Season #2 | 1880-81 | Games #3 - #6
133 Seasons, 33 Managers, 983 Players, 5,671 Matches, Only One Aston Villa
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Player #541
Appearances:
178
Starts:
173
Goals:
37
Seasons:
5
Source: Villa News & Record
Source: Villa News & Record
Bruce Rioch
Position
Midfielder
From
1969-70
To
1973-74
🏴
IMAGE CREDIT
Bruce Rioch
Seasons Quick-View
Seasons
Age*
21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
Division
D2 | D3 | D3 | D2 | D2 |
Appearances
178 |
46 | 25 | 45 | 38 | 24 |
Starts
173 |
46 | 19 | 45 | 38 | 24 |
Substitute
5 |
0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Unused
4 |
0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goals
37 |
0 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 7 |
*Age on opening day of the season
FAC: FA Cup; FL: Football League; D1: Division 1; D2: Division 2; D3: Division 3; PL: Premier League; CH: Championship
FULL SEASON BREAKDOWN
Bruce David Rioch
Birth Date
Saturday, 6 September 1947
Birth Place
Aldershot, Hampshire
Birth Country
England
Villa Youth
n/a
From
Transfer in
Luton Town
From
For
£100,000
On
Tuesday, 1 July 1969
Previous Clubs
1964-69 Luton Town |
Loans Out
None
Transfer Out
To
Derby County
For
£200,000
On
February 1974
Subsequent Clubs
1974-76 Derby County) |
1976-77 Everton |
1977-78 Derby County |
1978-79 Birmingham City (L) |
1979 Sheffield United (L) |
1980-81 Seattle Sounders, NASL |
1981-84 Torquay United |
Source: Villa News & Record
Source: Villa News & Record
Villa Career
Seasons Active, Fee, Starts (Sub) | Goals |
1969-74 £100k, 178 | 173 (5) | 37 |
STARTS
SUBS
GOALS
Played Under
Vic Crowe |
First Squad Appearance
Saturday, 9 August 1969
Debut Appearance
Saturday, 9 August 1969
Norwich City (h), Division Two
DEBUT
First Goal
Wednesday, 17 September 1969
Final Appearance
Saturday, 16 February 1974
Burnley (a), FA Cup
FINAL
Final Squad Appearance
Saturday, 16 February 1974
Honours
1971-72 Third Division Champions
Height
Foot
International Team
Scotland
Bruce Rioch
Player #541 for Aston Villa, Bruce David Rioch, played as a midfielder for the club between 1969-70 and 1973-74 making 178 appearances and scoring 37 goals.
Bruce was born in Aldershot on 6 September 1947 and he made his debut appearance for Villa on Saturday, 9 August 1969 aged 21.
Despite the travails, and many transfer mistakes, under Tommy Docherty, Bruce proved a shrewd purchase and though Docherty was gone before the season was out Bruce retained his ever present status under new boss Vic Crowe.
Villa had signed Bruce from Luton Town for £100,000 in July 1969 along with his brother Neil (£15,000) and his all action midfield style was a blessing in a team that was sorely wanting in many areas.
His ability to hit stunning strikes with his left peg simply increased his worth to a rocky Villa side but none of his talent had come by accident, as an inveterate user of training ground time, Bruce perfected his game when many of his lesser team-mates had disappeared home for the day.
Such attention to detail was typified by a quote from the man himself “I realised, for instance, that if I put the ball down with the hole for the pump in a certain way and hit it fractionally off centre, I could make it swerve.”
That foresight certainly paid off for Villa as they finished League Champions to win promotion back to the second tier in 1971-72 (45 Appearances, 9 goals), acclimatised to the Second Division (38 Appearances, 9 Goals) and his final bow (24 appearances, 7 goals).
That season, 1973-74, represented Bruce’s last and as disappointing as was his loss, the loyalty and service he had shown Villa in an at times seemingly hopeless situation was the stuff of legend.
In truth Bruce Rioch could have walked into any top tier team - as he did with his eventual destination Derby County - but he chose to stay with Villa and it was only the failure to clinch promotion back to the top flight that led to his move.
Sticking with the Villa cost Bruce an England call up as they refused to select players outside of the top division.
Bruce made his final appearance for Villa on Saturday, 16 February 1974 aged 26 before moving on to Derby County later that month for a fee of £200,000.