1968–69 Aston Villa F.C. season
English football club season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1968–69 English football season was Aston Villa's 70th season in the Football League, this season playing in the Football League Second Division. Aston Villa had been in decline for several years; the club had an ageing five-man board "who had failed to adapt to the new football reality".[1] The club had neither developed a scouting network nor an effective coaching structure.[2]
(2) Doug Ellis
(2) Tommy Docherty
| 1968–69 season | |
|---|---|
| Chairman | (1) Norman Smith (2) Doug Ellis |
| Manager | (1) Tommy Cummings (2) Tommy Docherty |
| Stadium | Villa Park |
| Second Division | 18th |
| FA Cup | Fifth round |
| League Cup | Second round |
| 31--23--23 | |
In the pre-season, newspapers reported the arrival of Argentinian International Oscar Arce, formerly of Peñarol and Rosario Central. He was reportedly valued at £100,000 (at the time Martin Chivers was the League record signing at £125,000).[3][4] Following Arce joining, in July 1968, Peter Doherty was appointed chief scout.[5] Arce made seven appearance for the reserves, [6] but, while skilful, he was criticised for his temperament, fitness and lack of effort. The club bought him out of his contract.
Events off the pitch came to a head in November 1968. With Villa lying at the bottom of Division Two, the board sacked Tommy Cummings. On 21 November 1968 the problems in the boardroom were highlighted when board member George Robinson resigned. Following his resignation, the board issued a statement: "[The board] would make available, by their resignation, such seats as new financial arrangements might require".[2] Aston Villa F.C. was up for sale. After much speculation London financier Pat Matthews bought control of the club. He brought in local travel agent Doug Ellis as chair of the new board that was convened on 16 December 1968. Two days later Tommy Docherty was appointed as manager, his third club in six weeks, after his resignation from Rotherham United and a brief spell at Queens Park Rangers.[2]
There were debuts for Brian Tiler (107), Mike Ferguson (38), Dave Simmons (17), John Griffiths (3), John Chambers (2), and Barry Lynch (2).[7] After just two years at Blackburn Barrie Hole (47) moved, this time to Aston Villa for £60,000 in September 1968. In a disappointing season, Hole won the Aston Villa Lions Club Terrace Trophy for the best player at Aston Villa as decided by the fans.[8]
In the Second City derby both teams won their home game.[9]
Second Division
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GAv | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Bristol City | 42 | 11 | 16 | 15 | 46 | 53 | 0.868 | 38 |
| 17 | Bolton Wanderers | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 55 | 67 | 0.821 | 38 |
| 18 | Aston Villa | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 37 | 48 | 0.771 | 38 |
| 19 | Blackburn Rovers | 42 | 13 | 11 | 18 | 52 | 63 | 0.825 | 37 |
| 20 | Oxford United | 42 | 12 | 9 | 21 | 34 | 55 | 0.618 | 33 |
Matches
| 10 August 1968 | Sheffield United | 3–1 | Aston Villa | Bramall Lane |
| Report |  (Willie Anderson), 79' (pen.) |
|||
| Note: [10] | ||||
| 17 August 1968 | Aston Villa | 1–1 | Fulham | Villa Park |
| (John Woodward), 84' |
Report |
| 24 August 1968 | Blackburn Rovers | 2–0 | Aston Villa | Ewood Park |
| Report |
| 26 August 1968 | Aston Villa | 1–0 | Bristol City | Villa Park |
| (John Woodward), 73' |
Report |
| 31 August 1968 | Aston Villa | 0–1 | Blackpool | Villa Park |
| Report |
| 7 September 1968 | Derby County | 3–1 | Aston Villa | Baseball Ground |
| Report | (Mike Ferguson), 86' |
| 14 September 1968 | Aston Villa | 1–1 | Hull City | Villa Park |
| (Willie Anderson), 46' |
Report |
| 18 September 1968 | Bolton Wanderers | 4–1 | Aston Villa | Burnden Park |
| Report | (Brian Godfrey), 64' |
| 21 September 1968 | Birmingham City | 4–0 | Aston Villa | St Andrew's |
| Report |
| 28 September 1968 | Aston Villa | 2–0 | Oxford United | Villa Park |
| (Barrie Hole), 42' (Brian Godfrey), 83' |
Report |
| 5 October 1968 | Cardiff City | 1–1 | Aston Villa | Ninian Park |
| Report | (Brian Godfrey), 72' |
| 8 October 1968 | Bristol City | 1–0 | Aston Villa | Ashton Gate |
| Report |
| 19 October 1968 | Norwich City | 1–1 | Aston Villa | Carrow Road |
| Report | (Lew Chatterley), 3' |
| 26 October 1968 | Aston Villa | 0–0 | Carlisle United | Villa Park |
| Report |
| 2 November 1968 | Huddersfield Town | 3–1 | Aston Villa | Leeds Road |
| Report | (Mike Ferguson), 3' |
| 16 November 1968 | Portsmouth | 2–0 | Aston Villa | Fratton Park |
| Report | ||||
| Note: [12] | ||||
| 30 November 1968 | Bury | 3–2 | Aston Villa | Gigg Lane |
| Report | (John Woodward), 50' (Willie Anderson), 59' |
|||
| Note: [14] | ||||
| 14 December 1968 | Crystal Palace | 4–2 | Aston Villa | Selhurst Park |
| Report | (Lionel Martin), 75' (Dick Edwards), 88' |
|||
| Note: [16] | ||||
| 21 December 1968 | Aston Villa | 2–1 | Norwich City | Villa Park |
| (Dick Edwards), 4' (Barrie Hole), 82' |
Report | |||
| Note: On 18 December Tommy Docherty had become the manager.[17] | ||||
| 26 December 1968 | Aston Villa | 2–0 | Cardiff City | Villa Park |
| (Barrie Hole), 31' (Brian Tiler), 70' |
Report | |||
| Note: [18] | ||||
| 28 December 1968 | Carlisle United | 0–1 | Aston Villa | Brunton Park |
| Report | (Willie Anderson), 65' |
|||
| Note: [19] | ||||
| 11 January 1969 | Aston Villa | 1–0 | Huddersfield Town | Villa Park |
| (Barrie Hole), 8' |
Report |
| 1 February 1969 | Aston Villa | 2–0 | Portsmouth | Villa Park |
| (Dave Rudge), 53' (Brian Godfrey), 78' |
Report |
| 15 February 1969 | Aston Villa | 1–0 | Bury | Villa Park |
| (Dave Rudge), 73' |
Report |
| 22 February 1969 | Charlton Athletic | 1–1 | Aston Villa | The Valley |
| Report | (Dave Simmons), 4' |
| 1 March 1969 | Aston Villa | 3–1 | Sheffield United | Villa Park |
| (Barrie Hole), 4' (Dave Simmons), 58' (Dave Simmons), 69' |
Report |
| 4 March 1969 | Middlesbrough | 0–0 | Aston Villa | Ayresome Park |
| Report |
| 8 March 1969 | Fulham | 1–1 | Aston Villa | Craven Cottage |
| Report | (Own goal), 15' |
| 15 March 1969 | Aston Villa | 1–1 | Blackburn Rovers | Villa Park |
| (Dave Simmons), 39' |
Report |
| 22 March 1969 | Blackpool | 1–1 | Aston Villa | Bloomfield Road |
| Report | (Brian Godfrey), 2' |
| 29 March 1969 | Aston Villa | 0–1 | Derby County | Villa Park |
| Report |
| 4 April 1969 | Millwall | 0–1 | Aston Villa | The Den |
| Report | (Lionel Martin), 83' |
| 5 April 1969 | Oxford United | 0–1 | Aston Villa | Manor Ground |
| Report |
| 8 April 1969 | Aston Villa | 1–1 | Bolton Wanderers | Villa Park |
| (Own goal), 14' |
Report |
| 12 April 1969 | Aston Villa | 1–0 | Birmingham City | Villa Park |
| (Dave Simmons), 55' |
Report |
| 19 April 1969 | Hull City | 1–0 | Aston Villa | Boothferry Park |
| Report | ||||
| Note: [10] | ||||
Source: avfchistory.co.uk
FA Cup
Third round proper
The 44 First and Second Division clubs entered the competition at this stage. The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 4 January 1969. Seven matches were drawn and went to replays. Kettering Town was the last non-league club left in the competition.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | Aston Villa | 2–1 | Queens Park Rangers | 4 January 1969 |
Fourth round proper
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 25 January 1969. Six matches were drawn and went to replays.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Southampton | 2–2 | Aston Villa | 25 January 1969 |
| Replay | Aston Villa | 2–1 | Southampton | 29 January 1969 |
Fifth round proper
The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 8 February 1969. However, for the first time in history, the entire fifth round draw for the FA Cup was unable to be played due to heavy snowfall across England,[20] and the matches were replayed at various times after this date. Most took place by the following Wednesday (one of these requiring a replay), two were played a fortnight later, but the final match was not played until 1 March and required a replay two days later.
| Tie no | Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3–2 | Aston Villa | 12 February 1969 |
League Cup
Second round
| Home team | Score | Away team | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aston Villa | 1–4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 4 September 1968 |