In these days of gnashing of teeth and of wondering when Villa's next triumphs are going to arrive (if ever!), I've been thinking back to days of yore when Villa fans of the time were wondering the same thing. Past times that have been mostly forgotten with the passing of generations, when fans had not gained even a sniff of a major trophy for decades and past times when supporters just couldn't think that things could get better enough to remove the despair - and how they were pleasantly surprised in the following season.
I could go back to a number of instances of fans' frustration in Villa's history, but I will stick to a couple of occasions during my own time as a supporter.
One such situation occurred in season 1955-56, after there had been a huge change-around in the Villa squad as so many old Villa stalwarts had finally succumbed to Old Father Time and retired, and two outstanding Villa players (Blanchflower and Thompson) demanded and got transfers. Villa were basically left with an experienced defence (Jones in goal, Lynn and Aldis at full-back and Con Martin, an ageing but stalwart centre-half) and Johnny Dixon and Vic Crowe. Plus some youngsters - notably attackers Peter McParland and Derek Pace - and a couple of others that were of average ability.
Villa had not done a lot since the end of WW2, apart from season 1951-52 (finishing sixth in a fairly bright season). So the fans had been starved of real successes for quite a long time anyway. Villa had not come close to a big success since 1932-33 (22 years before), when they were league runners-up.
In 1955, having lost the purposeful midfield play of Danny-Boy and Toucher Thompson, Villa (in a rather bizarre way) instead decided that they needed a proven striker. Before the season's start they went out and paid a lot of money for Dave Hickson who was famous on Merseyside, where he played for Everton and, later, Liverpool and Tranmere, scoring lots of goals.
Well, Villa's season started badly and didn't really change in fortune for quite some time. In the first 14 games, Villa won just once but there was a bumper game when Villa drew 4-4 against Busby's Babes, and was the occasion when Hickson scored his one and only goal for Villa. Not long after he was shipped out as a failure, after 12 starts. As in a recent scenario, perhaps it was the lack of midfield capability that had deprived Hickson of scoring chances. A bit like McCormack?
With Christmas approaching, Villa were scrambling at the bottom of the table. Villa then spent another substantial sum on getting Jackie Sewell to Villa, a scoring inside-forward (essentially a midfielder) who only two years before had played for England in that debacle against Hungary at Wembley, and at that time was still the most expensive player in England (due to his previous transfer price tag). That solitary signing did not help too much and in early January a thumping 6-0 defeat at Stan Matthews' Blackpool brought about more change. Out went another oldie - centre-half Con Martin - and in came Jimmy Dugdale from the Albion, a Cup-winner with them in 1954. And with not much being generated from Villa's right-wing, in came Les Smith from Wolves, a player who a few years before had been hailed as a potential world-beater.
Slowly (like today), the wheels started to turn more positively. And, greatly aided by the signing of keeper Nigel Sims in March (who had been Bert Williams' frustrated understudy at Wolves), just enough points were accumulated and Villa avoided the drop by an absolute fraction. A hat-trick by Derek Pace against fellow strugglers Sheffield United was the key turning point and Villa won their final three matches. In fact, Villa lost only two in their last eleven matches.
What happened in 1956-57 - the very next season - was a complete revelation after the previous season's hand-wringing and after decades of being in the trophy wilderness. Villa won the FA Cup (and had a reasonable league season), and almost with the very same team that finished off 1955-56. The major change was at right-half where the name 'Crowe' morphed into 'Crowther' as a result of Crowe's serious injury: Crowther was a 'find' who had only the previous year been playing non-league football. But a big development was the form of Peter McParland, who enjoyed the first of his devastating seasons in 1956-57. One disappointment was Derek Pace, who even lost his Cup Final place. His drop in form (partly due to injury) and that of his alternative (Myerscough) heralded the arrival of Gerry Hitchens the following December.
Villa's play had not been brilliant (fitness and character were their main characteristics), but the trophy success made the fans very happy and released their pent-up emotions in 1957, 37 years since Villa had previously won a major trophy. However, though Villa played in two further semi-finals over the next three years, and won the League Cup in its inaugural year (1961) when few big clubs were contesting it, Villa did not win another trophy of major status for another 18 years after 1957. Trophy wise, the years 1920 to 1975 were very lean times.
So, let's fast-forward to season 1973-74, when Villa were seeking a way out of the second tier after six years removed from the top flight. During that time, Villa had seen two years spent in the third tier, and season 1973-74 was to be the second season since their promotion from that. The fans were expecting promotion back to the top at this point, especially as the previous season Villa had finished just a place short of promotion to the top flight, but conceding that the two promoted sides had been of better quality.
Season 1973-74, however, failed to ignite, not aided by a lengthy injury to Villa's star player, Bruce Rioch. But even with him in the side, Villa did not greatly impress and the club finished below the half-way point in the tier. What was made worse was that Rioch had been loyal to Villa but it came to a point where his career could not remain on hold any longer. By the Spring, Rioch had left for top-tier club Derby, and went on to play for Everton and Scotland with distinction. The fans were not too cheered by the situation.
'Deadly' Doug decided that he also was not going to wait any longer and (admittedly with the consensus of the board) dismissed the loyal management team of Vic Crowe and Ron Wylie. But Doug was also not too happy with the choice of Vic's successor, Ron Saunders, and there was a boardroom debacle about his contract, the result of which Doug stood down from the chairmanship.
Without Rioch, season 1974-75 started with Saunders otherwise using the same squad, bar one new player (Carrodus). But from then until the end of December there were some new signings and flashes of promise, but again the season was not igniting as much as would be hoped. It was only once the new year arrived, and after the changes in personnel had gelled, did an upsurge start to become apparent. For the remainder of the league season (18 matches) Villa incurred only one defeat, and Villa's last eight matches were all wins and produced 26 goals, 10 of them from Brian Litle, the upcoming young star of that time. Promotion had been achieved and there was the added bonus of winning the League Cup that season. Even more so than in 1957, there was a great upsurge of relief amongst Villa's fans in 1975, especially as the previous year the future did not look at all bright. The appointment of Ron Saunders didn't exactly make the fans hopes rise either.
In short, you never know what tomorrow might bring. I'm sure there are those that will argue, "Ah, but that was then; football has since changed a lot." Well, it has changed, but it has changed for everyone. The common denominators between now and then remain: (1) you can rarely be certain of the result of any match between teams of the same league-tier, (2) the players are still not quite robots: they are still subject to human frailties, and (3) a club with a team manager/coach who can motivate will usually obtain progress. And the fact that football is always full of surprises!
If I was a betting man I'd bet (based on the club's previous experiences, two of which are cited above) that season 2017-18 will turn out a bit similar to 1974-75, though I'd expect signs of success to be showing well before Christmas, especially as Bruce will have been around for 12 months by then. Some of you may disagree with my optimism!
I could go back to a number of instances of fans' frustration in Villa's history, but I will stick to a couple of occasions during my own time as a supporter.
One such situation occurred in season 1955-56, after there had been a huge change-around in the Villa squad as so many old Villa stalwarts had finally succumbed to Old Father Time and retired, and two outstanding Villa players (Blanchflower and Thompson) demanded and got transfers. Villa were basically left with an experienced defence (Jones in goal, Lynn and Aldis at full-back and Con Martin, an ageing but stalwart centre-half) and Johnny Dixon and Vic Crowe. Plus some youngsters - notably attackers Peter McParland and Derek Pace - and a couple of others that were of average ability.
Villa had not done a lot since the end of WW2, apart from season 1951-52 (finishing sixth in a fairly bright season). So the fans had been starved of real successes for quite a long time anyway. Villa had not come close to a big success since 1932-33 (22 years before), when they were league runners-up.
In 1955, having lost the purposeful midfield play of Danny-Boy and Toucher Thompson, Villa (in a rather bizarre way) instead decided that they needed a proven striker. Before the season's start they went out and paid a lot of money for Dave Hickson who was famous on Merseyside, where he played for Everton and, later, Liverpool and Tranmere, scoring lots of goals.
Well, Villa's season started badly and didn't really change in fortune for quite some time. In the first 14 games, Villa won just once but there was a bumper game when Villa drew 4-4 against Busby's Babes, and was the occasion when Hickson scored his one and only goal for Villa. Not long after he was shipped out as a failure, after 12 starts. As in a recent scenario, perhaps it was the lack of midfield capability that had deprived Hickson of scoring chances. A bit like McCormack?
With Christmas approaching, Villa were scrambling at the bottom of the table. Villa then spent another substantial sum on getting Jackie Sewell to Villa, a scoring inside-forward (essentially a midfielder) who only two years before had played for England in that debacle against Hungary at Wembley, and at that time was still the most expensive player in England (due to his previous transfer price tag). That solitary signing did not help too much and in early January a thumping 6-0 defeat at Stan Matthews' Blackpool brought about more change. Out went another oldie - centre-half Con Martin - and in came Jimmy Dugdale from the Albion, a Cup-winner with them in 1954. And with not much being generated from Villa's right-wing, in came Les Smith from Wolves, a player who a few years before had been hailed as a potential world-beater.
Slowly (like today), the wheels started to turn more positively. And, greatly aided by the signing of keeper Nigel Sims in March (who had been Bert Williams' frustrated understudy at Wolves), just enough points were accumulated and Villa avoided the drop by an absolute fraction. A hat-trick by Derek Pace against fellow strugglers Sheffield United was the key turning point and Villa won their final three matches. In fact, Villa lost only two in their last eleven matches.
What happened in 1956-57 - the very next season - was a complete revelation after the previous season's hand-wringing and after decades of being in the trophy wilderness. Villa won the FA Cup (and had a reasonable league season), and almost with the very same team that finished off 1955-56. The major change was at right-half where the name 'Crowe' morphed into 'Crowther' as a result of Crowe's serious injury: Crowther was a 'find' who had only the previous year been playing non-league football. But a big development was the form of Peter McParland, who enjoyed the first of his devastating seasons in 1956-57. One disappointment was Derek Pace, who even lost his Cup Final place. His drop in form (partly due to injury) and that of his alternative (Myerscough) heralded the arrival of Gerry Hitchens the following December.
Villa's play had not been brilliant (fitness and character were their main characteristics), but the trophy success made the fans very happy and released their pent-up emotions in 1957, 37 years since Villa had previously won a major trophy. However, though Villa played in two further semi-finals over the next three years, and won the League Cup in its inaugural year (1961) when few big clubs were contesting it, Villa did not win another trophy of major status for another 18 years after 1957. Trophy wise, the years 1920 to 1975 were very lean times.
So, let's fast-forward to season 1973-74, when Villa were seeking a way out of the second tier after six years removed from the top flight. During that time, Villa had seen two years spent in the third tier, and season 1973-74 was to be the second season since their promotion from that. The fans were expecting promotion back to the top at this point, especially as the previous season Villa had finished just a place short of promotion to the top flight, but conceding that the two promoted sides had been of better quality.
Season 1973-74, however, failed to ignite, not aided by a lengthy injury to Villa's star player, Bruce Rioch. But even with him in the side, Villa did not greatly impress and the club finished below the half-way point in the tier. What was made worse was that Rioch had been loyal to Villa but it came to a point where his career could not remain on hold any longer. By the Spring, Rioch had left for top-tier club Derby, and went on to play for Everton and Scotland with distinction. The fans were not too cheered by the situation.
'Deadly' Doug decided that he also was not going to wait any longer and (admittedly with the consensus of the board) dismissed the loyal management team of Vic Crowe and Ron Wylie. But Doug was also not too happy with the choice of Vic's successor, Ron Saunders, and there was a boardroom debacle about his contract, the result of which Doug stood down from the chairmanship.
Without Rioch, season 1974-75 started with Saunders otherwise using the same squad, bar one new player (Carrodus). But from then until the end of December there were some new signings and flashes of promise, but again the season was not igniting as much as would be hoped. It was only once the new year arrived, and after the changes in personnel had gelled, did an upsurge start to become apparent. For the remainder of the league season (18 matches) Villa incurred only one defeat, and Villa's last eight matches were all wins and produced 26 goals, 10 of them from Brian Litle, the upcoming young star of that time. Promotion had been achieved and there was the added bonus of winning the League Cup that season. Even more so than in 1957, there was a great upsurge of relief amongst Villa's fans in 1975, especially as the previous year the future did not look at all bright. The appointment of Ron Saunders didn't exactly make the fans hopes rise either.
In short, you never know what tomorrow might bring. I'm sure there are those that will argue, "Ah, but that was then; football has since changed a lot." Well, it has changed, but it has changed for everyone. The common denominators between now and then remain: (1) you can rarely be certain of the result of any match between teams of the same league-tier, (2) the players are still not quite robots: they are still subject to human frailties, and (3) a club with a team manager/coach who can motivate will usually obtain progress. And the fact that football is always full of surprises!
If I was a betting man I'd bet (based on the club's previous experiences, two of which are cited above) that season 2017-18 will turn out a bit similar to 1974-75, though I'd expect signs of success to be showing well before Christmas, especially as Bruce will have been around for 12 months by then. Some of you may disagree with my optimism!
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