1960–61 Aston Villa F.C. season
English football club season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1960–61 English football season was Aston Villa's 62nd season in The Football League. Villa played in the First Division.
| 1960–61 season | |
|---|---|
| Manager | Joe Mercer |
| Stadium | Villa Park |
| First Division | 10th |
| FA Cup | Fifth round |
| League Cup | Winners |
In the Second City derby Aston Villa beat Birmingham City 6–2 at Villa Park, Peter McParland, Gerry Hitchens(3), and Alan O’Neill(2) scoring for Villa.[1] The away fixture was drawn 1-1.[2]
There were debuts for Charlie Aitken (561), John Sleeuwenhoek (226), Alan Baker (92), Geoff Sidebottom (70), Alan O'Neill (23), Fred Potter (6),[3] Jimmy McMorran (14),[4] Alfie Hale (5) and Mike Kenning (3).[5]
League Cup
The League Cup was a knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs introduced to provide a new source of income. The 1960–61 Football League Cup was the inaugural season. Five League teams did not compete (Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Sheffield Wednesday, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers). Despite an initial lack of enthusiasm on the part of some other big clubs, the competition became firmly established in the footballing calendar.
Villa received a bye to the second round and, on 12 October, beat Huddersfield Town 4–1 at home before a crowd of 17,057. On 15 Nov 1960 7,677 watched Preston North End draw 3–3 with travelling Villa. The Villains won the home replay 3–1 in front of 15,000.
The competition ended with the two-legged final almost a year later on 22 August and 5 September 1961. Villa beat Rotherham United 3–2 on aggregate after extra time. Rotherham won the first leg 2–0 at Millmoor, their home ground thanks to goals from Alan Kirkman and Barry Webster. In the second leg at Villa Park, Harry Burrows and Peter McParland levelled the tie on aggregate and Alan O'Neill scored in extra-time to win the cup.
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Notes | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 Oct 1960 | Huddersfield | Villa Park | 4–1 W | 2nd Round | Gerry Hitchens 19'; Ron Wylie 27', 55'; Harry Burrows 78' |
| 15 Nov 1960 | Preston | Deepdale | 3–3 D | 3rd Round | Alan O’Neill 5'; Gerry Hitchens 40'; Bobby Thomson 85' |
| 23 Nov 1960 | Preston | Villa Park | 3–1 W | 3rd Round replay | Gerry Hitchens 30'; Ron Wylie 58'; Jimmy MacEwan 82' |
| 13 Dec 1960 | Plymouth | Villa Park | 3–3 D | 4th Round | Peter McParland 48', 56'; Jimmy MacEwan 70' |
| 19 Dec 1960 | Plymouth | Home Park | 0–0 D | 4th Round replay | — |
| 6 Feb 1961 | Plymouth | Home Park | 5–3 W | 4th Round 2nd replay | Harry Burrows 45'; Alan O’Neill 59'; Gerry Hitchens 63', 70', 88' |
| 22 Feb 1961 | Wrexham | Villa Park | 3–0 W | Quarter-final | Bobby Thomson 61'; Gerry Hitchens 67', 77' |
| 10 Apr 1961 | Burnley | Turf Moor | 1–1 D | Semi-final | Gerry Hitchens 35' |
| 26 Apr 1961 | Burnley | Villa Park | 2–2 D | Semi-final replay | Gerry Hitchens 14'; Bobby Thomson 21' |
| 2 May 1961 | Burnley | Old Trafford | 2–1 W | Semi-final 2nd replay | Stan Lynn 69' (pen); Gerry Hitchens 87' |
Final
The 1961 League Cup Final was played on 22 August and 5 September 1961 and was contested between First Division side Aston Villa and Second Division team Rotherham United. Aston Villa won the game 3–2 on aggregate (after extra time).
First leg
| Rotherham United | 2–0 | Aston Villa |
|---|---|---|
Webster  51' Kirkman 55' |
          Rotherham United
|
    Aston Villa
|
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First Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | Manchester United | 42 | 18 | 9 | 15 | 88 | 76 | 1.158 | 45 |
| 8 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 77 | 76 | 1.013 | 43 |
| 9 | Aston Villa | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 78 | 77 | 1.013 | 43 |
| 10 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 18 | 5 | 19 | 67 | 71 | 0.944 | 41 |
| 11 | Arsenal | 42 | 15 | 11 | 16 | 77 | 85 | 0.906 | 41 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
Matches
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Notes | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 Aug 1960 | Chelsea | H | 3–2 | — | Peter McParland, Gerry Hitchens, Bobby Thomson [6] |
| 22 Aug 1960 | West Ham | A | 2–5 | — | Bobby Thomson, Gerry Hitchens [7] |
| 27 Aug 1960 | Blackpool | A | 3–5 | — | Peter McParland, Gerry Hitchens (2) [8] |
| 29 Aug 1960 | West Ham | H | 2–1 | — | Gerry Hitchens, Bobby Thomson [9] |
| 3 Sep 1960 | Everton | H | 3–2 | — | Gerry Hitchens (2), Bobby Thomson [10] |
| 7 Sep 1960 | Cardiff City | A | 1–1 | — | Vic Crowe [11] |
| 10 Sep 1960 | Blackburn | A | 1–4 | — | Gerry Hitchens [12] |
| 12 Sep 1960 | Cardiff City | H | 2–1 | — | Bobby Thomson, Harry Burrows [13] |
| 17 Sep 1960 | Manchester United | H | 3–1 | — | Harry Burrows, Bobby Thomson, Jimmy MacEwan [14] |
| 24 Sep 1960 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2–6 | — | Jimmy MacEwan, Gerry Hitchens [15] |
| 1 Oct 1960 | Leicester City | H | 1–3 | — | Peter McParland [16] |
| 8 Oct 1960 | Newcastle United | H | 2–0 | — | Ron Wylie, Vic Crowe [17] |
| 15 Oct 1960 | Arsenal | A | 1–2 | — | Jimmy MacEwan [18] |
| 22 Oct 1960 | Birmingham City | H | 6–2 | — | Alan O’Neill (2), Gerry Hitchens (3), Peter McParland [19] |
| 29 Oct 1960 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 2–0 | — | Gerry Hitchens, Alan O’Neill [20] |
| 5 Nov 1960 | Burnley | H | 2–0 | — | Gerry Hitchens (2) [21] |
| 12 Nov 1960 | Preston North End | A | 1–1 | — | Peter McParland [22] |
| 19 Nov 1960 | Fulham | H | 2–1 | — | Jimmy MacEwan, Ron Wylie [23] |
| 26 Nov 1960 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 2–1 | — | Own goal, Gerry Hitchens [24] |
| 3 Dec 1960 | Manchester City | H | 5–1 | — | Alan O’Neill, Gerry Hitchens (2), Peter McParland, Ron Wylie [25] |
| 10 Dec 1960 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–2 | — | — [26] |
| 17 Dec 1960 | Chelsea | A | 4–2 | — | Jimmy MacEwan, Ron Wylie, Bobby Thomson (2) [27] |
| 24 Dec 1960 | Wolves | H | 0–2 | — | — [28] |
| 26 Dec 1960 | Wolves | A | 2–3 | — | Gerry Hitchens (2) [29] |
| 31 Dec 1960 | Blackpool | H | 2–2 | — | Gerry Hitchens (2) [30] |
| 21 Jan 1961 | Blackburn | H | 2–2 | — | Gerry Hitchens (2) |
| 4 Feb 1961 | Manchester United | A | 1–1 | — | Bobby Thomson |
| 11 Feb 1961 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–2 | — | Stan Lynn (pen) |
| 25 Feb 1961 | Newcastle United | A | 1–2 | — | Peter McParland |
| 4 Mar 1961 | Arsenal | H | 2–2 | — | Peter McParland, Jimmy MacEwan |
| 11 Mar 1961 | Birmingham City | A | 1–1 | — | Gerry Hitchens |
| 22 Mar 1961 | Everton | A | 2–1 | — | Alan Deakin, Bobby Thomson |
| 25 Mar 1961 | Burnley | A | 1–1 | — | Gerry Hitchens |
| 28 Mar 1961 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 0–1 | — | — |
| 1 Apr 1961 | Nottingham Forest | H | 1–2 | — | Peter McParland |
| 3 Apr 1961 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 0–3 | — | — |
| 4 Apr 1961 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 4–0 | — | Jimmy MacEwan (2), Peter McParland, Alan O’Neill |
| 8 Apr 1961 | Fulham | A | 1–1 | — | Gerry Hitchens |
| 15 Apr 1961 | Preston North End | H | 1–0 | — | Bobby Thomson |
| 19 Apr 1961 | Leicester City | A | 1–3 | — | Alfie Hale |
| 22 Apr 1961 | Manchester City | A | 1–4 | — | Vic Crowe |
| 29 Apr 1961 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 4–1 | — | Gerry Hitchens (2), Bobby Thomson, Johnny Dixon |