Sometimes in life it’s inevitable that you back the proverbial wrong horse, to do it repeatedly takes some doing but ‘supporter shareholders’ Dennis Barrett and Ken Dykes took it to new levels. Not content with backing the coup that brought the disaster of Herbert Douglas Ellis into power in 1968, they then petitioned to keep Tommy Docherty in post at the beginning of 1970 despite his reign having taken Villa to the brink of the third tier for the first time in history. Now though Messrs Barrett and Dykes saw fit to go one better and attempt to oust Vic Crowe and Ron Wylie from their posts. It hadn’t been a vintage season but a first season back in the second tier after two in the third was never likely to be a runaway success - especially after the latest coup of 1972 brought the parsimonious Ellis back to the chairmanship - but that was no barrier to the “experienced petitioners.” It failed of course and deservedly the pair became a figure of folly but when even Herbert Douglas Ellis asks you to stop for the sake of the club you really should know you are very, very much in the wrong. Meanwhile, Villa win for the first time in five to remain joint fifth with Fulham, eight points off second place.