Villa legend Shaw dies aged 63 after fall

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Former Aston Villa striker Gary Shaw has died aged 63 from injuries sustained successful a fall.

The 63-year-old helped Villa triumph the 1981 league rubric and the European Cup successful 1982.

Shaw came done the younker ranks astatine his boyhood nine and went connected to people 79 goals successful 213 games for Villa.

"Aston Villa Football Club is profoundly shocked and profoundly saddened to larn that Gary Shaw, 1 of our European Cup-winning heroes, has passed away," the nine said connected Monday.

"Gary was 1 of our own, a talented striker who delighted supporters with his goalscoring exploits which helped occurrence Villa to occurrence successful the 1980s. Individual accolades would besides travel for a subordinate who was idolised by galore connected the terraces.

"He passed distant peacefully earlier contiguous surrounded by his family, who asked Aston Villa to merchandise a connection connected their behalf.

"The thoughts of everyone astatine the nine are with Gary's household and loved ones astatine this highly hard time."

Shaw was named the Professional Footballers' Association Young Player of the Year successful 1981 and European Young Player of the Year successful 1982.

The erstwhile England Under-21 striker besides played for Blackpool, Walsall, Kilmarnock and Shrewsbury Town.

He had worked arsenic a statistical expert since retiring from shot successful 1992 and was a nine ambassador astatine Villa Park.

Ged Scott, BBC Sport

If Gary Shaw had played successful the modern game, helium would person won much than conscionable 7 England Under-21 caps.

He was much than bully capable to person go an established afloat England international.

He mightiness person had playboy looks and his ain terrace chant - "When helium gets the ball, helium scores a goal, Ga-ry, Ga-ry Shaw" - but with doubly European footballer of the twelvemonth Kevin Keegan and Trevor Francis successful his way, helium was up against stiff opposition.

Having made his Villa debut aboriginal connected successful the 1978-79 season, Shaw got his accidental erstwhile Andy Gray was sold to Wolves successful September 1979, coupled with the injuries that wrecked Brian Little's career.

Shaw finished Villa apical scorer successful 1979-80, but it was Ron Saunders' signing of Peter Withe, already a league rubric victor with Nottingham Forest, arsenic his onslaught spouse up beforehand that transformed Villa.

Together, the operation of large people antheral Withe and quicksilver Shaw alongside him turned Villa archetypal into league champions successful May 1981, past European champions successful 1982.

In the league, arsenic portion of a Villa broadside that utilized conscionable 14 players successful 42 games, they notched a combined 38 goals (Withe's 20 to Shaw's 18) to gain the nine a archetypal league rubric successful 71 years.

And, though the goals comparatively dried successful the league the pursuing play arsenic Shaw missed 16 games done injury, helium and Withe some scored 3 times each en way to beating Bayern Munich 1-0 to triumph the European Cup successful Rotterdam.

But it was not capable to gain him a spot successful Ron Greenwood's 22-man England squad for the World Cup that summer.

Although helium and Villa skipper Dennis Mortimer were named successful the archetypal 40-man squad, it was lone Withe who made the level to Spain, alongside Keegan, Francis, Tony Woodcock and Paul Mariner arsenic the different chosen strikers.

Other than scoring successful the two-leg European Super Cup triumph implicit Barcelona the pursuing season, that nighttime successful Rotterdam turned retired to beryllium the item of Shaw's vocation when, successful September 1983, helium sustained the genu wounded that yet ended his career.

He carried connected playing successful Denmark and Austria, arsenic good arsenic astatine Walsall, Kilmarnock and Shrewsbury Town, earlier finishing successful Hong Kong successful 1992.

But helium remained progressive successful shot done his enactment arsenic a statistical analyst, supplying in-match information for location games astatine some Villa and Kidderminster Harriers, wherever helium besides became a regular, fashionable figure.

And, successful aboriginal seasons, helium was besides progressive backmost astatine Villa arsenic a nine ambassador, inactive fondly remembered by doe-eyed fans, journalists and ex-team-mates arsenic 'Shawsy', the blond bombshell striker with the surest of touches successful beforehand of goal.

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