Gary Shaw: A true Aston Villa legend
They're a team still struggling to come to terms with competing at the wrong end of the Championship.
But if Villa need any inspiration in their battle to avoid League One, the man once described as the club's 'ultimate team player' is just a stone's throw away,
Whether it's sitting amongst supporters or in the press box, Gary Shaw rarely misses a game at Villa Park.
And it's that passion and commitment which Steve Bruce will be desperate to see in his squad as he looks to mastermind a resurgence.
Born in Kingshurst within a 10-minute car ride to Villa Park, Shaw was snapped up as an apprentice in 1977 after being spotted playing for Warwickshire Schools' team.
He turned professional the following year on his 18th birthday and was given his first taste of senior football as a substitute at Bristol City. But it was in the 1979/80 season that he began to establish himself as a regular – with the blond-haired star netting 12 goals in his first full season.
That campaign though proved just a taster of what was about to come.
Shaw's partnership with Peter Withe struck fear into opposition defences during the title-winning campaign of 1980/81. While Withe provided the power, Shaw's pace and anticipation completed the deadly duo with the striker netting 18 goals in a season that also saw him crowned PFA Young Player of the Year.
The individual honours continued to flow when, 12-months-later, his talents were recognised on the continent after he received the European Young Footballer of the Year title.
That award was achieved after the Kingshurst Comprehensive School pupil played a starring role in Villa's stunning European Cup victory.
Villa famously overcame Bayern Munich 1-0 in the final held in Holland thanks to a goal from Withe.
But Shaw produced a number of outstanding performances en route to Rotterdam, including a crucial goal from a seemingly impossible angle in the quarter-final against Dynamo Kiev.
Shaw remained a regular in the Villa side the following season, during which he won a European Super Cup medal following victory over Barcelona.
Such was Shaw's performance in the final, Diego Maradona sent his agent to the Villa dressing room in order to get the striker's shirt.
But a fairytale career was curtailed the following season when Villa took on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
After a particularly heavy tackle, Shaw was helped back onto his feet by Ian Bowyer when something in his knee 'clicked'.
And that was the start of a number of injuries which seriously restricted his appearances over the next five years.
Shaw remained at Villa until 1988, but he struggled to recapture the form he showed as the golden boy in Villa's golden area.
After being given a free transfer he had playing spells in Denmark, Austria and Hong Kong before brief stints at Walsall and Shrewsbury.
It was a career which achieved so much but also left everyone wondering just what could have been.
