I watched Aston Villa’s John McGinn documentary and fell in love with him all over again

The transfer of John McGinn was a turning point in the modern history of Aston Villa.

McGinn was signed by Steve Bruce, the second new acquisition under the ownership of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens. Villa were in the Championship for the third season in a row, promotion hopes slipping away, but the future was about to begin.

Dean Smith came in as manager. In the last quarter of the season Villa swept aside all comers and claimed a place in the play-offs for a second year. They beat Derby County at Wembley and have barely looked back since.

We’ve got McGinn

McGinn is the constant. Along with Tyrone Mings, the Villa captain helped take a recent Championship club into the Champions League by finishing fourth in the Premier League. Not long after those three years in the second tier, they qualified for European competition three years consecutively with McGinn leading the charge.

The Villa captain’s was the back upon which Villa’s rise was built. In purely football terms it’s a remarkable achievement. In reality it’s so much more. McGinn is simply one of the best signings in the history of our football club.

Villa paid tribute to the skipper with a two-part documentary film released this week. The first thing to acknowledge is that it is, from a production standpoint, a quite incredible piece of work.

To secure the contributions of players at other Premier League clubs – former Villa captain Jack Grealish at Everton and McGinn’s Scotland captain Andy Robertson at Liverpool – is some achievement. Dean Smith’s there too, and Steve Bruce, and current Scotland boss Steve Clarke, among others.

I can’t begin to explain what a colossal job that is. It’s very impressive indeed.

Super John McGinn

It can be difficult for football club content to hit the right notes. Supporters are intuitively tuned into their feelings about players and they often go beyond what a club can or will put in the spotlight.

McGinn is adored by Villa fans. Communicating that through interviews with fellow football professionals and with the lens of officialdom applied was the central challenge facing the production team and the episodes capture McGinn’s leadership, quality, personality and importance beautifully.

I’ve spent more time talking to people about McGinn this year than is sensible. I interviewed a former Villa teammate and supporters of Villa, St Mirren, Hibernian and Scotland about him a few months back, with all the research and reminiscence that comes with that.

What all of those people had in common was a deeper affection for McGinn than they can muster for the average footballer. Wherever he goes, whoever he encounters, McGinn seems to leave exactly the same impression – he’s a lovable, loyal, feisty, polite man who lives in the real world while playing football with unreal ability.

Villa’s documentary captures that uniformity of admiration. Whether it’s Smith, Clarke, Robertson, Grealish, Ashley Young, Matty Cash or Gordon Strachan, the essence of McGinn comes through the in interviews loud and clear.

I love that John McGinn plays for Villa. I hope he stays with Villa forever. This McGinn documentary just made me fall in love with him all over again.

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