My first season was 70/71. My dad used to go down the Witton end on the mud at the back and we used to run down the hill at the end. I loved watching Villa back then and being in the third division didn't matter. Players like Andy Lockhead Chico Hamilton and Pat McMahon were gods to me. I thought we were brilliant. Switched to the Holte end in 74. Possibly my favourite player of all time Keith Lenard and promotion back to Div 1 are high lights. Great bosses too. Vic Crowe and Ron Saunders. Fantastic days to be a young Villa fan
Quote from: Allan C on September 26, 2016, 08:57:02 AMMy first season was 70/71. My dad used to go down the Witton end on the mud at the back and we used to run down the hill at the end. I loved watching Villa back then and being in the third division didn't matter. Players like Andy Lockhead Chico Hamilton and Pat McMahon were gods to me. I thought we were brilliant. Switched to the Holte end in 74. Possibly my favourite player of all time Keith Lenard and promotion back to Div 1 are high lights. Great bosses too. Vic Crowe and Ron Saunders. Fantastic days to be a young Villa fanMy first season, too.First game Chesterfield.Second game Bristol Rovers. They had this player called Graydon. I remember winning the youth floodlit cup with the likes of Little, Brian & Alan, Gidman, Findley and, like yourself Allan, one of my favourites, Keith Leonard.If I recall we had almost 30,000 for our leg of the final. 30,000 for a youth game!!! I'm sure Dave Woodhall could supply attendance
Quote from: dave.woodhall on September 25, 2016, 11:39:28 PMQuote from: SirSteveUK on September 25, 2016, 11:37:52 PMWell for a start, here are the league positions over the 20 years from 1960-perhaps they speak to the standard of our football - never higher than 15th in a 22-team League for 9 years running - followed by a catastrophic spell in the 2nd DivThe club was in terminal decline from the highlight of promotion at the first attempt in 1960 - under managers ranging from Joe Mercer (whose pedigree was impeccable) to Dick Knight & Tommy Cumming (less impeccable - Knight later ran a TV/Radio shop on the Witton Road and Tommy C went back to Burnley to run a pub). The decline was slowed, halted and eventually reversed by the Percy Matthews/Doug Ellis takeover in 1968, though even they couldn't stay out of the 3rd under Tommy Docherty . The club would have gone out of business without Doug - I remain convinced of that - the pre-Ellis board were appallingly behind the times - and couldn't handle the debt that Knight had incurred by some apparently crap signings - which is why the club sold their Trinity Road training ground.I was only an occasional supporter being at school - so I can only guess at what the football was like - but the "new broom" started in the old Div 3 - under the hand of Vic Crowe and I remember then really starting to support them home and away - with a team that was the best since 1960 - even then it was the feeling that the sleeping giant was awakening - it was brilliant a run of improvement that continued to 1982.Do you mean Dick Taylor?And Pat Matthews.
Quote from: SirSteveUK on September 25, 2016, 11:37:52 PMWell for a start, here are the league positions over the 20 years from 1960-perhaps they speak to the standard of our football - never higher than 15th in a 22-team League for 9 years running - followed by a catastrophic spell in the 2nd DivThe club was in terminal decline from the highlight of promotion at the first attempt in 1960 - under managers ranging from Joe Mercer (whose pedigree was impeccable) to Dick Knight & Tommy Cumming (less impeccable - Knight later ran a TV/Radio shop on the Witton Road and Tommy C went back to Burnley to run a pub). The decline was slowed, halted and eventually reversed by the Percy Matthews/Doug Ellis takeover in 1968, though even they couldn't stay out of the 3rd under Tommy Docherty . The club would have gone out of business without Doug - I remain convinced of that - the pre-Ellis board were appallingly behind the times - and couldn't handle the debt that Knight had incurred by some apparently crap signings - which is why the club sold their Trinity Road training ground.I was only an occasional supporter being at school - so I can only guess at what the football was like - but the "new broom" started in the old Div 3 - under the hand of Vic Crowe and I remember then really starting to support them home and away - with a team that was the best since 1960 - even then it was the feeling that the sleeping giant was awakening - it was brilliant a run of improvement that continued to 1982.Do you mean Dick Taylor?
Well for a start, here are the league positions over the 20 years from 1960-perhaps they speak to the standard of our football - never higher than 15th in a 22-team League for 9 years running - followed by a catastrophic spell in the 2nd DivThe club was in terminal decline from the highlight of promotion at the first attempt in 1960 - under managers ranging from Joe Mercer (whose pedigree was impeccable) to Dick Knight & Tommy Cumming (less impeccable - Knight later ran a TV/Radio shop on the Witton Road and Tommy C went back to Burnley to run a pub). The decline was slowed, halted and eventually reversed by the Percy Matthews/Doug Ellis takeover in 1968, though even they couldn't stay out of the 3rd under Tommy Docherty . The club would have gone out of business without Doug - I remain convinced of that - the pre-Ellis board were appallingly behind the times - and couldn't handle the debt that Knight had incurred by some apparently crap signings - which is why the club sold their Trinity Road training ground.I was only an occasional supporter being at school - so I can only guess at what the football was like - but the "new broom" started in the old Div 3 - under the hand of Vic Crowe and I remember then really starting to support them home and away - with a team that was the best since 1960 - even then it was the feeling that the sleeping giant was awakening - it was brilliant a run of improvement that continued to 1982.
Interesting read this. Anyone recommened a decent book that covers all this period?
Quote from: nigel on September 26, 2016, 11:30:39 AMQuote from: Allan C on September 26, 2016, 08:57:02 AMMy first season was 70/71. My dad used to go down the Witton end on the mud at the back and we used to run down the hill at the end. I loved watching Villa back then and being in the third division didn't matter. Players like Andy Lockhead Chico Hamilton and Pat McMahon were gods to me. I thought we were brilliant. Switched to the Holte end in 74. Possibly my favourite player of all time Keith Lenard and promotion back to Div 1 are high lights. Great bosses too. Vic Crowe and Ron Saunders. Fantastic days to be a young Villa fanMy first season, too.First game Chesterfield.Second game Bristol Rovers. They had this player called Graydon. I remember winning the youth floodlit cup with the likes of Little, Brian & Alan, Gidman, Findley and, like yourself Allan, one of my favourites, Keith Leonard.If I recall we had almost 30,000 for our leg of the final. 30,000 for a youth game!!! I'm sure Dave Woodhall could supply attendanceThe semi-finals were well attended, unsurprisingly - against Blues & Francis? The number 9 was Tony Betts, surely, not Leonard
My first time in Villa Park, I am told, was when my mother took my two brothers and me to see first hand the bombing of the Witton Lane stand.