Gary Shaw

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 hindered 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'. The rest of his career was plagued by frequent injuries. 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 Austria Klagenfurt in Austria in 1989. He finished his career with brief spells at Walsall, Kilmarnock, Shrewsbury Town and the Hong Kong-based Ernest Borel.

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.

Aston Villa

First Division: 1980–81 European Cup: 1981–82 European Super Cup: 1982 Individual

Bravo Award (Awarded to the Most Outstanding Young Footballer in Europe): 1982 PFA Young Player of the Year: 1981 PFA Team of the Year: 1980–81