Paul McGrath was an Irish centre-half, who played for both Manchester United and Aston Villa in his career, he is often referred to as the ‘God’ by many Villa fans because of his heroic performances in his time at B6.
McGrath moved to Manchester United in 1982, with Ron Atkinson, manager at the time, signing him from St Patrick Athletic. Under Atkinson, he played more as a midfielder instead of his natural position in defence. He had an excellent spell at United for a couple of seasons and won the FA Cup in that time, and also PFA player of the year in his first season at United.
In the 1986 season, Sir Alex Ferguson replaced Ron Atkinson as manager after a torrid start to their season, even though Atkinson did rekindle United’s success of winning Cups, he, unfortunately, was replaced. With the new manager arriving at United, McGrath had some knee injuries and failed to break back into Sir Alex Ferguson’s team.
Aston Villa
After making a total of 194 appearances in his time at United, his seven-year spell with the club came to an end, when Aston Vila agreed a £400,000 fee for the player, on the 3rd August 1989.
During his time at Villa, he had recurring injury troubles with his knees, but it was also known
that,
Paul McGrath had his best spell when he was playing in a Claret and Blue shirt. Within his first season at Villa, it was close to being a perfect start, as they nearly won the league and only just lost out to Liverpool, as Villa ended up finishing second.
The following season was disastrous for the Villans, though as manager Graham Taylor left Villa to manage England, with the managerial uproar, resulting to a poor performance on the pitch, with Villa fighting relegation for most of the season. It was a poor season for Aston Villa, but Paul McGrath was still showing some impressive performances throughout the season.
After a season of dismay, it could have only got better, and it did, when Ron Atkinson took over in the 1991-92 season. It was a great move for all associated especially from Paul McGrath’s perspective, as he had joined back up with the manager who started his career off. To no surprise, Paul McGrath continued to be a first team regular under manager Ron Atkinson, with his Villa side improving vastly on the position of the team the season before, as Villa finished 7th in the league.
The season after, it got even better, as Ron Atkinson’s side finished runners-up in the league, after a superb campaign, Paul McGrath won the PFA player of the year award. The next two seasons, McGrath had won back-to-back league cups, capping off an immense career at the Villans.
He made 252 appearances in his time at Villa Park – going down as one of the greatest players in the club’s history. The Villa fans still chant his name on match days, and he will never be forgotten for his brilliant performances at centre-half.
McGrath left Villa in 1996 and went on to play for Derby County and Sheffield United before retiring in 1998.
