1961–62 Aston Villa F.C. season
English football club season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1961–62 English football season was Aston Villa's 63rd season in The Football League. Villa played in the First Division.
| 1961–62 season | |
|---|---|
| Manager | Joe Mercer |
| Stadium | Villa Park |
| First Division | 7th |
| FA Cup | x |
| League Cup | Runner-up |
| 27--18--22 | |
In the Second City derby both teams won their away fixtures.[1]
Winning the 1961 Football League Cup Final was the pinnacle for Villa. They finished seventh in 1961–62, the following season saw the beginning of a decline in form.[2]
There were debuts for Derek Dougan (51), Tommy Ewing (39), Ken Fencott (3), Wilson Briggs (2), Allan Jones (1),[3][4] and Ralph Brown.[5] Lew Chatterley who began his career as an apprentice at Aston Villa, turned professional this season, with his league debut coming the following season. He remained at Villa Park for over 9 years, making 153 league appearances and scoring 26 goals.
Derek Dougan joined Villa in July 1961 for a fee of £15,000.[6] The 23-year-old was signed by manager Joe Mercer as a replacement for Gerry Hitchens, who had been sold on to Inter Milan earlier in the summer for £85,000.[7] Teammate Peter McParland later commented that "when Derek came to us at Aston Villa I think it was at a time when he was not taking the game particularly seriously".[8] After returning from watching his "Villans" teammates win the 1961 League Cup Final at Villa Park on 5 September, Dougan was a passenger in a car accident which killed fellow passenger Malcolm Williams and left Dougan with a broken arm and head injuries; driver and teammate Bobby Thomson was charged but found 'Not Guilty' of careless driving.[9] In November 2010 – three years after Dougan's death, Thomson claimed that Dougan had drunkenly pulled a deerstalker hat over his eyes, causing him to crash the car.[10] Dougan recovered after three months on the sidelines and ended the 1961–62 season with 12 goals in 27 matches.[11]
Table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Sheffield United | 42 | 19 | 9 | 14 | 61 | 69 | 0.884 | 47 |
| 6 | Sheffield Wednesday | 42 | 20 | 6 | 16 | 72 | 58 | 1.241 | 46 |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 42 | 18 | 8 | 16 | 65 | 56 | 1.161 | 44 |
| 8 | West Ham United | 42 | 17 | 10 | 15 | 76 | 82 | 0.927 | 44 |
| 9 | West Bromwich Albion | 42 | 15 | 13 | 14 | 83 | 67 | 1.239 | 43 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
Matches
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Notes | Scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 Aug 1961 | Everton | A | 0–2 | — | — [12] |
| 26 Aug 1961 | Chelsea | H | 3–1 | — | Bobby Thomson, Harry Burrows, Jimmy MacEwan [13] |
| 28 Aug 1961 | Wolves | A | 2–2 | — | Derek Dougan (2) [14] |
| 2 Sep 1961 | Sheffield United | A | 2–0 | — | Harry Burrows, Derek Dougan [15] |
| 9 Sep 1961 | West Ham United | H | 2–4 | — | Vic Crowe, Peter McParland [16] |
| 16 Sep 1961 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 2–4 | — | Mike Tindall, Harry Burrows [17] |
| 18 Sep 1961 | Manchester United | H | 1–1 | — | Peter McParland [18] |
| 23 Sep 1961 | Blackpool | H | 5–0 | — | Harry Burrows (2), Peter McParland (3) [19] |
| 30 Sep 1961 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–1 | — | — [20] |
| 2 Oct 1961 | Wolves | H | 1–0 | — | Jimmy MacEwan [21] |
| 7 Oct 1961 | Fulham | A | 1–3 | — | Jimmy MacEwan [22] |
| 16 Oct 1961 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 1–0 | — | Peter McParland |
| 21 Oct 1961 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 1–1 | — | Own goal |
| 28 Oct 1961 | Birmingham City | H | 1–3 | — | Peter McParland |
| 4 Nov 1961 | Burnley | A | 0–3 | — | — |
| 11 Nov 1961 | Arsenal | H | 3–1 | — | Harry Burrows, Peter McParland, Bobby Thomson |
| 18 Nov 1961 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | — | Bobby Thomson |
| 25 Nov 1961 | Manchester City | H | 2–1 | — | Harry Burrows, Peter McParland |
| 2 Dec 1961 | Leicester City | A | 2–0 | — | Ron Wylie, Derek Dougan |
| 9 Dec 1961 | Ipswich Town | H | 3–0 | — | Peter McParland (2), Bobby Thomson |
| 16 Dec 1961 | Everton | H | 1–1 | — | Bobby Thomson |
| 23 Dec 1961 | Chelsea | A | 0–1 | — | — |
| 26 Dec 1961 | Cardiff City | A | 0–1 | — | — |
| 13 Jan 1962 | Sheffield United | H | 0–0 | — | — |
| 15 Jan 1962 | Manchester United | A | 0–2 | — | — |
| 20 Jan 1962 | West Ham United | A | 0–2 | — | — |
| 3 Feb 1962 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–0 | — | Derek Dougan |
| 10 Feb 1962 | Blackpool | A | 2–1 | — | Jimmy MacEwan, Jimmy McMorran |
| 21 Feb 1962 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–0 | — | — |
| 24 Feb 1962 | Fulham | H | 2–0 | — | Jimmy MacEwan, Harry Burrows |
| 3 Mar 1962 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 0–3 | — | — |
| 14 Mar 1962 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 1–0 | — | Harry Burrows |
| 17 Mar 1962 | Birmingham City | A | 2–0 | — | Harry Burrows, Ron Wylie |
| 24 Mar 1962 | Burnley | H | 0–2 | — | — |
| 31 Mar 1962 | Arsenal | A | 5–4 | — | Bobby Thomson (2), Derek Dougan, Vic Crowe, Tommy Ewing |
| 7 Apr 1962 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 3–0 | — | Tommy Ewing, Bobby Thomson, Derek Dougan |
| 14 Apr 1962 | Manchester City | A | 0–1 | — | — |
| 21 Apr 1962 | Leicester City | H | 8–3 | — | Bobby Thomson (3), Derek Dougan (2), Own goal, Alan Baker, Harry Burrows |
| 23 Apr 1962 | Nottingham Forest | H | 5–1 | — | Harry Burrows (2), Bobby Thomson, Tommy Ewing, Own goal |
| 24 Apr 1962 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–2 | — | — |
| 28 Apr 1962 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–2 | — | — |
| 1 May 1962 | Cardiff City | H | 2–2 | — | Own goal, Derek Dougan |
FA Cup
League Cup
Second leg
| Aston Villa | 3 – 0 (a.e.t.) | Rotherham United |
|---|---|---|
O'Neill  67' Burrows 69' McParland 109' |
         Aston Villa
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     Rotherham United
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