76/77 was wonderful with all the goals and free-flowing football but for sheer joy and future expectation, it has to be Hillsborough in 1975 for me, a return to the big- time after years of absolute shit!
The decade saw an incredible rise from Division Three to the verge of the Championship win. All my teen years were in the 70s I bought my first season tickets, football was absolutely everything to me and the whole period was a highlight. From the League Cup semi final victory in 1970, a third division side beating a team over two legs that had been European Champions only two years before, it was an exhilarating ride. From Vic Crowe who did an amazing yet unheralded job as manager to Ron Saunders who really took us up several levels, success followed success. Rising crowds at Villa Park, the balloon craze of the middle of the decade, the breakthroughs and signings of now legendary players like Brian Little, John Gidman, Gordon Cowans, Alex Cropley, Dennis Mortimer and Andy Gray to name but a few, and the three match League Cup Final victory of 77.The absolute highlight I suppose was the hammering of Liverpool, only six months away from them becoming European Champions. An incredible night under the floodlights, and five goals put past their outstanding side before half time!I am so glad I was on old enough to witness the entire period home and away. An unforgettable ride.
Argentina had won the World Cup on home soil that summer, defeating the Netherlands 3-1 to lift the trophy for the first time in their history amid amazing scenes at the Estadio Monumental, home of River Plate.Just weeks after Argentina’s famous victory, Tottenham Hotspur, then managed by Keith Burkinshaw, stunned the footballing world by signing not one – but two – of Argentina’s World Cup winning stars. In doing so, they introduced the first two Argentine players to English football.Ossie Ardiles had played a major role in his national team’s triumph that summer. A brilliantly balanced midfield general, he had been instrumental in all that was good about Argentina’s World Cup campaign. Signing Ardiles was a major coup for Spurs, and to add to their fan’s excitement, his team-mate and goal-scoring forward Ricky Villa came to keep him company in London.It is worth noting that both players went on to become legends at Tottenham Hotspur, with Ardiles still loved as much to this day.In 1978, Tottenham had opened their campaign – their first back in the top flight after one season away – with a 1-1 draw at Brian Clough’s Nottingham Forest. Ricky Villa had opened his account by scoring the equaliser to earn Spurs a valuable and credible point.With over 47,000 fans packed into White Hart Lane, the excitement and anticipation was palpable for the home debut of these two World Cup winning stars. And Aston Villa? Well, we were there to make up the numbers!The players took to the pitch to a Buenos Aires style ticker-tape (pictured above) welcome from the fans, replicating the scenes experienced by these players during the World Cup that summer. The problem for Spurs, however, was that Aston Villa had not read the script.Aston Villa were the better team, and deflated the party mood inside White Hart Lane with a goal from Allan Evans in the first half.Any chances of a second-half comeback were hastily extinguished as Aston Villa controlled the game. We went on to score a further three goals from John Gregory, Brian Little and Gary Shelton. Tottenham’s lone response came in the form of a Glen Hoddle penalty after Ardiles was brought down in the box.Ossie Ardiles and Ricky Villa were taught a valuable and hard lesson about life in English football.
Match Report *Monday 31 December 1979**Birmingham Daily Post*Hero Shaw was ready to go off By GEOFFREY BEANEGary Shaw, Aston Villa's 18-year-old second-half hat-rick hero of the 3-1 victory at Bristol City on Saturday admitted after the game that he knew he stood to be substituted after the interval.Clutching the match-ball, which had been autographed by both teams he said: "At half-time our manager had a go at some of us including myself."He told me that he wanted me to be more aggressive so I knew I had to do something about it."The former England youth International added: "I've scored hat-tricks before in less important matches, but this was my first in the First Division, and I hope there will be more to follow."Struggling City played most of the football worth watching, but Villa, or rather Shaw, scored the goals that mattered.It was as simple as that sheer floodlit robbery and Villa manager, Ron Saunders, went at least halfway to admitting it when he said. "It was a bitty game and we didn't play well. We seldom put more than four or five passes together."But you can't turn it on all the time and we did work hard and, always looked as though we would win."His opposite number, Alan Dicks, who goes into 1980 facing a stiff relegation fight, claimed that the result was governed by Villa's first goal seven minutes after a goalless first half when Shaw heaved himself at a Cowans corner kick and nudged the ball over the line.Afterwards, Shaw was still not certain whether the ball had hit his head or his shoulder, but Dicks made the point that his goalkeeper, John Shaw had been impeded.Dicks said. "John couldn't move when he tried to catch the ball and that goal was a bitter upset for us. It marred everything we had done, all the good football we had played up to that point."But Dicks could not quarrel with Villa's second goal, which followed only two minutes later when Gary Shaw, on a break with Donvan and Little, took possession quite 35 yards out, spot ed his namesake coming off his line and hit a marvellous swerving shot which bent into the far top corner of the net.Almost immediately, a brave Bristol rally was foiled by goalkeeper Rimmer, who pulled off a brilliant reflex save from a snap header by Rodgers and then bravely charged down a point-blank shot by Mabbutt.Young Shaw almost had his hat-trick in the 74th minute when his dipping header from a Gibson free kick was only inches over the bar, but Bristol pulled back a goal when McNaught handled a bobbing ball and Gow scored from the spot in the 75th minute.Ormsby prevented an equaliser by blocking Mabbutt's shot a minute later, but four minutes from the end Gary Shaw came up with another good-looking goal when he chased a long ball out of defence.With nobody coming up in time to support him, he took on and beat full - back Sweeney to score with a low cross-shot and Bristol had nothing left.