Aston Villa. A club which has seen over 1,000 individuals pull on the distinctive claret and blue shirt. A club which has seen countless players create unforgettable moments which will be cherished forever.
As part of our 150th anniversary celebrations, we're catching up with a host of former Villans and asking them to recall their favourite moment from their time at Villa Park.
It could be a goal, a match or the moment they signed. Whichever memory stands out to them while they were representing our famous club.
Our series continues with iconic former England midfielder David Platt (Legacy Number: 653).
*You can also enjoy the latest episode of The Official Aston Villa Podcast in which our former attacking midfielder joins hosts Kate Tracey and Alan McInally at Bodymoor Heath
Arriving at Villa in February 1988, Platt had made a name for himself at Fourth Division Crewe Alexandra, with Graham Taylor having to part with £200,000 to bring the 21-year-old to B6.
Then in the second tier, Platt helped the Villans to promotion in his first season, before establishing himself as an integral member of the squad the year after.
But in 1989/90, Platt and Villa really hit their stride. Nineteen goals in 37 league appearances - and 21 in 46 in all competitions - saw him scoop the PFA Player of the Year Award at the end of a season in which Taylor's side had secured an impressive second-placed finish in the First Division, ultimately falling just short of Liverpool.
Just before the halfway point of that campaign, in November 1989, came a weekend where everything seemed to fall into place for Platt. The Lions hosted Everton at Villa Park, and with club captain Stuart Gray out injured, Platt was handed the armband for the very first time.
He rose to the occasion, with two goals and two assists as the Villans romped to a 6-2 victory. That weekend, he received the first senior England call-up of his career, before his form was rewarded with a new contract at Villa.
That summer, he went on to play a crucial role for the national team in the 1990 World Cup, with a memorable goal against Belgium in the Round of 16 one of three scored throughout the tournament, as England made the semi-finals, before a further 24 goals for the Villans in the 1990/91 campaign.
We recently caught up with Platt to discuss the weekend where everything fell into place for him, the weekend he classes as the highlight of his Aston Villa career.
Here is My Villa Moment, in David Platt's own words…
I could have come up with several instances, but if I’m to pick one, I remember we played Everton, live on the television, at Villa Park.
It wasn’t one moment in the game; it was the whole weekend. It’ll have been November 1989.
Stuart Gray had got injured, he was the club captain. Graham Taylor gave me the captaincy for the game. I scored two goals, we won 6-2. We were flying high in the league.
That night, I got named in the England squad for the very first time.
If I look back now, there was the goals in that game, there’s the captaincy of the team and getting into the England squad, all wrapped into that same weekend. That was the standout highlight for me.
And, to add another thing in there, I agreed a new contract at Villa that weekend, too.
The recognition of being one of the top players at Villa, but then being given the captaincy from Graham, who I admired and respected hugely, scoring the goals, getting named in the England squad, signing a new contract, it was just the perfect weekend.
I roomed with Alan McInally before he left for Bayern. Then I started to room with Stuart Gray. I still see Stuart on a regular basis, he’s a good friend of mine.
Stuart was the club captain but he got injured and I took over that captaincy.
I captained most of the clubs I was at, but it’s not just the captaincy, it’s everything. It’s feeling a part of that fabric and that fabric is the supporters.
It was that year we had, where we almost won the league, when we came second in 1990. That was when I made my England debut, when I scored all my goals.
It was just a great, great time. I won the PFA Player of the Year.
You get motivated by your performances, but I used to get motivated playing out at Villa Park. The fans expected a performance, but I expected to give a performance.
You were loved. You were adored. You were really, really respected.
The real beauty of this place in scoring a goal – wherever in the ground, but particularly at the Holte End – was the proximity of the fans. When you celebrated, you could see faces.
I remember it was probably one of the first games where we were live on the TV when we had started to fly a little bit, and started to win games.
Being on the television, it was early November in 1989, I think motivated everyone to put a performance in.
It was a chance to show we had come up in the league and done it in a quiet way. No-one had really seen us and they probably didn’t expect us to be there.
I think everyone was motivated by that, as it gave us an opportunity to go on to a national stage on the TV and say 'this is what we’re about'.
I remember the first goal being a Gordan Cowans free-kick. It happened time and time again. He clipped the ball in, and it was actually behind me, so I almost reverse headed it in.
The second one, in the second half, was just a quick movement in the box. I remember Kevin Gage just slipped me a three-yard pass, I touched it, stepped inside Martin Keown and tucked it in the corner.
You look back at it. At the time, when I first came in, I was very fortunate. I got the fans on my side because I scored three goals in three games, I worked hard and we went up.
I started to score the goals, get in the England squad and became the talisman.
I can go back to the grounds I played at, and the two warmest welcomes I get, out of everywhere I played, are at Sampdoria and here.
It’s over 30 years ago. To have that connection, still, with the supporters is wonderful, and I guess also with supporters who are a bit older and have passed things down to their children.
That’s nice, if people are remembering you, but want to constantly remember you, and remind their offspring of you as well.
I see people down here when I come to a game every now and again, and it’s young kids coming up to me. They can’t have any kind of feeling for David Platt, unless it’s come from their parents.
That memory, and that week, ranks very, very highly. There’s a satisfaction of spending three years here, and the career progression I had with it.
What’s satisfying as an ex-player are all the things that happened in your career that no-one can take away. They’re timeless.
"What’s satisfying as an ex-player are all the things that happened in your career that no-one can take away. They’re timeless."
The latest episode of The Official Aston Villa Podcast takes supporters on a journey through the stellar career of David Platt.
Our former attacking midfielder, who won 62 caps for England, joined hosts Kate Tracey and Alan McInally at Bodymoor Heath for EP10 of the club's popular podcast, looking back on his three-year spell as a Villan - from signing for Graham Taylor's men to his departure for Italian side Bari in 1991.
Platt spoke about his late arrival into the professional game with Manchester United, making a name for himself at Crewe Alexandra, winning promotion and starring for Villa, and much, much more.
Aston Villa Podcast EP10
