1958–59 Aston Villa F.C. season
English football club season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1958–59 English football season was Aston Villa's 60th season in The Football League. Villa played in the First Division, the top-tier of English football but were relegated for the second time in their history.
| 1958–59 season | |
|---|---|
| Manager | Eric Houghton Joe Mercer |
| Stadium | Villa Park |
| First Division | 21st |
| FA Cup | Semi finals |
| 25--17--21 | |
In December 1958, Joe Mercer, wanting to move to another club, resigned and moved to Villa who were bottom of the First Division. Although he led them to the FA Cup semi-finals, they were relegated to the Second Division once again. He moulded a talented young side at Villa and his team became known as the "Mercer Minors".[1]
Local rival "Wolves" achieved the double over Villa, part of a run of seven between 1957 and 1960.[2]
In the second City derby Villa could only manage a draw at home before being defeated at St Andrews.[3]
There were exits for Les Smith, Billy Myerscough, Peter Aldis and Wally Hazelden.
There were debuts for Ron Wylie (196),[4] Gordon Lee (118),[5] Doug Winton (37),[6] John Sharples (13),[7] Ken Barrett (5),[8] Bill Beaton (1),[9] and Jack Willis (1).[10][11]
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 | Tottenham Hotspur | 42 | 13 | 10 | 19 | 85 | 95 | 0.895 | 36 | |
| 19 | Leicester City | 42 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 67 | 98 | 0.684 | 32 | |
| 20 | Manchester City | 42 | 11 | 9 | 22 | 64 | 95 | 0.674 | 31 | |
| 21 | Aston Villa (R) | 42 | 11 | 8 | 23 | 58 | 87 | 0.667 | 30 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 22 | Portsmouth (R) | 42 | 6 | 9 | 27 | 64 | 112 | 0.571 | 21 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(R) Relegated
Matches
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Notes | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 Aug 1958 | Birmingham City | Villa Park | 1–1 | — | Stan Lynn (pen 52') [12] |
| 25 Aug 1958 | Portsmouth | Villa Park | 3–2 | — | Billy Myerscough (32'), Johnny Dixon (54'), Peter McParland (64') [13] |
| 30 Aug 1958 | West Ham United | Upton Park | 2–7 | — | Jackie Sewell (79'), Les Smith (88') [14] |
| 3 Sep 1958 | Portsmouth | Fratton Park | 2–5 | — | Gerry Hitchens (2'), Les Smith (81') [15] |
| 6 Sep 1958 | Nottingham Forest | Villa Park | 2–3 | — | Les Smith (55'), Gerry Hitchens (62') [16] |
| 8 Sep 1958 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Villa Park | 1–3 | — | Gerry Hitchens (6') [17] |
| 13 Sep 1958 | Chelsea | Stamford Bridge | 1–2 | — | Wally Hazelden (31') [18] |
| 17 Sep 1958 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Molineux | 0–4 | — | — [19] |
| 20 Sep 1958 | Blackpool | Villa Park | 1–1 | — | Billy Myerscough (45') [20] |
| 27 Sep 1958 | Blackburn Rovers | Ewood Park | 3–2 | — | Peter McParland (21'), Gerry Hitchens (27'), Les Smith (72') [21] |
| 4 Oct 1958 | Newcastle United | Villa Park | 2–1 | — | Ken Barrett (35', 53') [22] |
| 11 Oct 1958 | West Bromwich Albion | Villa Park | 1–4 | — | Ken Barrett (13') [23] |
| 18 Oct 1958 | Leeds United | Elland Road | 0–0 | — | — [24] |
| 22 Oct 1958 | Arsenal | Villa Park | 1–2 | — | Peter McParland (39') [25] |
| 25 Oct 1958 | Bolton Wanderers | Villa Park | 2–1 | — | Peter McParland (15'), Stan Lynn (89') [26] |
| 1 Nov 1958 | Luton Town | Kenilworth Road | 1–2 | — | Gerry Hitchens (35') [27] |
| 8 Nov 1958 | Everton | Villa Park | 2–4 | — | Jackie Sewell (70'), Gerry Hitchens (74') [28] |
| 15 Nov 1958 | Leicester City | Filbert Street | 3–6 | — | Jackie Sewell (1'), Gerry Hitchens (11', 35') [29] |
| 22 Nov 1958 | Preston North End | Villa Park | 2–0 | — | Les Smith (pen 24'), Peter McParland (26') [30] |
| 29 Nov 1958 | Burnley | Turf Moor | 1–3 | — | Gerry Hitchens (63') [31] |
| 6 Dec 1958 | Manchester City | Villa Park | 1–1 | — | Billy Myerscough (78') |
| 13 Dec 1958 | Arsenal | Highbury | 2–1 | — | Billy Myerscough (43'), Peter McParland (51') |
| 20 Dec 1958 | Birmingham City | St Andrew’s | 1–4 | — | Wally Hazelden (26') |
| 26 Dec 1958 | Manchester United | Old Trafford | 1–2 | — | Billy Myerscough (36') |
| 27 Dec 1958 | Manchester United | Villa Park | 0–2 | — | — |
| 3 Jan 1959 | West Ham United | Villa Park | 1–2 | — | Peter McParland (48') |
| 31 Jan 1959 | Chelsea | Villa Park | 3–1 | — | Billy Myerscough (15'), Stan Lynn (17'), Peter McParland (87') |
| 7 Feb 1959 | Blackpool | Bloomfield Road | 1–2 | — | Peter McParland (29') |
| 18 Feb 1959 | Blackburn Rovers | Villa Park | 1–0 | — | Jackie Sewell (55') |
| 21 Feb 1959 | Newcastle United | St James’ Park | 0–1 | — | — |
| 7 Mar 1959 | Leeds United | Villa Park | 2–1 | — | Jackie Sewell (73'), Gerry Hitchens (90') |
| 18 Mar 1959 | Bolton Wanderers | Burnden Park | 3–1 | — | Gerry Hitchens (27', 33', 80') |
| 21 Mar 1959 | Luton Town | Villa Park | 3–1 | — | Les Smith (pen 63'), Gerry Hitchens (70', 85') |
| 27 Mar 1959 | Tottenham Hotspur | White Hart Lane | 2–3 | — | Peter McParland (27', 77') |
| 28 Mar 1959 | Everton | Goodison Park | 1–2 | — | Peter McParland (22') |
| 30 Mar 1959 | Tottenham Hotspur | Villa Park | 1–1 | — | Peter McParland (22') |
| 4 Apr 1959 | Leicester City | Villa Park | 1–2 | — | Johnny Dixon (65') |
| 11 Apr 1959 | Preston North End | Deepdale | 2–4 | — | Jackie Sewell (26'), Billy Myerscough (44') |
| 18 Apr 1959 | Burnley | Villa Park | 0–0 | — | — |
| 20 Apr 1959 | Nottingham Forest | City Ground | 0–2 | — | — |
| 25 Apr 1959 | Manchester City | Maine Road | 0–0 | — | — |
| 29 Apr 1959 | West Bromwich Albion | The Hawthorns | 1–1 | — | Gerry Hitchens (65') |
Source: avfchistory.co.uk
FA Cup
Appearances
- Peter McParland, 47 appearances
- Jimmy Dugdale, 47 appearances
- Nigel Sims, 47 appearances, conceded 85
- Gerry Hitchens, 41 appearances
- Vic Crowe, 39 appearances
- Jackie Sewell, 38 appearances
- Les Smith, 35 appearances
- Johnny Dixon, 34 appearances
- Peter Aldis, 33 appearances
- Billy Myerscough, 32 appearances
- Stan Crowther, 29 appearances
- Stan Lynn, 27 appearances
- Ron Wylie, 26 appearances
- Doug Winton, 18 appearances
- Pat Saward, 14 appearances
- Gordon Lee, 14 appearances
- John Sharples, 13 appearances
- Derek Pace, 12 appearances
- George Ashfield, 9 appearances
- Wally Hazelden, 8 appearances
- Roy Chapman, 8 appearances
- Dennis Jackson, 5 appearances
- Ken Barrett, 5 appearances
- Les Jones, 5 appearances
- Ken Roberts, 2 appearances
- Trevor Birch, 2 appearances
- Jackie Hinchliffe, 2 appearances
- Arthur Sabin, 1 appearance, conceded 1
- Tommy Southren, 1 appearance
- Jack Willis, 1 appearance
- Bill Beaton, 1 appearance, conceded 6 [32]