Game #3282
Friday, 3 May 1974
Attendance: 29,766
Drew
Division Two
14th (-)
Leyton Orient
LLWLD
Brisbane Road
Villa end an at times wretched season.
Wretched luck. Wretched form. Wretched injuries and Wretched results all played their part to varying degrees and a second promotion in three seasons that had looked so inevitable evaporated into nothingness.
Overly defensive away football cost Villa points early in the season before dynamism was rewarded but a short-lived reign in second in the table gave way to a preposterously bad set of results in one of the most open divisions in seasons.
With three up three down implemented for the first time (if only it had been in place in 1972-73) the field was wide open throughout the campaign and despite Villa’s failings - they finished 14th - they were just eight points off the final promotion place come season end.
It was the end too for a great Villa man in Vic Crowe.
Having taken the unenviable job of stabilising Villa after the mismanagement of the Ellis / Docherty era and before that the poor performance under Tommy Cummings, Crowe had delivered strong success and will forever be remembered as key in Villa’s climb to the top of Europe over the next decade.
As ever though Ellis needed a scapegoat and Crowe was more convenient than most given the mistakes of the season.
Yet any manager and team losing their best player mid-season and not being provided with the funds to either plan for the departure or replace a player of Bruce Rioch’s calibre would struggle.
Ellis was once more in the black but Villa were once more facing a season in the second tier.
Leyton Orient
1-1
Aston Villa
Assist(s) | None |
KEY MAN
PREVIOUS MATCH
NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
HT Orient 0-0 Aston Villa
52’ Goal, 1-0, Ray Graydon, pen
62’ Goal, 1-1, (Orient), Micky Bullock
FT Orient 1-1 Aston Villa
ON THIS DAY
Vic Crowe's Villa end a disappointing season with just one victory in the final eight matches and make it thirteen wins, fifteen draws and fourteen defeats for the season. The results, and failure to compete for promotion, cost Vic Crowe his job as Villa boss however the disappointment of 1973-74 could not overshadow Crowe's achievements in pulling Villa out of an almost decade long decline that culminated in relegation to the third tier for the first time in their history.
Aston Villa
Leyton Orient
FIXTURE HISTORY
Leyton Orient
Previous 5 vs. Orient: | 🟩 | 🟩 | 🟩 | 🟥 | 🟨 |
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 1973-74 |
Matchday | #47 |
League Match | #42 |
Manager Game | #222 |
Friday, 3 May 1974
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager | Vic Crowe |
FT Result | Drew |
FT Score | 1-1 |
Last 5 Games | LLWLD |
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Unknown
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
Charlie Aitken and Jimmy Brown replace Bobby McDonald and Bobby Campbell.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 26.20 |
Oldest Player |
LB Charlie Aitken | 32.03 |
Youngest Player |
F Brian Little | 20.45 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
Vic Crowe
Aston Villa
GK Jim Cumbes |
CB Chris Nicholl |
CB Ian Ross |
FB John Robson |
LB Charlie Aitken |
M Jimmy Brown
M Chico Hamilton |
M Pat McMahon |
W Ray Graydon |
F Brian Little |
F Sammy Morgan |
Leyton Orient
Goddard, Downing, Roffy, Allan, Hoadley, Walley, Fairbrother, Brierley, Bullock (g), Queen, Heppolette.
Manager: George Petchey.
SUBSTITUTES
None
SUBSTITUTES
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
F Keith Leonard |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
SQUAD STATS
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Not recorded
UNAVAILABLE
Player Abbreviations:
GK : Goalkeeper
LB, RB, FB : Left Back, Right Back, Full Back
CB, D : Centre Back, Defender
M, W : Midfielder. Winger
F, CF : Forward, Centre Forward
🟢 : Debut 🔴 : Final Game
Symbols:
⚽ | Goal
🔥 | Assist
🔁 | Substitution
🟨 | Booking
🟥 | Sending off
🆘 | Poor refereeing performance
DEBUT APPEARANCES
FINAL APPEARANCES
MATCH STATS
Not recorded
TABLE
PROGRAMME



MATCHDAY QUOTES
*Birmingham Daily Post*
Saturday, 4 May 1974