We are well into the third week of the transfer 'window', and still there's no sign of reinforcements arriving. Added to this situation is the news that Lambert has obtained striker Weimann for the rest of the season! Which makes the situation even more bizarre that we are (this Saturday) being given the chance to see Robinson show us what he's capable of in the goal-scoring department. And since old Villa players do tend to come and haunt us, there is a situation developing about which our auld (but so sadly departed) friend Gary Haddon would have some appropriate comment to make!
It's difficult to see our two so-called strikers (Gabby and Ross) making any kind of headway on Saturday. Indeed, at least one of them would be up for the 'chop' in normal conditions, so just what will the boss do? Will the boss kick his principles aside and throw RHM into the fray? I somehow doubt it. So with the prospect of another goal-less show from our side this week, I thought it best to put our fears aside and look back at some ancient Villa v. Preston history - out of which there is even a possible solution for this Saturday's match!
Since time immemorial, there has been a sense of history between our club and Preston North End. Indeed, in the few years prior to the foundation of the Football League (1888), the two leading clubs in the land were Preston N.E. and Aston Villa. Ahem, except that in those so-called "friendlies only" times, Preston very often followed the practise of playing weaker clubs in order to boost their statistical ratings, and keep their fans happy with the flow of goals.
But there were times when Preston did show Aston Villa just who was boss. And that became manifest for the first time in the very year when Villa became the Midlands' first ever winners of the F.A. Cup - in 1887. Villa were, of course, over the moon about their win, and the Baggies (who Villa beat in the Final) slunk away into a corner to lick their wounds. Meanwhile, Villa went on a great tour of the country to demonstrate their skills, sometimes playing a match every two days. But the very last scheduled match was to be played at ... Preston. Now the men of Preston were no fools; they watched from afar as Villa won match after match on their tour. And while Villa were doing that, Preston just trained a bit, and otherwise just relaxed, waiting for their visitors to arrive and believing that by the time Villa arrived, they would be fagged out.
Preston won the match 11-1. This is a statistic that many Villa fans will not have heard of, and because it happened during those "friendlies only" days (which - it has to be said - were definitely not friendlies when honour was at stake) it's been put aside as just a freak and not that important. But, at the time, it was important.
The Villa, of course, were incandescent! Villa immediately demanded a replay at Villa's ground (Perry Barr). And a few weeks later that replay did occur and Villa won this time, 2-1. Some wag pointed out that if the 2-1 score were to be translated into Roman numerals, it would look like the same score that Preston achieved in the earlier match, II-I!
Villa next met Preston in a real competition - the F.A. Cup - the very next year (1888), at Perry Barr. This was the match when so many fans attended that they overwhelmed the ground. Perry Barry normally operated to a maximum of 10,000 spectators, but on this occasion it is reckoned that at least 25,000 attended. There were no controls - they were just let in! Horse police and the local yeomanry were called in to keep the crowd under control (it must almost sound like the scene at the first Wembley Final in 1923!), but the crowd could do nothing but spill onto the pitch and interfered with the play.
The interference was such that the two captains and officials met at half-time and agreed that the match would have to be declared void, but they would finish the match and record it as a friendly.
Well, Preston won 3-1. But, to Villa's consternation, Preston (the masters of trickery) claimed that win as their route into the Cup's next round - despite the agreement midway through the match! And what was even worse was that the F.A. accepted their argument, and that was how Villa (the Cup holders) were ejected from the Cup that year. However, the Baggies did Villa a good turn - they beat Preston in the Final!
It was later that year (1888) that McGregor's Football League got under way, and Preston celebrated by winning the 'Double' - the League and the Cup - in the first season. Villa were runners-up but did not win over Preston in either of their matches. Several games into the 1889-90 season, however, Preston remained unbeaten in the League since its start the year before, but it was Villa that became the first team to beat them in the League, by 5-3 at Perry Barr. Villa's famous centre-half, Jimmy Cowan, had to be played centre-forward that day because of injuries, and scored a hat-trick!
I've had a thought: get Jimmy Cowan back to play this Saturday! Or does it indicate that Tommy Elphick should be given a chance up front, as someone has suggested? I can recall the 1950s full-back Stan Lynn being played there several times, so perhaps the idea is not a bad one.
Just one last thought: it was in 1970 that Villa and Preston were relegated together from the old Division Two. Now, according to the rules of those days it also meant that neither team would have full League membership while in the lower division: they would have to be promoted to regain that privilege. What a come-down to the only two teams that had ever won the 'Double' prior to 1961; how the once mighty had fallen!
It's difficult to see our two so-called strikers (Gabby and Ross) making any kind of headway on Saturday. Indeed, at least one of them would be up for the 'chop' in normal conditions, so just what will the boss do? Will the boss kick his principles aside and throw RHM into the fray? I somehow doubt it. So with the prospect of another goal-less show from our side this week, I thought it best to put our fears aside and look back at some ancient Villa v. Preston history - out of which there is even a possible solution for this Saturday's match!
Since time immemorial, there has been a sense of history between our club and Preston North End. Indeed, in the few years prior to the foundation of the Football League (1888), the two leading clubs in the land were Preston N.E. and Aston Villa. Ahem, except that in those so-called "friendlies only" times, Preston very often followed the practise of playing weaker clubs in order to boost their statistical ratings, and keep their fans happy with the flow of goals.
But there were times when Preston did show Aston Villa just who was boss. And that became manifest for the first time in the very year when Villa became the Midlands' first ever winners of the F.A. Cup - in 1887. Villa were, of course, over the moon about their win, and the Baggies (who Villa beat in the Final) slunk away into a corner to lick their wounds. Meanwhile, Villa went on a great tour of the country to demonstrate their skills, sometimes playing a match every two days. But the very last scheduled match was to be played at ... Preston. Now the men of Preston were no fools; they watched from afar as Villa won match after match on their tour. And while Villa were doing that, Preston just trained a bit, and otherwise just relaxed, waiting for their visitors to arrive and believing that by the time Villa arrived, they would be fagged out.
Preston won the match 11-1. This is a statistic that many Villa fans will not have heard of, and because it happened during those "friendlies only" days (which - it has to be said - were definitely not friendlies when honour was at stake) it's been put aside as just a freak and not that important. But, at the time, it was important.
The Villa, of course, were incandescent! Villa immediately demanded a replay at Villa's ground (Perry Barr). And a few weeks later that replay did occur and Villa won this time, 2-1. Some wag pointed out that if the 2-1 score were to be translated into Roman numerals, it would look like the same score that Preston achieved in the earlier match, II-I!
Villa next met Preston in a real competition - the F.A. Cup - the very next year (1888), at Perry Barr. This was the match when so many fans attended that they overwhelmed the ground. Perry Barry normally operated to a maximum of 10,000 spectators, but on this occasion it is reckoned that at least 25,000 attended. There were no controls - they were just let in! Horse police and the local yeomanry were called in to keep the crowd under control (it must almost sound like the scene at the first Wembley Final in 1923!), but the crowd could do nothing but spill onto the pitch and interfered with the play.
The interference was such that the two captains and officials met at half-time and agreed that the match would have to be declared void, but they would finish the match and record it as a friendly.
Well, Preston won 3-1. But, to Villa's consternation, Preston (the masters of trickery) claimed that win as their route into the Cup's next round - despite the agreement midway through the match! And what was even worse was that the F.A. accepted their argument, and that was how Villa (the Cup holders) were ejected from the Cup that year. However, the Baggies did Villa a good turn - they beat Preston in the Final!
It was later that year (1888) that McGregor's Football League got under way, and Preston celebrated by winning the 'Double' - the League and the Cup - in the first season. Villa were runners-up but did not win over Preston in either of their matches. Several games into the 1889-90 season, however, Preston remained unbeaten in the League since its start the year before, but it was Villa that became the first team to beat them in the League, by 5-3 at Perry Barr. Villa's famous centre-half, Jimmy Cowan, had to be played centre-forward that day because of injuries, and scored a hat-trick!
I've had a thought: get Jimmy Cowan back to play this Saturday! Or does it indicate that Tommy Elphick should be given a chance up front, as someone has suggested? I can recall the 1950s full-back Stan Lynn being played there several times, so perhaps the idea is not a bad one.
Just one last thought: it was in 1970 that Villa and Preston were relegated together from the old Division Two. Now, according to the rules of those days it also meant that neither team would have full League membership while in the lower division: they would have to be promoted to regain that privilege. What a come-down to the only two teams that had ever won the 'Double' prior to 1961; how the once mighty had fallen!
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