Aston Villa's 1970-71 season

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Season 82 | 1970-71

1971-72->

The Story of 1970-71

15 August 1970, Villa 3-2 Chesterfield, Saltergate.

Villa open their first ever third division campaign with victory at Saltergate thanks to a Bruce Rioch brace.

19 August 1970, League Cup, Villa 4-0 Notts County, Villa Park.

Villa hammer County in the League Cup first round as Bruce Rioch puts on another fine display but once again Andy Lockheed - who has yet to score since joining the club in February - failed to hit the net.

22 August 1970, Villa 1-1 Plymouth, Villa Park.

Villa are held in their first ever third division game at Villa Park to sit joint 5th in the early table.

29 August 1970, Villa 2-1 Swansea, Vetch Field.

Villa jump to joint first in the early table alongside Bradford and Shrewsbury with five points from their first three games after being Swansea at Vetch Field.

31 August 1970, Villa 0-1 Mansfield, Villa Park.

Villa lose concussion victim Pat McMahon after 35 minutes before losing Bruce Rioch to injury on the stroke of time to leave Villa to play the second half with ten men. Villa lose for the first time in the third tier.

5 September 1970, Villa 3-2 Doncaster, Villa Park.

Villa bounce back from their first third division defeat with a narrow victory over Doncaster despite a poor performance as Andy Lochhead scores his first goal for the club and Villa rise to joint second, one point behind leaders Fulham with five played.

9 September 1970, League Cup, Villa 2-0 Burnley, Villa Park.

Villa beat first division Burnley in the second round of the League Cup.

12 September 1970, Villa 1-2 Barnsley, Oakwell.

Villa are held at Oakwell to fall back to joint third with Mansfield, two points off leaders Fulham and one behind Bradford.

19 September 1970, Villa 2-0 Preston, Villa Park.

Villa make it three games unbeaten in the third division to climb back to second in the table after seven games, one point behind Fulham and a point ahead of Plymouth, Bristol Rovers, Rotherham, Mansfield and Bradford.

23 September 1970, Villa 2-1 Gillingham, Villa Park.

Villa win for the third time in four unbeaten games to remain second in the table, one point behind leaders Fulham after eight games.

25 September 1970, Villa 3-2 Wrexham, Racecourse Ground.

Villa make it four wins in five unbeaten games as Fulham draw with Preston. Villa move joint top of the table on fourteen points after ending Wrexham’s 42 game unbeaten home run, who miss a penalty, lose their goalkeeper to concussion and see a lenient refereeing performance that keeps Villa at eleven men.

30 September 1970, Villa 1-1 Bristol Rovers, Villa Park.

Dave Gibson delivers his third goal involvement in two games as Mick Wright proves a defensive hero after clearing off the line before leaving the field injured but despite Villa’s domination they can only draw with Rovers as future Villa winger Ray Graydon scores the equaliser to leave Vic Crowe’s side unbeaten in six but back to second in the table after Fulham’s win earlier in the week.

3 October 1970, Villa 0-0 Brighton, Villa Park.

Villa, unbeaten in seven, struggle at Villa Park again to draw for the second successive game but Fulham are also held to leave the promotion chasing pacesetters first and second in the table with Villa trailing by a point. But Vic Crowe’s side have now played eleven third division fixtures, seven at home contributing nine points whereas their four away matches have amassed seven points suggesting improvement was needed in Villa’s home form if an immediate return to the second tier was going to happen.

6 October 1970, League Cup, Villa 1-1 Northampton, County Ground.

Villa are held by fourth division Northampton in the third round League Cup tie at the County Ground.

10 October 1970, Villa 1-1 Rochdale, Spotland.

Villa extend their unbeaten League run to eight but draw for the fourth successive game in all competitions to drop behind Bristol Rovers on goal difference and two points behind leaders Fulham. Villa though are the only side in the football league to remain unbeaten away from home and have lost just once this season.

13 October 1970, League Cup, Villa 3-0 Northampton, Villa Park.

Andy Lochhead scores his ninth goal in eleven games having failed to score in his first seventeen for the club as Villa sweep aside Northampton in the League Cup third round replay at Villa Park.

17 October 1970, Villa 0-0 Chesterfield, Villa Park.

Villa draw for the fifth successive match in their nine game unbeaten League run to remain second in the table but they are now joined by Torquay and Bristol Rovers who all sit two points behind leaders Fulham.

19 October 1970, Villa 0-2 Vale, Vale Park.

Villa become the last team in the entire Football League to lose their unbeaten away record as they lose for the first time in ten third division games in poor conditions and poor discipline at Vale Park. Villa lose Mick Wright to injury at half time and are forced to reshuffle with new midfield signing Harry Godfrey moving to full back and miss out on moving into joint first place alongside leaders Fulham.

24 October 1970, Villa 1-0 Tranmere, Villa Park.

Villa bounce back from their first League defeat in ten to win for the first time in eight League games and record their first third division victory at Villa Park in nine. However with Fulham also winning, and having drawn in midweek, they sit three points clear of Vic Crowe’s side on top of the table as Villa share second place with Bristol Rovers. Villa’s win comes despite a disruptive performance from the referee who awarded 56 free kicks, booked for players and awarded a penalty.

28 October 1970, League Cup, Villa 1-0 Carlisle, Villa Park.

Villa beat second division Carlisle in the fourth round of the League Cup at Villa Park to qualify for the quarter finals.

31 October 1970, Villa 5-3 Reading, Elm Park.

Villa win out in an eight goal thriller at Elm Park after being four up just after half time whilst leaders Fulham are beaten at Torquay. As a result Villa sit second on 22 points, one behind Fulham. The win is all the more remarkable as the half fit Andy Lochhead is replaced at half time by Harry Gregory who within twenty minutes of coming on pulls a muscle whilst Willie Anderson is also forced to limp through the game.

7 November 1970, Villa 0-1 Torquay, Villa Park.

Villa lose to Torquay who leap frog Vic Crowe’s side on goal average to push Villa down to joint third, one point behind new second placed team Bristol Rovers and three behind leaders Fulham. Villa have now dropped eight points out of twenty at home and have scored just ten goals in ten League games at Villa Park.

11 November 1970, Villa 1-0 Bury, Villa Park.

After a “relentless attacking performance” that serves to illustrate Villa’s difficulty with finishing at home, Villa bounce back from defeat to Torquay to beat Bury and make third place in the table their own, three points behind leaders Fulham and one behind Bristol Rovers in second.

14 November 1970, Villa 1-2 Halifax, The Shay.

Villa lose for the third time in six League games and second in three as they are beaten at the Shay as they fall four points behind leaders Fulham, three behind Bristol Rovers and share third place with Preston. Villa’s defeat comes at the hands of ex-Villa youth player Billy Atkins whilst Fred Turnbull, on loan at Halifax in 1969-70, scores Villa’s consolation.

17 November 1970, League Cup, Villa 1-1 Bristol Rovers, Eastville Stadium.

Villa face second placed Bristol Rovers in the quarter final of the League Cup and scored within a minute despite dreadful conditions at Eastville. Villa should have been two up before Rovers’ first half equaliser but a bizarre offside decision means a Villa Park replay is required.

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Image Credit

Season Summary

Division	Final League Position	FA Cup Progress	EFL Cup Progress	Biggest Win
Division Three	4th	1st Round	Runners Up	5-3 vs. Reading (a), Division Three

Top Scorer	Most Appearances	Most Starts
13 \| Andy Lochhead	55 \| Charlie Aitken	55 \| Charlie Aitken

Manager Summary

P: Games Played; W: Games Won; D: Games Drawn; L: Games Lost; PPG: Points per Game (3 Points for a win, 1 Point for a draw); CS%: Clean Sheet percentage; W%: Win Rate; L%: Loss Rate; U: Games Unbeaten; U% Unbeaten Rate.

From	To	Manager	P	W	D	L	U	W%	L%	U%	CS%	PPG
Ongoing	Ongoing	Vic Crowe	57	25	18	14	43	44%	25%	75%	39%	1.63

Manager	Chairman	Chief Executive
Vic Crowe	Herbert Douglas Ellis	Alan Bennett

Season Statistics

Pos: Final League Position; P: Games Played; W: Games Won; D: Games Drawn; L: Games Lost; F: Goals Scored; A: Goals Conceded; Pts: Final League Points; GD: Goal Difference (A-F); PPG: Points per Game (3 Points for a win, 1 Point for a draw); GR: Goal Ratio (F/A); GPG: Goals Scored per Game; CPG: Goals Conceded per Game; CS: Clean Sheets; CS%: Clean Sheet percentage; W%: Win Rate; L%: Loss Rate; U: Games Unbeaten; U% Unbeaten Rate.

Results - All Competitions

P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	GR	GPG	CPG	CS	CS%	W%	L%	U	U%	PPG
57	25	18	14	71	55	16	1.3	1.25	0.96	22	39%	44%	25%	43	75%	1.63

Results - League

Pos	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts	GD	GPG	CPG	GR	CS	CS%	W%	L%	U%	PPG
4th	46	19	15	12	54	46	53	8	1.17	1	1.17	17	37%	41%	26%	74%	1.57

Sequences

Wins in a Row	League Wins in a Row	Games Unbeaten	Games without a Win	Losing Run
3	3	12	8	2

League Table

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
1	Preston North End	46	22	17	7	63	39	24	61
2	Fulham	46	24	12	10	68	41	27	60
3	Halifax Town	46	22	12	12	74	55	19	56
4	Aston Villa	46	19	15	12	54	46	8	53
5	Chesterfield	46	17	17	12	66	38	28	51
6	Bristol Rovers	46	19	13	14	69	50	19	51
7	Mansfield Town	46	18	15	13	64	62	2	51
8	Rotherham United	46	17	16	13	64	60	4	50
9	Wrexham	46	18	13	15	72	65	7	49
10	Torquay United	46	19	11	16	54	57	-3	49
11	Swansea City	46	15	16	15	59	56	3	46
12	Barnsley	46	17	11	18	49	52	-3	45
13	Shrewsbury Town	46	16	13	17	58	62	-4	45
14	Brighton & Hove Albion	46	14	16	16	50	47	3	44
15	Plymouth Argyle	46	12	19	15	63	63	0	43
16	Rochdale	46	14	15	17	61	68	-7	43
17	Port Vale	46	15	12	19	52	59	-7	42
18	Tranmere Rovers	46	10	22	14	45	55	-10	42
19	Bradford City	46	13	14	19	49	62	-13	40
20	Walsall	46	14	11	21	51	57	-6	39
21	Reading	46	14	11	21	48	85	-37	39
22	Bury	46	12	13	21	52	60	-8	37
23	Doncaster Rovers	46	13	9	24	45	66	-21	35
24	Gillingham	46	10	13	23	42	67	-25	33

Matches

Select a row for detailed match reports

Competition	Date	Home		Away	W	D	L	Game
Division Three	15 Aug 1970	Chesterfield	2-3	Aston Villa	W			3119
League Cup 1st Round	19 Aug 1970	Aston Villa	4-0	Notts County	W			3120
Division Three	22 Aug 1970	Aston Villa	1-1	Plymouth Argyle		D		3121
Division Three	29 Aug 1970	Swansea City	1-2	Aston Villa	W			3122
Division Three	31 Aug 1970	Aston Villa	0-1	Mansfield Town			L	3123
Division Three	5 Sep 1970	Aston Villa	3-2	Doncaster Rovers	W			3124
League Cup 2nd Round	9 Sep 1970	Aston Villa	2-0	Burnley	W			3125
Division Three	12 Sep 1970	Barnsley	1-1	Aston Villa		D		3126
Division Three	19 Sep 1970	Aston Villa	2-0	Preston North End	W			3127
Division Three	23 Sep 1970	Aston Villa	2-1	Gillingham	W			3128
Division Three	26 Sep 1970	Wrexham	2-3	Aston Villa	W			3129
Division Three	30 Sep 1970	Aston Villa	1-1	Bristol Rovers		D		3130
Division Three	3 Oct 1970	Aston Villa	0-0	Brighton & Hove Albion		D		3131
League Cup 3rd Round	6 Oct 1970	Northampton Town	1-1	Aston Villa		D		3132
Division Three	10 Oct 1970	Rochdale	1-1	Aston Villa		D		3133
League Cup 3rd Round Replay

Season #2 | 1880-81 | Games #3 - #6

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Season 82 | 1970-71