Villa 1 SHA 0 15/10/83

[Pete3206]

Tasty game this was:

[VicMackey]

Would have ended 7 a side now!  Happy days...

[darren woolley]

Thanks for posting.

[Mister E]

The nut at the end was particularly cheap ...

[dave shelley]

I've been looking up Noel Blake to see if he's still involved in the England Youth coaching set-up.  I was surprised to see that he'd left and was manager of that other basket case of a club Blackpool for a while.  No idea what he's doing now.

Considering his less than auspicious time with us and the fact that he played for them, he did well for himself.  Credit again to Aston Villa for standing by him.  Credit him too for availing of that chance.  I also like his middle names...Noel Lloyd George Blake.

[Chico Hamilton III]

It was my birthday. Watched it from the Trinity.

[dave shelley]

I was in the Trinity that day too, the bottom mind.  Got soaked and had to move to the back for a bit of shelter.  Things I remember about that match were a) I thought that the ball wouldn't reach the goal and would be cleared and b) Noel Blake turning to the Noses down the Witton and giving it the fist pump as he was striding up to take the penalty. c) The way he stood there after missing with his shoulders slumped, the perfect picture of dejection.

[Meanwood Villa]

Oh what we've got to look forward to next season

[somec]

Oh what we've got to look forward to next season

I had a horrible thought last night, what if we end up playing them in the play offs?

[conman]

I've been looking up Noel Blake to see if he's still involved in the England Youth coaching set-up.  I was surprised to see that he'd left and was manager of that other basket case of a club Blackpool for a while.  No idea what he's doing now.

Considering his less than auspicious time with us and the fact that he played for them, he did well for himself.  Credit again to Aston Villa for standing by him.  Credit him too for availing of that chance.  I also like his middle names...Noel Lloyd George Blake.

hope the blackpool players checked their pockets after the matches

[dave shelley]

I've been looking up Noel Blake to see if he's still involved in the England Youth coaching set-up.  I was surprised to see that he'd left and was manager of that other basket case of a club Blackpool for a while.  No idea what he's doing now.

Considering his less than auspicious time with us and the fact that he played for them, he did well for himself.  Credit again to Aston Villa for standing by him.  Credit him too for availing of that chance.  I also like his middle names...Noel Lloyd George Blake.

hope the blackpool players checked their pockets after the matches

Y'see, the whole point of the post was to say that: irrespective of how good/bad a player he was, who he played for, he made a mistake and, class act that Villa are; stood by him.  That he availed of that and went on to have a long career as a player and then reach a very good coaching standard is to his eternal credit.  I would imagine he outgrew that behaviour within a fortnight of being caught.

[Pat McMahon]

I've been looking up Noel Blake to see if he's still involved in the England Youth coaching set-up.  I was surprised to see that he'd left and was manager of that other basket case of a club Blackpool for a while.  No idea what he's doing now.

Considering his less than auspicious time with us and the fact that he played for them, he did well for himself.  Credit again to Aston Villa for standing by him.  Credit him too for availing of that chance.  I also like his middle names...Noel Lloyd George Blake.

hope the blackpool players checked their pockets after the matches

Y'see, the whole point of the post was to say that: irrespective of how good/bad a player he was, who he played for, he made a mistake and, class act that Villa are; stood by him.  That he availed of that and went on to have a long career as a player and then reach a very good coaching standard is to his eternal credit.  I would imagine he outgrew that behaviour within a fortnight of being caught.

When he was young he was very good for us - I recall a series of good games at the end of the 1979-80 season. However a Bluenose I know down here - one of the nicest fellas you will meet anywhere - was in the same school as him and reckons he was a really nasty piece of work as a teen. As you say Dave, fair play to him for carving out a decent career.

Re that game, I had kittens as I had just arrived in France as a student and it took me a few hours to find the final score. Combinations of weak radio signals for the world service / Radio 2 at repeated 30 minute bulletins left me piecing together the intonation and guessing the score. I was only certain by about 7.30 and then had a happy night in old Paris town.

[cdbearsfan]

Never seen that goal before. Should be as famous as the Enckleman one IMO.

[Damo70]

I was a twelve year old in the Holte and remember the game well. I think Small Heath had started the season slightly better than us and were going it the large on BRMB the night before. I taped the brief highlights on Central News on the Monday night as we had just got our first video recorder. My dad got it second hand from his mate and it was a 1970's Phillips V2000 job, probably one of the first video recorders they made. In my memory it was about the same size as the fridge freezer!

[Oscar Arce]

Remember it well. Small Heath had some thugs in their side: Jailbird Gayle, Hopkins, Blake and the rest of them, they seemed on a personal crusade to kick the crap out of Dennis Mortimer I recall.
I remember Blake's Villa debut: He gave a Spurs forward (Chris Jones I think, the one with the ridiculous mullet) the wankers sign in front of the Holte End after he 'took' the ball from him, they loved it. Was always very surprised he ended up a coach and so far up the England ladder, he was a bit of a head case to say the least.