Anthony Keith Villars (24 January 1952 – 9 September 2020) was a Welsh international footballer.

Career

Born in

Pontypool Pontypool ( cy, Pont-y-pŵl ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire in South Wales. It has a population of 28,970. Location It is situated on the Afon Lwyd ri ...

, Villars was a member of the youth set-up and groundstaff at Newport County but quit the job because the pay was so poor. Moving into the Welsh league he signed for

Pontnewydd Pontnewydd is a suburb of Cwmbran in the county borough of Torfaen, south-east Wales. It should not be confused with Pontnewynydd in nearby Pontypool. An 18th century settlement within the historical parish of Llanfrechfa Upper, Pontnewydd beca ...

. His time at the club was short after the entire team was signed by Panteg after a number of impressive performances. Working as an apprentice electrician, it was here that he was spotted by

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

who offered him a professional contract in the summer of 1971. Villars soon established himself in the first team, making his debut in a 4–3 defeat to

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in November 1971 with an impressive performance that led teammate Ian Gibson to comment ''Tony's got the lot, speed, balance and control. He's going to be some player."''. Often an inconsistent player, Villars also scored several crucial goals for the club, including one against Crystal Palace during a 1–1 draw to keep Cardiff in Division Two in April 1974. It was during his time at Cardiff that Villars earned all of his three caps for

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, playing in three matches during the

1974 British Home Championship Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. His debut in the opening match against England led Villars to become the 500th player to play for Wales. Persistent injury problems meant that he lost his place in the side and he moved to Newport County in June 1976, reuniting with his former Cardiff manager

Jimmy Scoular James Scoular (11 January 1925 – 19 March 1998) was a Scottish football player and manager. Known as a tough, combative player with precise passing skills, Scoular made over 600 appearances in the Football League with Portsmouth, Newcastle U ...

. He failed to reproduce the form he showed in his days at Cardiff and just under two years into his spell at the club his contract was cancelled. Incredibly just two and a half years after winning his three caps for Wales, Villars left league football never to return at the age of just 25. He later turned out for Welsh Football League side Blaenavon Blues before retiring.

After football

Following his retirement, Villars worked as a milkman for 17 years. He later worked as a delivery driver for DHL Express. He died in September 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villars, Tony 1952 births 2020 deaths Welsh footballers Wales international footballers Wales under-23 international footballers Cardiff City F.C. players Newport County A.F.C. players English Football League players Gloucester City A.F.C. players Footballers from Pontypool Association football wingers Blaenavon Blues A.F.C. players