If you followed the game closely fifty years ago, you will of course remember Brian Little as an attacker up front at Aston Villa. Yesterday listening to The Alan Hudson Podcast, the former Leicester manager were their special guest.
Alan Birchenall have also had his episode on the show. He used to play alongside Alan Hudson at Chelsea. Alan Hudson is a lively character with blistering memory from his playing days far back. This time it was Brian Little entertaining us with special and great insight into his life in football.
In the start Little focused on his early days at Aston Villa. He mentioned former Leicester forward Andy Lochhead as a role model and mentor. Lochead giving advice and helping him understand the game as well as being there to see the development.
Brian Little played alongside Andy Lochhead at Aston Villa and also had Davie Gibson as a team mate. As we all know he had to retire in 1980, having knee problems, not really able to play anymore. He talked a lot about Ron Saunders as the ideal manager to follow. Saunders was in no way his favourite person, and he did not really enjoy all his managers views and doings, but said he was a genious and as a manager himself always had Saunders ability and work in his mind when building his own teams.
To get the insight from a man that made Leicester a better team and also getting them promoted to the Premier League for the first time. He made it clear that he had no choice when leaving Leicester, because to go back to Aston Villa and be there manager was nothing he could turn down.
He had been a player and a youth team coach at Aston Villa before and wanted that chance. He had to take a lot of abuse from Leicester fans, something he said he could understand, but had no regrets.
#OnThisDay in 1971, a 17-year-old Brian Little came on to make his Aston Villa debut in a 4-1 win over Blackburn Rovers. #AVFC pic.twitter.com/l6Z6BaITnv
— Aston Villa Archive (@AvfcArchive) October 30, 2025
To listen to Brian Little telling us all how he managed his teams, made his mind on certain players and dealing with different aspects in a job like this.
He mentioned former Aston Villa chairman and owner with kind words, but was tired out by the commitment of his chairman. Doug Ellis was all over, not really interfearing in anything, but still a challenge to keep up with.
He did not mention the hierarchy at Leicester much, and had no issues with them. What we could read into it was that being a team manager at Aston Villa was a very challenging affair and in some burned Brian Little out.
He later was a manager at Stoke and of course that enganged Alan Hudson. A funny story about Brian Little and Stanley Matthews became a topic. Brian Little had a trial at Port Vale as a youngster and the man in charge was Stanley Matthews. He was at Stoke as a president when Little was appointed and said he remembered Little from his short time at Port Vale, as a young teenager, and had followed his career ever since. Brian Little had no idea and felt it as a great honour to get these words from such a great footballer and idol.
These interviews and talks are fantastic and very enjoyable if you like the good old days and still likes to listen to some of the top men in the English game back and that special time in English football.
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