1930–31 Aston Villa F.C. season
English football club season
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The 1930–31 English football season was Aston Villa's 39th season in The Football League, Villa playing in the in the First Division. Villa scored 128 league goals in 42 matches, a First Division record.[1] Villa's Pongo Waring finished as the leagues top scorer with 49 goals,[2] overshadowing Eric Houghton who scored 30 goals.[3] As of 2023, this remains the Villa record season for goals scored.[4]
| 1930–31 season | |
|---|---|
| Manager | Billy Smith |
| Stadium | Villa Park |
| First Division | 2nd |
| FA Cup | Third round |
| 18—10—11 | |
Villa started the season with four successive league wins, a record not matched until the 2020–21 season.[5] On 17 January 1931 Villa beat Bolton 3–1.[6][7] They would go on to win their eight remaining home games and thus had nine consecutive home wins to end the season.[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] Other notable statistics included inflicting a 7–0 victory over Manchester United, the joint-heaviest competitive defeat for that club[16] In the Second City derby, following a 1–1 home draw,[17] Villa beat Birmingham 4–0 at St Andrews with goals by Joe Beresford, Eric Houghton, Jack Mandley and Joe Tate.[18]
There were debuts for Tommy Wood (71),[19] Reg Miles (16) [20] and Percy Maggs (14).[21][22] After a trial with Villa in October 1930, goalkeeper, Harry Morton (192) was signed as an amateur and made his club debut for the reserves in a Central League game against Everton Reserves on 22 November 1930. He went on to sign as a professional in March 1931. Richard York (356) played just four times in the 1930–31 campaign.[23]
Diary of season
- 8 Nov 1930 Aston Villa lost 5–2 at Arsenal Stadium in front of a crowd of 56,417.[7]
- 14th Mar 1931: Villa stopped Arsenal in their tracks with a 5–1 victory at Villa Park.[24]
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal (C) | 42 | 28 | 10 | 4 | 127 | 59 | 2.153 | 66 |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 42 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 128 | 78 | 1.641 | 59 |
| 3 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 22 | 8 | 12 | 102 | 75 | 1.360 | 52 |
| 4 | Portsmouth | 42 | 18 | 13 | 11 | 84 | 67 | 1.254 | 49 |
| 5 | Huddersfield Town | 42 | 18 | 12 | 12 | 81 | 65 | 1.246 | 48 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions
Matches
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Notes | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 Aug 1930 | Manchester United | Away | 4–3 | — | Pongo Waring 27', 47', 48', 89' |
| 1 Sep 1930 | Sheffield Wednesday | Home | 2–0 | — | Pongo Waring 57'; George Brown 63' |
| 6 Sep 1930 | West Ham | Home | 6–1 | — | Eric Houghton 8'; Billy Walker 2–0; Pongo Waring 27', 53', 66'; 6–1 |
| 9 Sep 1930 | Grimsby Town | Away | 2–1 | — | Pongo Waring 24'; Eric Houghton 29' |
| 13 Sep 1930 | Bolton | Away | 1–1 | — | Pongo Waring 81' |
| 15 Sep 1930 | Grimsby Town | Home | 2–0 | — | Eric Houghton 22'; Pongo Waring 43' |
| 20 Sep 1930 | Liverpool | Home | 4–2 | — | Eric Houghton 27'; George Brown 37'; Billy Walker 44'; Pongo Waring 83' |
| 27 Sep 1930 | Middlesbrough | Away | 1–3 | — | Joe Beresford 17' |
| 4 Oct 1930 | Huddersfield | Home | 6–1 | — | Eric Houghton 1–0, 66'; Billy Walker 10', 62', 63'; Pongo Waring 48' |
| 11 Oct 1930 | Sunderland | Away | 1–1 | — | Eric Houghton 42' |
| 18 Oct 1930 | Birmingham | Home | 1–1 | — | Pongo Waring 35' |
| 25 Oct 1930 | Leicester | Away | 1–4 | — | Pongo Waring 67' |
| 1 Nov 1930 | Blackburn | Home | 5–2 | — | Pongo Waring 1–0, 4–1; Joe Beresford 27'; Eric Houghton 16', 83' |
| 8 Nov 1930 | Arsenal | Away | 2–5 | — | Pongo Waring 42'; 2–4 |
| 15 Nov 1930 | Derby County | Home | 4–6 | — | Eric Houghton 9' (pen), 55'; Alec Talbot 41'; Pongo Waring 74' |
| 22 Nov 1930 | Blackpool | Away | 2–2 | — | Reg Chester 25'; Jack Mandley 84' |
| 3 Dec 1930 | Portsmouth | Home | 2–2 | — | Jimmy Gibson 1–0; Jack Mandley 2–0 |
| 6 Dec 1930 | Sheffield United | Away | 4–3 | — | Pongo Waring 6', 11'; Eric Houghton 3–1; Billy Walker 82' |
| 13 Dec 1930 | Leeds United | Home | 4–3 | — | Jack Mandley 8'; Eric Houghton 30'; Pongo Waring 41'; Billy Walker 73' |
| 20 Dec 1930 | Manchester City | Away | 1–3 | — | Pongo Waring 62' |
| 25 Dec 1930 | Chelsea | Away | 2–0 | — | Pongo Waring; Billy Walker |
| 26 Dec 1930 | Chelsea | Home | 3–3 | — | Pongo Waring 1–1, 2–1; Eric Houghton 3–3 (pen) |
| 27 Dec 1930 | Manchester United | Home | 7–0 | — | Jack Mandley 8', 66'; Eric Houghton 22' (pen), 28' (pen); George Brown 55', 69'; Joe Beresford 76' |
| 1 Jan 1931 | Newcastle | Away | 0–2 | — | None |
| 3 Jan 1931 | West Ham | Away | 5–5 | — | Joe Beresford 4', 61'; George Brown 40'; Billy Walker 30'; Eric Houghton 53' (pen) |
| 17 Jan 1931 | Bolton | Home | 3–1 | — | Eric Houghton 22'; Pongo Waring 52'; Jack Mandley 80' |
| 24 Jan 1931 | Liverpool | Away | 1–1 | — | Billy Walker 79' |
| 31 Jan 1931 | Middlesbrough | Home | 8–1 | — | Joe Beresford 6'; Pongo Waring 25', 66'; Billy Walker 40'; Eric Houghton 42', 84'; Jack Mandley 72' |
| 7 Feb 1931 | Huddersfield | Away | 6–1 | — | Pongo Waring 16', 75'; Eric Houghton 48', 71'; Jimmy Gibson 85'; Joe Beresford 87' |
| 18 Feb 1931 | Sunderland | Home | 4–2 | — | Pongo Waring 5', 13', 36'; 4–1 |
| 21 Feb 1931 | Birmingham | Away | 4–0 | — | Joe Tate 26'; Jack Mandley 58'; Eric Houghton 72'; Joe Beresford 80' |
| 28 Feb 1931 | Leicester | Home | 4–2 | — | Pongo Waring 31'; Joe Beresford 44', 81', 88' |
| 7 Mar 1931 | Blackburn | Away | 2–0 | — | Joe Beresford 24'; Pongo Waring 82' |
| 14 Mar 1931 | Arsenal | Home | 5–1 | — | Pongo Waring 1', 37'; Billy Walker 44'; Eric Houghton 65', 80' |
| 21 Mar 1931 | Derby County | Away | 1–1 | — | Eric Houghton 87' |
| 28 Mar 1931 | Blackpool | Home | 4–1 | — | Pongo Waring 20', 81', 89'; Eric Houghton 2–0 |
| 4 Apr 1931 | Portsmouth | Away | 0–5 | — | None |
| 7 Apr 1931 | Newcastle | Home | 4–3 | — | Billy Walker 33', 40'; Eric Houghton 52' (pen); Pongo Waring 85' |
| 11 Apr 1931 | Sheffield United | Home | 4–0 | — | Billy Walker 35'; Eric Houghton 48' (pen); Pongo Waring 80', 82' |
| 18 Apr 1931 | Leeds United | Away | 2–0 | — | Pongo Waring 42'; Reg Chester 50' |
| 25 Apr 1931 | Manchester City | Home | 4–2 | — | Reg Chester 2'; Joe Beresford 7'; Pongo Waring 53'; Eric Houghton 85' |
| 2 May 1931 | Sheffield Wednesday | Away | 0–3 | — | None |
Source: avfchistory.co.uk