It's always worthwhile to take a trip to Brighton. Except when it's not, when you fall foul of the parking attendant's book and collect a parking fine! That's what happened to me when I lived down souf and decided to take a trip there on March 25th, 1972 to see the new-look Villa team. They had just gone through 11 games undefeated and had not long acquired Ian Ross and Chris Nicholl. And it was Ray Graydon's first season.
Brighton, in fact, were doing well back then in that division (lying third), just as they are doing well now. But I still felt that Villa, being top of the table and with their recent acquisitions and Bruce 'the Cannon' Rioch in their ranks, would be shooting down a few seagulls.
Well, it was a disappointment. Despite a 20-yarder that was put home by Brucie, Brighton won the day 2-1. I remember someone got stabbed in the crowd, and then I collected that parking ticket! But Villa only lost one more game in the rest of the season (2 defeats in 23 games) to finish top of the old Division Three. Funny that the other game they lost in that run (again 2-1) was also on the south coast, at Torquay, but a month later Villa squashed 'em 5-1 at Villa Park having already been promoted through Charlie Aitken's goal at Bradford.
So, 44 years later we visit them again in a lower division. And, as we all know, before the latest Brucie arrived we would not have been having thoughts of the possibility of getting a win at the second-placed club, who are five points ahead of the third team and chasing Newcastle hard. In fact, I wonder how many Villa fans think now that Villa have a chance of winning?
In fact, though I expected Villa to win back then in '72, I don't expect them to win this time. It's a long trip down to Brighton, but provided Villa put in a spirited performance, I do expect a draw. We have the firepower with Codger up there and one or two useful assistants, so I think we'll at least manage to increase Brucie's unbeaten run.
Psychologically, it's so important to keep this unbeaten run going and to raise confidence. In fact, as we all know, Villa have spent so much money in assembling this squad that it's galling not to see them scrapping it out at the top of the table, but money alone is clearly not the answer. Brucie has proved that it's old-fashioned man-management techniques that will win the day (plus some talent and energy, of course) and to my mind he has answered the emergency call extremely well. Reservations about his capability of taking the club to the very top of the top tier remain, but for the moment I feel it's wise just to enjoy the ride: the future will take care of itself, I believe.
So, they're off to see the sea! Let's hope Villa don't manage to catch a crab!
Brighton, in fact, were doing well back then in that division (lying third), just as they are doing well now. But I still felt that Villa, being top of the table and with their recent acquisitions and Bruce 'the Cannon' Rioch in their ranks, would be shooting down a few seagulls.
Well, it was a disappointment. Despite a 20-yarder that was put home by Brucie, Brighton won the day 2-1. I remember someone got stabbed in the crowd, and then I collected that parking ticket! But Villa only lost one more game in the rest of the season (2 defeats in 23 games) to finish top of the old Division Three. Funny that the other game they lost in that run (again 2-1) was also on the south coast, at Torquay, but a month later Villa squashed 'em 5-1 at Villa Park having already been promoted through Charlie Aitken's goal at Bradford.
So, 44 years later we visit them again in a lower division. And, as we all know, before the latest Brucie arrived we would not have been having thoughts of the possibility of getting a win at the second-placed club, who are five points ahead of the third team and chasing Newcastle hard. In fact, I wonder how many Villa fans think now that Villa have a chance of winning?
In fact, though I expected Villa to win back then in '72, I don't expect them to win this time. It's a long trip down to Brighton, but provided Villa put in a spirited performance, I do expect a draw. We have the firepower with Codger up there and one or two useful assistants, so I think we'll at least manage to increase Brucie's unbeaten run.
Psychologically, it's so important to keep this unbeaten run going and to raise confidence. In fact, as we all know, Villa have spent so much money in assembling this squad that it's galling not to see them scrapping it out at the top of the table, but money alone is clearly not the answer. Brucie has proved that it's old-fashioned man-management techniques that will win the day (plus some talent and energy, of course) and to my mind he has answered the emergency call extremely well. Reservations about his capability of taking the club to the very top of the top tier remain, but for the moment I feel it's wise just to enjoy the ride: the future will take care of itself, I believe.
So, they're off to see the sea! Let's hope Villa don't manage to catch a crab!
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