Aston Villa legend 'seriously ill' in hospital
Villa legend Gary Shaw is seriously ill in hospital with a head injury sustained in a fall.
Shaw, part of the club’s 1981 League title and 1982 European Cup winning team, is understood to have suffered a fall near his home in Birmingham late last week.
The 63-year-old is one of the most celebrated strikers in Villa’s history and considered one of the finest finishers of his generation.
A boyhood Villa supporter, he scored 18 goals as the club won the Division One title for the first time in 71 years, after which he was named PFA young player of the year and European young footballer of the year.
He followed it by scoring 14 goals in all competitions the following season, including three in the victorious European Cup campaign.
Despite the success, Shaw was left out of England’s squad for the 1982 World Cup and never received a senior international cap.
Shaw responded by delivering his best return of 24 goals in the 1982-83 campaign but then suffered a knee which would hamper him for the rest of his career.
He eventually left Villa in 1988 and had spells at Walsall and Shrewsbury Town before eventually retiring in 1992.
Shaw has remained a familiar face around Villa Park and regular in the press box through his work with statistics group Opta.
