left to take the England job.