Famous Aston Villa faces pay tribute to Sir Doug Ellis
Famous faces of Aston Villa are saying goodbye to Sir Doug Ellis, following the sad news of his death aged 94.
'Deadly Doug' held the role of chairman at Villa over two separate stints, once between 1968-1975 and then in a second spell between 1982-2006.
He went on to sell the club to American Randy Lerner, and was knighted for charitable services in 2012.
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During his second stint at Villa, he oversaw the League Cup wins in 1993/4 and 1995/96 - as well as the club's second placed finish in the inaugural Premier League season in 1992/93.
The sad news of his death came just hours after the appointment of Dean Smith as head coach, alongside John Terry.
Famous Villa faces are paying their respects to the man, who divided opinion regularly at B6:
Brian Little managed Villa between 1994-1998, and made over 200 appearances for the club as a player, and hailed Sir Doug as 'fantastic'
Talismanic midfielder Ian Taylor tweeted a picture of Sir Doug.
His entire playing career at Villa was under the ownership of the former chairman.
Peter Withe, who famously scored Villa's European Cup winner against Bayern Munich in 1982, hailed Sir Doug's work on Villa Park and the club's training ground.
Lee Hendrie, former Villa midfielder also tweeted a picture of Sir Doug.
Former striker Stan Collymore also paid his respects online, stating that Ellis helped him fulfill his dream of playing at Villa Park.
Paul McGrath made more than 250 appearances for Villa under Sir Doug after signing from Manchester United.
He said he was 'devastated' by the news.
Former Villa striker Emile Heskey also paid tribute to Sir Doug, having been signed by Martin O'Neill three years after he sold the club to Randy Lerner.
Meanwhile, former Villa midfielder Paul Merson said that Ellis was a 'father figure' to him when he signed for the club.
