Thoughts and issues regarding the past and present of a great football club by "The Chronicler".

Tuesday 26 November 2019

The Magpies Are Quiet Today!

Well, much of Villa's play last night was fairly pedestrian, with the emphasis being on retention of the ball it would seem. Pity they gave it away in a silly fashion on occasion!

I'm wondering whether Villa won last night more through Newcastle's poverty in attack rather than Villa's own effort, although it has to be said that Villa did put a lot of chances together. Again, it's a pity that Villa were so wasteful in shooting, otherwise it could easily have been 5 or 6 last night.

So, what's the overall feeling from my p.o.v.? It is that we give the opposition too many chances to stay afloat, either through misplaced passes, misplaced shooting and (Mings!) a rather carefree attitude. Being carefree may look cool, but it has several times this season led to mishaps.

Now, a look at the immediate fixtures list might produce concern, having lost three on the trot up to last night:
01-12-2019 A Manchester United
04-12-2019 A Chelsea
08-12-2019 H Leicester City
14-12-2019 A Sheffield United
Yes, even Sheffield United could be a dodgy fixture, particularly on their own ground. They are proving to be a resilient side.

To look at the situation negatively, losing all those four fixtures may well keep us too close to the bottom three for comfort. It's not a good idea to my mind to be continually flirting with danger when all that is required - in a season of consolidation - is a touch more discipline, to stop the loose passing and the wayward shooting. And I think poor Wesley was so surprised at the one real chance he had that he he put it straight to the keeper from a few feet.

The other matter of concern is that since Mings and McGinn have received so much of the spotlight, they seem to be becoming stale. Perhaps it's the sign of too many matches (the normal fare plus internationals) having their effect? Or is the publicity they're getting doing its bit?

Despite all that there are pleasing signs in Villa's play, and it is what makes me look forward to seeing what happens next.

UTV!

Saturday 16 November 2019

"I Want More Goals!"

That's what manager Joe Mercer said to his Villa forwards a few days over 60 years ago. "I want more goals, and if you don't deliver there are others just waiting for their chance!" And they were too: Villa had two reserve strikers - Ken Price and Brian Handley - who were knocking in goals for fun for the reserve teams.

What made Joe Mercer get angry? Well, the previous match the Villa had lost at Anfield after a long unbeaten run by Villa in their first season back in the second tier since before 'the war'. Villa were high in the table but, since the first few games, they were not killing off the opposition, despite the fact that in Gerry Hitchens and Peter McParland Villa had two players with plenty of goal-scoring potential. Bobby Thomson wasn't bad either.

So, Villa were then paid a visit by Charlton Athletic, who were no mean side. I - as a 15-year-old - went down to Villa Park as per usual, star-struck by Hitchens and 'Supermac' and hoping to see a couple of goals from them that day. Well, when Villa were winning 4-1 at half-time I was more than pleased and certainly happy that Hitchens had scored his hat-trick before the break. But what about Supermac? He looked as though his nose had been put out of joint by Gerry's first-half achievement!

Well, when Gerry scored his fifth to make it 6-1, the Villa fans were really getting goal-happy! What is more, Gerry's fifth goal was hit so powerfully that Charlton 'keeper Willie Duff broke a finger in trying to save the old leather caseball. This was in the days before substitutes and with Duff having to go off, his place was taken in goal by a Charlton outfielder. Duff soon came back on but was unable to take his place in goal, and played on the wing instead.

The goals kept on coming, and before it was 9-1 the stand-in 'keeper gave up in disgust and called on another team-mate to go into goal. And Supermac? He still hadn't scored! And at 9-1 every other forward had scored apart from he! But he was not going to be outdone and finished the match with two trade-mark goals to make sure that he was on the score-sheet and to record a day's work when every Villa forward had scored. 11-1. Wow!

But it didn't stop there! With Joe Mercer's warning still ringing in their ears, Villa went to Bristol City the next week and won 5-0, with Hitchens scoring three more! And then Villa won 5-0 at home against Scunthorpe with Hitchens scoring another brace. He managed 10 goals over that three-games period.

But that was it. There were no more great scoring heroics that season, apart from a 4-0 win over championship contenders Huddersfield (which side included a certain Dennis Law!) and a remarkable 4-4 draw against championship hopefuls Liverpool at Villa Park after Villa had been 0-4 down with 20 minutes to go! What a finale that was and a match in which Brian Handley finally got his chance because of an injury to Hitchens, but was never seen again. Nor was Ken Price.

Both Hitchens and McParland finished with an overall 25 goals each that season, with Thomson netting 22. And Villa finished as champions and were promoted at the first time of asking.

No-one at Villa has scored 5 in a league match since then. Only Hateley (4 at Spurs in 1966) and Abraham (4 against Nottingham Forest last season) have been close.

Hitchens scored his 5 just over 30 years since the previous Villa 5-goal scorer. We are very much overdue for another 5 goal scorer!

UTV!