34 years ago tonight!

[Villafirst]

December 15th 1976 - Aston Villa 5 Liverpool 1....... What are your memories of that astonishing night?
I actually missed it! The only home game that season that I missed! Just wish that amateur footage of the goals that Sky showed a few years back would be shown again.

Do you guys realise that the club have in their possession 45 minutes of footage from the epic second leg of the semi final against Man Utd from Dec 23rd 1970 at VP when we beat them 2-1 to reach Wembley? I know for a this for a fact that they have the footage having helped the media dept with some rare goal footage from the Valur second leg in the European Cup campaign from '82.
They said over 12 months ago to me that they would edit and clean up the footage for DVD release - but so far......nothing! Perhaps the same department helped with the new home kit release!

[Rudy Can't Fail]

You could ask the General about it. I'm sure he'll find out what the story is.

[SashasGrandad]

What I remember are the ironic cheers when they pulled a goal back. I thnk it was 4-0 at the time.

The second half with Emlyn Hughes playing like a maniac to stop us scoring a 6th.

Walking back along Witton lane afterwards - stopping to buy a bottle of cheap champagne to celebrate - it might have been Pomagne(?) couldn't afford much in those days.

But most of all - realising that we could beat anybody - including the European Champs - and we could do it ourselves!

[The Left Side]

I was only 2 at the time so I have no recollection of it... but I remember someone mentioning on here that Central/ATV didn't have any footage of the game because they sent cameras to Derby for a 0-0 draw against some other crap team. Apparently that decision was made by a Mr. G. Newbon of Olton, but that could be just idle H&V gossip?

[dave.woodhall]

I was only 2 at the time so I have no recollection of it... but I remember someone mentioning on here that Central/ATV didn't have any footage of the game because they sent cameras to Derby for a 0-0 draw against some other crap team. Apparently that decision was made by a Mr. G. Newbon of Olton, but that could be just idle H&V gossip?

Derby had their new British record signing Derek Hales making his debut and the game finished 0-0. In defence of Newbon, Derby were far from crap then and Hales was the big story of the day, so at the time he made the right decision.

[The Left Side]

I was only 2 at the time so I have no recollection of it... but I remember someone mentioning on here that Central/ATV didn't have any footage of the game because they sent cameras to Derby for a 0-0 draw against some other crap team. Apparently that decision was made by a Mr. G. Newbon of Olton, but that could be just idle H&V gossip?

Derby had their new British record signing Derek Hales making his debut and the game finished 0-0. In defence of Newbon, Derby were far from crap then and Hales was the big story of the day, so at the time he made the right decision.

I guess hindsight is always crystal clear but in my run ins with Newbon he doesn't always cover himself in glory... who were Derby playing that night?

[b23]

I was there. It was magic !

[avfc.pat]

I WAS THERE

[Fergal]

I remember standing in the Holte...

[DeKuip]

Remember it well... and glad we stood on the Witton End that night with all the Villa goals being scored in front of us. I've got a couple of scrapbooks from that season (I was young and enthusiastic about football back then), with all the newspaper reports of every game. It really does make a fantastic read.
Here's one of the reports from the Liverpool game (Evening Mail I think).... typing quick so apologies for any mistakes.

"Forty five minutes of Aston Villa magnificence punctuated by five goals of breathtaking magic made Villa Park a soccer wonderland for supporters as Liverpool trembled to their heaviest defeat in ten years.
If only Villa had a cine film to market they would have a best-seller on their hands... because the only regret fans must have is that they cannot see the unforgettable 5-1 win again and again.
Such football would have been praiseworthy against any opposition. But tis was Liverpool, League champions, League leaders, the best away team in the country – dithering in defensive disarray as Villa ran them ragged.
The disbelief of it all was written there on the face of manager Bob paisley afterwards as he stammered out an unsuccessful attempt at explanation.
"I'm not detracting from those Villa boys. They did well, but my defence... I learned something about them tonight. I didn't think they could play so badly."
Why did they? The answer is simple enough.
Beacuse Villa went at them in such a mood of sprinting, fisrt-time passing perfection that even calm, experienced professionals such as Emlyn Hughes and Phil Thompson just didn't know where to look or turn.
While Villa were in this mood throughout the first spinetingling half their form reflected English-style football at somewhere near its peak.
When players keep running for as long as the ball is in play, strike passes quickly and take chances with stunning accuracy their game becomes simple but unstoppable.
Such was the first goal... and the four that followed.
It all began with a centre by John Robson, superb at left back.
The game was nine minutes old and his left-footed cross was hung up invitingly for one of Andy Gray's matchless headers to fizz past Ray Clemence.
Two minutes later a ground pass from Dennis Mortimer raked through the middle for John Deehan to chase and place just right. Upstairs, downstairs, Liverpool were lost.
Soon Deehan was in position again, on the left side this time, to accept a mis-placed pass by Ian Callaghan, move in and measure another past the cruelly tormented England goalkeeper (21 minutes).
Superb goals, but there was better to come. In the 31st minute Brian Little, positioned well to the right of the goal, eyed a packed penalty area in front of him and then curled a left-footed swurving shot past everyone into the dar top corner. A masterstroke.
A defensive error let Ray Kennedy in to make it 4-1 (41 mins) before, in the last minute of the first half, Gray struck again by heading in Mortimer's free-kick.
"Follow that" somebody said. In truth few teams could. Displays like that continue for 90 minutes only in fiction.
Villa, with Alex Cropley struggling from a recurrence of his groin injury and replaced subsequently by young Mike Buttress, played professionally enough to draw the second half 0-0.
Villa: Findlay, Gidman, Robson, Phillips, Young, Mortimer, Deehan, Little, Gray, Cropley, Carrodus. Sub: Buttress.
Lpool: Clemence, Neal, Jones, Thompson, Kennedy, Hughes, Keegan, McDermott, Heighway, Johnson, Callaghan. Sub: case.
Att: 42,851.

Another report mentions that in the 2nd half Deehan missed a golden opportunity for his hat-trick when setup by Brian Little and Clemence was lucky to see the ball come back of the bar when he got a hand to Mortimer's centre.

For me, 76-77 was THE best season of football ever as a Villa fan.  Finished 4th, won league cup in thrilling style throughout from opening round win over Man City, and unluckily lost in FAC qtr final at Man U at the end of a week in which which we'd played Everton in LCF at Wembley and then again in replay at Sheff Wed.

A flick through these scrapbooks reminds me of some other league wins - 5-1 v Arsenal, 5-2 v Ipswich, 4-0 v Wst Ham, 4-0 v Albion, 4-1 Derby, 4-1 Sunderland.
Only team to win at Viila were Small Heath - in fact they beat us home and away, but who cares when you had a season like we did.

[villarob]

This was probably the greatest performance I have witnessed in my 38 years watching Villa.
I remember Alex Cropley completely running the game. Charlie Young made his debut at centre half and Jake Findley was in goal.

What always will stick in my mind was my Dad coming out afterwards and moaning that we didn't finish them off!!

To put this in to perspective it would be like beating Man U or Chelsea 5-1 these days.  Liverpool were the best team in Europe.

Derek Hales made his Derby County debut against Arsenal. It wasn't like nowadays Sky cameras everywhere but ATV certainly got it wrong that night.

[dave.woodhall]

I guess hindsight is always crystal clear but in my run ins with Newbon he doesn't always cover himself in glory... who were Derby playing that night?

Arsenal, but the big story was  Derek Hales. I suppose Newbon would argue that Liverpool playd in the Midlands half a dozen times a season back then, whereas record signings were a lot rarer.

[darren woolley]

As Villafirst said i just hope they put a DVD of it out ASAP i for one would buy it.

[flybo]

I WAS THERE

[waringpongo]

I was there also. I remember walking to the ground and I had this feeling that it was going to be a special night. I was about 15 at the time and every game felt different to how it does today because I never thought we could loose.
Pongo