Making grown men cry - well Villa fans at least

And there on the net was the said article. It was all there from the detail of Aston Villa's huge part in founding the football league as we know it to the man management skils of Ron Saunders and the fans' love of characters from Ian Taylor to Paul McGrath.
A fine piece of journalism - written from the heart. But what might surprise supporters with little or no knowledge of the fantastic football club which sits in the B6 postal district of Birmingham is that number one in this list compiled by talented journalist Richard Whitehead was not the 1982 European Cup Final.
Yes cycnics might find it hard to believe but there is actually far more to Aston Villa than simply that one event even though it was an incredible feat in the club's proud history.
True it was remarkable to think a squad of just 14 players - and genuine underdogs at that - could return from Rotterdam with a trophy which so far only a small handful of other British teams have been able to win.
In fact Whitehad actually only mentions the exploits of that incredible side in passing - a brief mention of Dennis Mortimer, the fact striker Peter Withe actually scored the goal's ony game with his shin.
Perhaps he realises he doesn't need really need to remind Villa fans anybody about that night - they all have their own memories.
Instead, and this will surprise even those who follow Vila with a passion, the top moment in the soul of following Aston Villa is instead, according to Whitehead, the takeover of the club by American bilionaire Randy Lerner.
Now Lerner has only been in place as the owner-come-chairman of Aston Villa for two years and, while fans hailed the arrival of manager Martin O'Neill as the coming of the Messiah, they knew far less about the Cleveland Browns owner save the fact he had managed to do the unthinkable and finally prise the club out of the grip of outgoing chairman Herbert D.Ellis.
It set me thinking whether there were many other clubs in the Premier League, save perhaps those Blackburn Rovers fans who revered Sir Jack Walker or Wigan fans who seem to have a thoroughly decent
chap at the helm in Dave Whelan, who held their chairman in such high regard.
With Manchester City about to become the property of Arab oil multi-billionaire Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al-Nahyan in a £200million takeover would City supporters ever feel, hand on heart, as happy with his plans for the club as Villa supporters seem to with Randy?.
Within hours, for example of the Sheikh's move for the Eastlands' club fans were jubilant - they were goign to get Berbatov, Robinho, Villa, Gomez and of course the new owners have already pledged to be prepared to pay £135 million for Cristiano Ronaldo from bitter neighbours Manchester United in January.
Of course of all these promises only one came off the arrival of Robinho - the others we were later told were a smoke screen? Not a tactic Mr Lerner has used - he prefers to work in afar more dignified way.
There are genuine fears now that football is about to take a massive hit with this sort of big money investment threatening to put smaller clubs out of business and fans are already lining up Mark Hughes' men as the team we all love to hate just as we did Chelsea after the arrival of Mr Big Bucks Roman Abromovich and his attempt to buy success at Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile at VP Mr Lerner, who is now spending more and more time in England, will probably be non-plussed by this on-line vote of confidence.
Always one to shy the spotlight and refuse plaudits, Lerner will get on with of revamping Astom Villa bit by bit and restoring much of the club's pride hopefully on and off the pitch.
It would be wanton to suggest everything in the B6 garden will be rosy but already Mr Lerner has proved a safer bet than the other Americans who have decided to dip their toe into Premier League club ownership _ Messers Glazier, Gillett and Hicks to name but three.
And while cynics might say buying suppoters a few scarves or providing free coach travel is really not suffucient proof of a dedication to improve Villa then surely the decision to build from the ground up and forgo a corporate sponsor for the team in favour of giving the shirt fronts to the Acorns' children's charity is.
And while supporters of course crave results and success which the oil barons may now bring to Manchester City in the short term, surely it is the long term plans which matter most.
Lerner has already set the standard completing the 13 million transformation of Doug Ellis' dream Bodymoor Heath training ground and has realised that the Manchester United approach to bringing on the academy kids pays in the long term.
Man City's new owner has said he plans to look at the academy structure and implent it at Eastlands so we will have to wait and see.
Only if he keeps to his word will we perhaps see the fruits of that in perhaps four or five years time. But I reckon he has a way to go before he can top City fans's top 50 moments in the soul of their club.