'Gutted' Steve Stride hits out at Aston Villa 150th anniversary snub
Former Aston Villa director Steve Stride has hit out at the club after not being invited to the club’s anniversary celebrations against West Ham United.
Villa dedicated Friday night’s FA Cup third round tie against the Hammers to mark their 150th anniversary, a game that saw Unai Emery’s team win 2-1 in a special black kit as goals from Amadou Onana and Morgan Rogers gave the evening a perfect finale.
Not for Stride, though. The ex-secretary and operations director, who was part of the Villa Park furniture between 1972 and 2007 and who worked under Doug Ellis and Randy Lerner during some of the club’s most memorable years, was not at the ground and expressed his hurt.
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Stride posted on social media: “1st Division Champions, European Cup Winners, UEFA Super Cup, 3 x League Cup Winners, hosting 29 FA Cup semi finals and generally keeping your head down and getting on with it with loyal service for 35 years still didn’t get me an invite to the 150 match last night. Gutted.”
Stride’s comments relate to one of the most successful periods of the club’s century-and-a-half, winning the First Division title in 1981 and following that up with the European Cup triumph – the finest day in Claret & Blue history.
