Played for Villa: 1935-1937
Position: Centre half
Appearances: 67
The first of a glut of players bought during the 1935-36 season, in an effort to avoid relegation - although his credentials in this respect were not good; Griffiths had already been relegated at both Everton and Bolton Wanderers. Villa paid Middlesbrough £5,000 for his contract, a considerable sum in its day. As a centre half, his chief job was to prevent the opposition scoring, but he couldn't stop the Villa defence leaking like a sieve, standing up against Arsenal's Ted Drake when he put seven away at Villa Park. Griffiths wasn't solely to blame of course, and was well-rated in his day, as reflected by his transfer fee and the fact that he represented Wales 21 times. He became captain at Aston Villa but effectively retired after a full season playing in Division 2, although he would get a handful more games for Wrexham before war broke out.
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Position: Centre half
Appearances: 67
The first of a glut of players bought during the 1935-36 season, in an effort to avoid relegation - although his credentials in this respect were not good; Griffiths had already been relegated at both Everton and Bolton Wanderers. Villa paid Middlesbrough £5,000 for his contract, a considerable sum in its day. As a centre half, his chief job was to prevent the opposition scoring, but he couldn't stop the Villa defence leaking like a sieve, standing up against Arsenal's Ted Drake when he put seven away at Villa Park. Griffiths wasn't solely to blame of course, and was well-rated in his day, as reflected by his transfer fee and the fact that he represented Wales 21 times. He became captain at Aston Villa but effectively retired after a full season playing in Division 2, although he would get a handful more games for Wrexham before war broke out.
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