Steve Stride

Steven M. "Steve" Stride (born c. 1950) is the former Operations Director of Aston Villa Football Club.

Career

Stride joined the office staff at Aston Villa in 1972 and seven years later was appointed football secretary, a post he held for 16 years. He was elected to the board of directors in 1995,^[1] and two years later published a book, Stride inside the Villa, chronicling his 25 years with the club.^[2] In 2005, he took responsibility for running the club while longtime chairman Doug Ellis recovered from heart bypass surgery.^[1] Stride was the only director to remain at the club following American businessman Randy Lerner's 2006 takeover.^[3] He eventually resigned, with his resignation being effective from May 2007.^[4]

Wimbledon F.C. relocation

Stride was a member of the three-man Football Association-appointed commission which, in 2002, controversially^[5] decided that Wimbledon F.C. should be allowed to relocate to Milton Keynes.^[6] Stride voted in favour of the move (only Alan Turvey dissented).^[7]

References

1. Howell, Bill (27 June 2005). "Steve takes role in his Stride". Birmingham Mail.
2. Shaw, Phil (16 December 1997). "Football: Books for Christmas - How Claridge thrived despite Aldershot's bouncing cheques and rotten turkeys". The Independent. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022.
3. Bose, Mihir (5 September 2006). "Tbilisi owner linked to West Ham bid". Daily Telegraph.
4. "Villa survivor Stride to bow out". Express and Star. Wolverhampton. 7 March 2007.
5. White, Jim (11 January 2003). "Pitch battle". The Guardian.
6. Conn, David (28 April 2009). "Tears of joy as AFC Wimbledon prove they are in the wider interest of football". The Guardian.
7. Murray, Scott (6 August 2011). "AFC Wimbledon v Bristol Rovers - as it happened". The Guardian. London.