golden years? the 70s

[saunders_heroes]

Didn't Gary Newbon just front the sports news bulletins and East the main man?  That's how I remember it.    I definitely remember the night after Newbon appearing on the sports news looking kind of sheepish and offering some kind of half-arsed apology along the lines of we can't have cameras everywhere.

I'm sure I read somewhere ages ago that Trevor East laid some of the groundwork for Sky when they first invented football.  I think he did this after initially opposing the whole Sky deal.  Anyway, East had a fairly high profile.  I just don't recall Newbon being the main man, but I've been away a long time.

I remember Trevor East when he was on Tiswas!

[LTA]

Must admit I would have loved to have been around watching the 76/77 team, as I've heard so much about it from mates down VP.  The best I've seen is 92/93, but 76/77 team sounds like it puts even that team in the shade.

[olaftab]

I enjoyed the 74/75 promotion from the second division and would regard that as the best season in my supporting memory. We travelled to all away matches and at home we almost always won with ease and style ending the season with 8 straight wins. I particularly remember the last home game v Sunderland with about 57000 in Villa Park and thousands of Sunderland supporters in Aston Park. We ended any last chance Sunderland had of going up in 3rd place by beating them however did try to mend it for them by beating Norwich 4-1 in the last game but they had messed it up by than.

[dave shelley]

I was at that Sunderland match and, remember what I was doing before and after it, but, don't laugh, I can't for the life of me remember the friggin score!  Was it either 4-1 or 2-0?  It'll save me looking it up if someone will oblige.

[Flamingo Lane]

If you'd been told at the end of that 74/75 season that we'd go on to become league champions under Ron Saunders I think there'd have been no reason to be surprised. 

[steffo]

IIRC Laurie Sivell lost his teeth in the world's dullest game, a 0-0 v Ipswich in our first season back in 75-76. This was the infamous game where a large flock of pigeons settled on the half way line and were undisturbed by the tedium on the pitch. Literally the only action was a pile driver from somebody which hot the bar and rebounded out  where Sivell and Andy Gray clashed.

I do believe it was a shot from Chris Nicholl somewhere in Handsworth. A practice shot as a prelude to Old Trafford in 77. I remember the pigeons.

[olaftab]

I was at that Sunderland match and, remember what I was doing before and after it, but, don't laugh, I can't for the life of me remember the friggin score!  Was it either 4-1 or 2-0?  It'll save me looking it up if someone will oblige.

2-0 and from memory I think Ross and Graydon.

[dave shelley]

Cheers Aftab, I remember now you've said it.  Great weather that day too.

[Flamingo Lane]

Ross and Little, I think.

[Witton Warrior]

I was at that Sunderland match and, remember what I was doing before and after it, but, don't laugh, I can't for the life of me remember the friggin score!  Was it either 4-1 or 2-0?  It'll save me looking it up if someone will oblige.

2-0 and from memory I think Ross and Graydon.

My first match age 15 - I can't remember anything other than leaving Stourbridge on the train with a load of Villa - then the excitement took over and I was in a dream for the whole day just fragments remain  - the crowd was huge - we won - we ran on the pitch at the end - I had some of the turf - we talked to Sunderland fans - the emotional impact of that day has never left me and I still have echoes of it every time I set out for VP aged 55. Little did I know what a tremendous few years we had ahead!

[class-of-82]

The Holte was heaving that day the sun was shining and we was going up
It just didn't get any better did it
Oh yes it did only few years later we had the wonderful attacking team of gray deehan little Cropley etc etc
Then 4 years and 5 years later someone remind me what happened on yes we ruled half of the footballing world

[steamer]

That day on the Pitch, check the pictures in Ron's Scrapbook.
One of the happiest days of my villa supporting life.

[Sunny Villa]

I thought Keith Leonard scored . what a player he could have been.

[Big Dick Edwards]

I was at that Sunderland match and, remember what I was doing before and after it, but, don't laugh, I can't for the life of me remember the friggin score!  Was it either 4-1 or 2-0?  It'll save me looking it up if someone will oblige.

2-0 and from memory I think Ross and Graydon.

Ian Ross (a penalty), and Brian Little scored that day. It was scorching hot, the Holte End was packed and closed about an hour before kick off, nearly 57,000 in attendance. I remember people who had fainted being carried down the Holte above the heads of fans, then at full time we were all on the pitch to celebrate our promotion. Happy days indeed.

[Big Dick Edwards]

Is it common knowledge that Louis Van Gaal has played at Villa Park? He was in the Royal Antwerp team that beat us home and away in the old UEFA Cup in 1974/5, our first ever competitive tie in Europe.