Richard Sydenham

A must for any Villa fan. Ranks alongside the classic ''Aston Villa : The history of a great football club 1874-1960' (Peter Morris, The Naldrett Press, 1960). What sets it apart is the depth of research, including interviews and board minutes. So many fascinating stories, many not known to a supporter of sixty years. It reads more like a book on the clash of egos in a business take-over battle; the main protagonists Doug Ellis and Ron Saunders. But also many other interesting characters. Like Ferguson and Clough, Saunders was a master of motivation and man management, but not without his flaws. As older supporters will know, this was ' the best of times, the worst of times'.… (mehr)

A very interesting history of a storied club during a turbulent period. While not necessarily a "management" type book, it is rather insightful regarding leadership theory. Underneath the obvious "you got to spend money to make money" aspect (spending the money for good players, versus cutting salaries to save money), there is the leadership point of view in that person who understands what they want and what to do with it when they get it. You can spend all the money in the world, but if you don't know what you're doing or just don't care, you're not going to succeed (and possibly get relegated).… (mehr)