Villa 2 Chelsea 6 circa 1966.

[Chris Jameson]

Ok, I'm pulling out here. I tried to be courteous and patient and I got roasted.

Sad really.

You've chosen to ignore many courteous replies to your post and then respond to one to make some bizarre point about 'political correctness'. I've no idea what point you're trying and failing to make here.

[MorrisNielson]

Anyway………..

Not the full report in the Argus. It seems that the crowd responded to the hat-trick goal, not quite a round of applause…….

[Godfrey Brian]

Another great find Morris. Some random points:

The power of a slow handclap back then  was something to behold!

The match reporter Eric Woodward went on to do a fine job at the Villa .

Looks like Chelsea were kicking towards the Witton End first half which suggests the press photographer was on the Trinity Rd TV gantry judging fron the superior angle of the picture compared to the more usual side of the goal position.

[peter w]

I wonder is Ike Slow the first Villa fan to openly refer to Beelzebub by his father's surname? Quite odd.

[IQLowe 33]

The only recollection I have of this match, was us going 4 down, then the late great Tony Hateley scoring 2 goals and I was thinking this could be one of our greatest comebacks.

We got relegated that season and who finished just above us to escape the job, the Geordies. Don't think Mike Ashley was in charge of them in those days!

Yeah, 4 down and we scored two in quick succession but I'm not sure TH scored them both (he certainly scored one though a trademark header) Oddly enough I'm pretty sure that Osgood scored Chelsea's other goal. And I also have the the impression that the gate was 18000+. If anyone can access the relevant stats I'd be interested to know if I have remembered it all accurately. I was pretty obsessive about stats in those days.

[pooligan]

I was at that game and remember it well for all the wrong reasons . I think Hateley and McLeod scored for us while i think John Boyle got the other goal for Chelsea.Other things i remember from that game are Peter Osgood and Charlie Cooke running rings around us and chopper Harris making sure he got the ball if he could'nt get the man.
As for cheering Tambling i certainly do not recall that,i do remember there were a lot of Chelsea fans at the game.This was about the time when hooliganism was starting to appear. In those days you could stand or sit where you liked and i remember some Chelsea yob trying to get my prized villa scarf off me while i was standing behind the goal in the Holte End .He failed,some bin dipper in the next home game against Liverpool managed that.

Interesting that the attendance was only 18,259 .I was only a kid so i never worried about things like what the crowd was but seeing there was quite a lot of Chelsea fans at the match it seems a lot of Villa fans had started to stay away in protest at the way the club were run by the board,who included the likes of Norman L Smith ,Buckley and Normanshall

[IQLowe 33]

Pooligan, maybe the Chelsea support was far larger than I recall and which would explain my impression that a great many in the ground

did give Tambling an ovation. Your account and record of the other goalscores plus the attandance would suggest that I'm not a million miles away

in my version of events. I do know that there were many Villa fans around me (I was in the Holte End) who did applaud Tambling and being young

I thought this was very much the done thing at football matches and joined in.

Perhaps nostalgia aint what it used to be but I'd say we do indeed live in a more agressive "me first" society than in that period.

[IQLowe 33]

OK it's time for me to come clean: I'm a Birmingham fan and the reason I joined this forum was simply to promote my user name.

Your forum rules prohibit  from giving any further explanation.  I can say in all honesty that it was never my intention to wind anyone which is why I chose a

memory which I thought showed Villa fans behaving positively. I support Birmingham because my father supported Birmingham and he took me to St Andrews

during my formative years and I formed a bond with a bunch of guys fighting doggedly against relegation (plus ca change you might say)

The probability is that for an overwhelming majority your history replicates mine except that your daddies took you to Villa Park and not St Andrews (thank

fuck for that, I hear many of you say.)

For all the ridiculous rivalry between our two clubs I've always said I'd take a Villa fan from Birmingham or neighbouring regions to any avid Man U from Stirchley.

The days of me fretting over losing a game of football to our bitterest rivals are now over.

I'll understand if your mods see fit to ban me- I have a habit of upsetting mods even on the Blues supporting forums (they won't let go anywhere near SHA

for example.)

All I can say is may the best team win next year. Good luck to yous all.

[peter w]

You're a Nose? Well blow me down no-one saw that coming.

Thing is, all supporters are welcome here. You want to chat about football we'll chat with anyone. There will always be some ribbing, naturally, but it'll be good humoured as long as you behave yourself. Remember, this is a Villa forum so we'll see everything through Villa eyes but will respect you (sometimes).

I'm diametrically opposed to you I'm afraid as I'd take anyone else over a Nose. But that's just me and also a generational thing as there are many here who have examples of being taken to Villa one week and Small heath the next and it seemed to be a common experience.

By all means stick around. We've all got Nose mates (well most of us) so apart from hating each others football teams we can chew the cud about most things football on an even basis.

Now, let's start with how big a wanker Trevor Francis is...(winky fella)

[peter w]

Just to qualify my supporting thing - I don't count Brummie Reds, Arsenal fans from Horley, Chelsea from Guildford, Liverpool from Dublin etc etc as anything other than glory hunters and therefore not football fans. They're fans of winning and so I automatically dismiss them and  do not count them as football fans. So, yes, a Nose from West Heath is clearly more worthy (even if (s)he is totally deranged and deluded) than a Man U fan from Cotteridge.

[dave.woodhall]

Mr Russell recollects:

About 50 Chelsea youths invaded the pitch at the end to congratulate their man but the recording is indecisive as to any cheering. However, I don't doubt that Villa supporters were amongst those who clapped him off. We were a bit like that! 

[IQLowe 33]

Mr Russell recollects:

About 50 Chelsea youths invaded the pitch at the end to congratulate their man but the recording is indecisive as to any cheering. However, I don't doubt that Villa supporters were amongst those who clapped him off. We were a bit like that!

Surely in those days away support was much less significant than it is now; for example I recall going to Birmingham match at Blackburn where the away support was almost certainly below fifty.

The first time I saw a significant number of away supporter grouped tightly together was in about 1964 at St Andrews when liverpool supporterts took over the Tilton. My impression is that therafter supporters of all clubs tended to band together (for obvious reasons) and bigger and bigger concentrations of away support became the norm.

Before that phenomenon away support tended to be much diffuse. I'd often come across a group of about ten or so away supporters at Birmingham home games but vast concentrations never.

[LeeB]

Mr Russell recollects:

About 50 Chelsea youths invaded the pitch at the end to congratulate their man but the recording is indecisive as to any cheering. However, I don't doubt that Villa supporters were amongst those who clapped him off. We were a bit like that!

Surely in those days away support was much less significant than it is now; for example I recall going to Birmingham match at Blackburn where the away support was almost certainly below fifty.

The first time I saw a significant number of away supporter grouped tightly together was in about 1964 at St Andrews when liverpool supporterts took over the Tilton. My impression is that therafter supporters of all clubs tended to band together (for obvious reasons) and bigger and bigger concentrations of away support became the norm.

Before that phenomenon away support tended to be much diffuse. I'd often come across a group of about ten or so away supporters at Birmingham home games but vast concentrations.

Last season then?

[IQLowe 33]

.Good try 6/10

[dave shelley]

I recall my old man taking me to Leicester around about 1962 and there were hundreds of Villa supporters there.  Forgot to add, we went by train on the football special so, there were certainly many who travelled.