Gary Shaw (footballer, born 1961)


Gary Robert Shaw is an English former football striker who played for Aston Villa in the early 1980s.

Club career

During the 1980s, Shaw's goals helped Aston Villa win the First Division championship in 1980–81 and the European Cup the following year - the only Birmingham-born player in the team. In 1981, he was voted PFA Young Player of the Year, and was awarded the Bravo Award the following year, as the best under-23 player in European Competitions.
His promising Villa career was effectively ended after sustaining a knee injury in an away game at Nottingham Forest in September 1983. After a heavy tackle, he was helped to his feet by Ian Bowyer and, in Shaw's words, something in his knee 'clicked'. After his recovery, he continued to play for Villa until the conclusion of the 1987–88 season.
In July 1988 he made his debut for Copenhagen-based Kjøbenhavns Boldklub in Denmark, moving to SK Austria Klagenfurt in Austria in 1989. He finished his career off at Walsall, Kilmarnock, Shrewsbury Town and the Hong Kong-based Ernest Borel FC.

International career

Shaw gained seven caps for the England under-21 team. Following a successful European Cup campaign with Aston Villa, he was also included in the 40-strong preliminary England squad for the 1982 FIFA World Cup finals; however, he was not picked in the final 22.

Honours

Player

Club

; Aston Villa