Blackpool v Villa the season that we got relegated from the 2nd Division

[wittonwarrior]

I remember the match being on Match of  the day and it was pissing down.  I also  have a vague  recollection of  Villa changing shirts at half  time.  Can anyone confirm?

[gregavfc69/70]

Yes WW aged 11 yrs, I remember staying up to watch this game. Chico Hamilton scored our goal - I think we were already 2 - 0
down. My Main memory was the massive Villa support in a 17000 crowd. Do you remember they packed out the whole length of the
side terracing opposite the cameras? The end to the left was a big bank, similar to a mini Holte End.
There were just 6 games remaining before we crashed into the Third Division. I can recall with pin sharp clarity the shame, disgrace and humiliation even to this day.

[conman]

i dont remember that ,,,,,,but i was at blackpool a few years later
in 1975,, we won 3 nil and a rumour went round at the end of the match that we had won promotion
some villa fans went running on the beach and into the sea

[castlefields_villan]

i dont remember that ,,,,,,but i was at blackpool a few years later
in 1975,, we won 3 nil and a rumour went round at the end of the match that we had won promotion
some villa fans went running on the beach and into the sea

I was there on this far happier day - as you say there was a rumour that Sunderland and Norwich had both lost ?  and I only found out, when I got on the train we needed to wait until the following Wednesday at Sheffield Wednesday to return to the big time.

[Oscar Arce]

I was there too in '75, and in the sea later!
We did the conga in the crowd as Jimmy Cumbes massive kick was fired in for Brian to score, I think from memory Leighton Phillips scored too.
We lost 2-1 at Blackpool in the relegation season, Chico indeed scoring our consilation as it turned out, their two from ex-Small Heathan Fred Pickering.
Shit days but warped happy memories.

[castlefields_villan]

Who went down with us that year ?  - was it Preston ?

[Andy_Lochhead_in_the_air]

Who went down with us that year ?  - was it Preston ?

[gregavfc69/70]

It was Preston. And WW, as it was the final days of black and white television, maybe Villa's claret shirt clashed with Blackpool's
tangerine in blk/white film - that might explain the change. Very likely they looked too similar. Maybe Villa had a spare set of (white or yellow) shirts. Or would yellow clash with  tangerine - in black and white TV? This may confuse younger readers !!!!!!!!!

[gregavfc69/70]

And also, the previous year 1968, was it true that Millwall  came up into the Holte End via Witton Lane?
Did Villa scatter or fight back or did the police break it up?

[Steve R]

It was simply Vic Crowes decision to ditch the all claret shirt and go back to Claret with blue sleeves in an attempt to change our fortunes. It seemed to work, the second half's improvement, led by a reuvenated Chico's goal, started a mini revival that almost saw us stay up from a near hopeless position. We probably would have survived but for that bastard refereeing decision at Leicester.

We stayed with the old claret with blue sleeves shirt until the end of the season. Crowe later said that he's send them out in claret and blue jock straps if he thought it would help. Andy Lochhead's shirt in the Blackpool game had no number and a large rip near the waist, maybe Crowe intended the change all along.

I seem to remember that we did stand along the side. We stood on the big bank in a league cup game in 71/72 when Colin Green tore us a new one and we were striped 4-1.

[gregavfc69/70]

As for MOTD cameras, it was a really big event when the BBC arrived in the 60's.
Not until the very early 70's was there local radio coverage. Then, WM was known as Radio Birmingham and I seem to remember it was Nick Owen (very young!) who presented the show. Soon afterwards the goal hooter would blast out to signal one of our teams had scored a goal. Ike and Tina Turner's ''Nutbush City Limits'' was always a favourite record belting out.
Prior to this you had to wait for the ''final classified results'' at 5pm if you wanted your team's score.
Sadly, I cannot find this Blackpool game on You Tube but there is the 6-2 home thrashing against Chelsea in Oct 1966.
This was the season we were relegated from Division One with a very poor squad. Thankfully, that won't happen again !!!!

[Steve R]

And also, the previous year 1968, was it true that Millwall  came up into the Holte End via Witton Lane?
Did Villa scatter or fight back or did the police break it up?

If that is the game I am thinking of, early in the season that later saw Docherty/Ellis arrive, it was a midweek game that ended 1-1 with a late equaliser. The crowd was around 11-12,000 with big empty spaces everywhere. I don't remember seeing any Millwall fans anywhere and certainly not up the Holte.

The previous season's game could well have been in 68 too but I have no recollection of it at all.

[castlefields_villan]

Who went down with us that year ?  - was it Preston ?

The good old Shoot League Ladders,

Back in those days Sunday mornings used to mean a Bacon sandwich in bed with the back pages of the sunday papers and of course up-dating the league ladders.

[conman]

Who went down with us that year ?  - was it Preston ?

The good old Shoot League Ladders,

Back in those days Sunday mornings used to mean a Bacon sandwich in bed with the back pages of the sunday papers and of course up-dating the league ladders.

yeah ,when i was about 9 years old ,,, i learned the name of every teams ground in all 4 divisions with the aid of shoot league ladders
as when you pulled the team out to move it to a new league position it had on it the teams ground name

[castlefields_villan]

The first ones I remember (think it was 1965-66) because we finished 16th in the old First Division had the previous season's league position on the tab - which as you say - was later replaced by the club's home ground.  -  At least you got to know all the grounds' names - a million miles away from the shooting and banging etc.. of online star wars !!!!