1979–80 Aston Villa F.C. season

Aston Villa
1979–80 season
Chairman(1) Harry Kartz
(2) Ron Bendall
Manager Ron Saunders
StadiumVilla Park
First Division7th
FA CupSixth round
League CupThird round
Top goalscorerLeague:
Gary Shaw (9)

All:
Gary Shaw (12)
Highest home attendance41,660 vs Liverpool (8 December 1979)
Lowest home attendance15,319 vs Middlesbrough (19 March 1980)

The 1979–80 season was Aston Villa's 80th in the Football League and their fifth consecutive season in the top division.

There were debut appearances for Nigel Spink (361), Des Bremner (174), Tony Morley (137), David Geddis (47), Eamonn Deacy (33), Pat Heard (24), Terry Donovan (24), Terry Bullivant (12), Mike Pejic (10), Noel Blake (4) and Robert Hopkins (3).[1]

Diary

8 September 1979: The national transfer record fee is broken for the second time in four days when Wolverhampton Wanderers pay almost £1,500,000 for Aston Villa and Scotland striker Andy Gray.[2]

October 1979: John Gidman is sold to Everton for £650,000 (2013: £2,900,000) in a deal which sees midfielder Pat Heard move the other way at a valuation of £150,000.[3] Heard would make nine appearances in his first season at Villa Park.[4]

8 March 1980: Second Division West Ham United beat Aston Villa 1–0 in the FA Cup sixth round.[5]

28 April 1980: Arsenal and Liverpool require another replay after drawing 1–1 again in their FA Cup semi-final second replay at Villa Park.[5]

3 May 1980: Liverpool clinch the league title in their penultimate league game of the season by beating Aston Villa 4–1 at Anfield.[6]

Squad

First team squad

As of end of the season.[7][8]

Name Nationality Position (s) Date of Birth (Age) Signed from
Goalkeepers
Jimmy Rimmer GK (1948-02-10)10 February 1948 (aged 32) Arsenal
Nigel Spink GK (1958-08-08)8 August 1958 (aged 21) Chelmsford City
Defenders
Brendon Ormsby CB (1960-10-01)1 October 1960 (aged 19) Aston Villa Academy
Allan Evans CB (1960-10-01)1 October 1960 (aged 19) Dunfermline Athletic
Ken McNaught CB (1955-01-11)11 January 1955 (aged 25) Everton
Mark Jones RB (1961-10-22)22 October 1961 (aged 18) Aston Villa Academy
Noel Blake CB (1962-01-12)12 January 1962 (aged 18) Aston Villa Academy
Eamonn Deacy LB (1958-10-01)1 October 1958 (aged 21) Galway United
Colin Gibson LB (1960-04-06)6 April 1960 (aged 20) Aston Villa Academy
Mike Pejic LB (1950-01-25)25 January 1950 (aged 30) Everton
Pat Heard LB (1960-03-17)17 March 1960 (aged 20) Everton
Kenny Swain RB (1952-01-28)28 January 1952 (aged 28) Chelsea
Gary Williams RB (1960-06-17)17 June 1960 (aged 19) Aston Villa Academy
Midfielders
Ivor Linton MF (1959-11-20)20 November 1959 (aged 20) Aston Villa Academy
Gary Shelton MF (1958-03-21)21 March 1958 (aged 22) Walsall
Alex Cropley MF (1951-01-16)16 January 1951 (aged 29) Hibernian
Lee Jenkins MF (1961-03-17)17 March 1961 (aged 19) Aston Villa Academy
Dennis Mortimer CM (1952-04-05)5 April 1952 (aged 28) Coventry City
Des Bremner CM (1952-09-07)7 September 1952 (aged 27) Hibernian
Gordon Cowans CM (1958-10-27)27 October 1958 (aged 21) Aston Villa Academy
Terry Bullivant CM (1956-09-23)23 September 1956 (aged 23) Fulham
Tony Morley LW (1954-08-26)26 August 1954 (aged 25) Burnley
Forwards
Gary Shaw SS (1961-01-21)21 January 1961 (aged 19) Aston Villa Academy
Brian Little CF (1953-11-25)25 November 1953 (aged 26) Aston Villa Academy
Terry Donovan CF (1958-02-27)27 February 1958 (aged 22) Grimsby Town
David Geddis CF (1958-05-12)12 May 1958 (aged 21) Ipswich Town
Joe Ward CF (1954-11-25)25 November 1954 (aged 25) Clyde
Robert Hopkins CF (1961-10-25)25 October 1961 (aged 18) Aston Villa Academy

Transfers

In

Pos Player Transferred From Fee Date Source
LW Tony Morley Burnley £220,000 1 June 1979 [9]
CF Terry Donovan Grimsby Town £90,000 1 August 1979 [9]
CM Des Bremner Hibernian £275,000 1 September 1979 [9]
LB Mike Pejic Everton £225,000 1 September 1979 [9]
CF David Geddis Ipswich Town £300,000 1 September 1979 [9]
LB Pat Heard Everton £150,000 1 October 1979 [9]
CM Terry Bullivant Fulham £220,000 1 November 1979 [9]

Out

Pos Player Transferred To Fee Date Source
CM John Gregory Brighton & Hove Albion £300,000 30 June 1979 [9]
CM Tommy Craig Swansea City £150,000 30 June 1979 [9]
CB Dave Evans Halifax Town £22,000 30 June 1979 [9]
CF John Deehan West Bromwich Albion £500,000 1 September 1979 [9]
CF Andy Gray Wolverhampton Wanderers £1,469,000 1 September 1979 [9]
RB John Gidman Everton £650,000 1 October 1979 [9]
LW Frank Carrodus Wrexham £70,000 1 December 1979 [9]

Competitions

Overview

Competition Started round Final
position / round
First match Last match
Football League First Division 7th 18 August 1979 3 May 1980
FA Cup 3rd round Quarterfinal 4 January 1980 8 March 1980
Football League Cup 2nd round 3rd round 28 August 1979 9 October 1979

First Division

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
5 Nottingham Forest 42 20 8 14 63 43 +20 48 Qualification for the European Cup first round[a]
6 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 19 9 14 58 47 +11 47 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[b]
7 Aston Villa 42 16 14 12 51 50 +1 46
8 Southampton 42 18 9 15 65 53 +12 45
9 Middlesbrough 42 16 12 14 50 44 +6 44
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. ^ Nottingham Forest qualified for the European Cup first round as the 1979–80 European Cup winners.
  2. ^ Wolverhampton Wanderers qualified for the UEFA Cup as the 1979–80 Football League Cup winners.

Results summary

Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
42 16 14 12 51 50  +1 46 11 5 5 29 22  +7 5 9 7 22 28  −6

Results by round

Round123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142
GroundAHHAHAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAAHHAAHHAHAHHHAHAAAAHA
ResultDWLDLLDDWDDWDWDWDDLWWLWDWLWLLWWLLDLWWDWDWL
Position7107121517192119121315141491098797585434368656989967565
Points13344456891112141517181919212323252729293132343535353536393840414242444646
Source: WorldFootball
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

18 August 1979 1 Bolton Wanderers 1–1 Aston Villa Bolton
15:00 BST Whatmore 76' Report 73' Cowans Stadium: Burnden Park
Attendance: 19,795
Referee: Gwyn Owen
22 August 1979 2 Aston Villa 2–1 Brighton & Hove Albion Birmingham
15:00 BST Evans 14' (pen.)
Morley 66'
Report 45' Maybank Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 28,803
Referee: George Flint
25 August 1979 3 Aston Villa 0–2 Bristol City Birmingham
15:00 BST Report 18', 90' (pen.) Mabbutt Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 25,526
Referee: George Nolan
1 September 1979 4 Everton 1–1 Aston Villa Liverpool
15:00 BST Bailey 85' Report 16' Morley Stadium: Goodison
Attendance: 29,271
Referee: Don Shaw
8 September 1979 5 Aston Villa 0–3 Manchester United Birmingham
15:00 BST Report 17' Coppell
70' Thomas
86' Grimes
Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 34,859
Referee: Peter Reeves
15 September 1979 6 Crystal Palace 2–0 Aston Villa Selhurst
15:00 BST Murphy 42', 63' Report Stadium: Selhurst Park
Attendance: 28,156
Referee: Reg Robinson
22 September 1979 7 Aston Villa 0–0 Arsenal Birmingham
15:00 BST Report Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 27,277
Referee: Ron Bridges
29 September 1979 8 Middlesbrough 0–0 Aston Villa Middlesbrough
15:00 BST Report Stadium: Ayresome Park
Attendance: 16,017
Referee: Ken Redfern
6 October 1979 9 Aston Villa 3–0 Southampton Birmingham
15:00 BST Bremner 34',
Mortimer 43'
Evans 79' (pen.)
Report Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 24,377
Referee: Ken Salmon
13 October 1979 10 Aston Villa 0–0 West Bromwich Albion Birmingham
15:00 BST Swain  60'
Geddis  70'
Report Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 36,007
Referee: John Hough
20 October 1979 11 Derby County 1–3 Aston Villa Derby
15:00 BST Emson 44' Report Little 6'
Shaw 58'
Mortimer 71'
Rimmer  29'
Ormsby  39'
Stadium: Baseball Ground
Attendance: 20,152
Referee: Derek Owen
27 October 1979 12 Wolverhampton Wanderers 1–1 Aston Villa Wolverhampton
15:00 GMT Gray 15'
Richards  60'
Report Shaw 44'
Evans  7'
Mortimer  14'
Ormsby  60'
Stadium: Molineux Stadium
Attendance: 36,267
Referee: Derek Lloyd
3 November 1979 13 Aston Villa 3–1 Bolton Wanderers Birmingham
15:00 GMT Shaw 15'
Evans 41'
Mortimer 89'
Report Whatmore 81' Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 24,744
Referee: Mark Scott
10 November 1979 14 Ipswich Town 0–0 Aston Villa Ipswich
15:00 GMT Evans  72' Report Stadium: Portman Road
Attendance: 17,807
Referee: Clive White
17 November 1979 15 Aston Villa 2–1 Stoke City Birmingham
15:00 GMT Mortimer 23'
Evans 88' (pen.)
Report Scott 11'
Smith  90'
Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 27,086
Referee: Bert Newsome
24 November 1979 16 Aston Villa 0–0 Leeds United Birmingham
15:00 GMT Geddis  66' Report Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 29,736
Referee: Ray Toseland
1 December 1979 17 Norwich City 1–1 Aston Villa Norwich
15:00 GMT Evans 22',  45'
Mortimer  89'
Report Bond 89'
Fashanu  70'  70'
Stadium: Carrow Road
Attendance: 15,885
Referee: Tony Cox
8 December 1979 18 Aston Villa 1–3 Liverpool Birmingham
15:00 GMT Little 54' Report Kennedy 53'
Hansen 65'
McDermott 74'
Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 41,660
Referee: Clive Thomas
15 December 1979 19 Tottenham Hotspur 1–2 Aston Villa Tottenham
15:00 GMT Ardiles 76' Report Geddis 21'
Cowans 55' (pen.)
Stadium: White Hart Lane
Attendance: 30,555
Referee: Brian Hill
19 December 1979 20 Aston Villa 3–0 Coventry City Birmingham
15:00 GMT Donovan 8'
Little 51', 60'
Report Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 24,446
Referee: Joe Worrall
26 December 1979 21 Nottingham Forest 2–1 Aston Villa West Bridgford
15:00 GMT Robertson 50'
Bowles 57'
Report Shaw 64' Stadium: City Ground
Attendance: 30,979
Referee: David Richardson
29 December 1979 22 Bristol City 1–3 Aston Villa Bristol
15:00 GMT Gow 75' (pen.) Report Shaw 52', 54', 86' Stadium: Ashton Gate
Attendance: 18,221
Referee: Dennis Hedges
12 January 1980 23 Aston Villa 2–1 Everton Birmingham
15:00 GMT Gibson 63'
Donovan 82'
Report Eastoe 87' Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 22,635
Referee: Peter Richardson
2 February 1980 24 Aston Villa 2–1 Crystal Palace Birmingham
15:00 GMT Cowans 32'
Mortimer 90+3'
Report Stadium: Ashton Gate
Attendance: 29,469
Referee: John Hunting
9 February 1980 25 Arsenal 3–1 Aston Villa Highbury
15:00 GMT Sunderland 26', 65'
Rix 48'
Report Mortimer 68' Stadium: Highbury
Attendance: 33,816
Referee: Tony Glasson
23 February 1980 26 West Bromwich Albion 1–2 Aston Villa West Bromwich
15:00 GMT Robson 42' Report McNaught 48'
Little 58'
Stadium: The Hawthorns
Attendance: 33,658
Referee: Mike Peck
27 February 1980 27 Aston Villa 2–2 Manchester City Birmingham
15:00 GMT Shaw 42'
Donachie 84' (o.g.)
Report Robinson 60'
Bennett 79'
Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 29,139
Referee: Steve Bates
1 March 1980 28 Aston Villa 2–2 Derby County Birmingham
15:00 GMT Evans 43'
Mortimer  39'
Report Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 28,956
Referee: Mike Bidmead
3 March 1980 29 Brighton & Hove Albion 1–1 Aston Villa Hove
15:00 GMT Clarke 26' Report Evans 33',  47' Stadium: Goldstone Ground
Attendance: 23,077
Referee: Darryl Reeves
10 March 1980 30 Aston Villa 1–3 Wolverhampton Wanderers Birmingham
15:00 GMT Shaw 32' Report Brazier 20'
Bell 28'
Daniel 36'
Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 30,32
Referee: Cliff Maskell
15 March 1980 31 Southampton 2–0 Aston Villa Southampton
15:00 GMT Golac 40'
Channon 87'
Report Gibson  90' Stadium: The Dell
Attendance: 20,735
Referee: Ron Challis
19 March 1980 32 Aston Villa 0–2 Middlesbrough Birmingham
15:00 GMT Report Ashcroft 38'
Armstrong 56'
Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 15,319
Referee: Gilbert Napthine
22 March 1980 33 Aston Villa 1–1 Ipswich Town Birmingham
15:00 GMT Morley 73' Report Wark 15' Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 22,386
Referee: Brian Stevens
26 March 1980 34 Aston Villa 2–0 Norwich City Birmingham
15:00 BST Cowans ?' (pen.)
Hopkins 90+2'
Report Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 17,956
Referee: Ken Walmsley
29 March 1980 35 Stoke City 2–0 Aston Villa Stoke-on-Trent
15:00 BST R. Evans 16'
Chapman 64'
Report Stadium: Victoria Ground
Attendance: 16,234
Referee: Neil Midgley
5 April 1980 36 Aston Villa 3–2 Nottingham Forest Birmingham
15:00 BST Bremner 13'
Evans 41'
Lloyd 47' (o.g.)
Report Birtles 28'
Bowyer 76'
Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 29,156
Referee: Ron Chadwick
7 April 1980 37 Manchester City 1–1 Aston Villa Manchester
15:00 BST Geddis 43',  90' Report Power 63' Stadium: Maine Road
Attendance: 42,584
Referee: Derek Owen
19 April 1980 38 Leeds United 0–0 Aston Villa Leeds
15:00 BST Report Stadium: Elland Road
Attendance: 15,840
23 April 1980 39 Manchester United 2–1 Aston Villa Manchester
15:00 BST Jordan ?', ?' Report Bremner ?' Stadium: Old Trafford
Attendance: 45,210
26 April 1980 40 Aston Villa 2–1 Tottenham Hotspur Birmingham
15:00 BST Cowans ?' Report Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 20,459
29 April 1980 41 Coventry City 1–2 Aston Villa Coventry
15:00 BST Wallace ?' Report Cowans ?' (pen.)
Gibson ?'
Stadium: Highfield Road
Attendance: 17,969
3 May 1980 42 Liverpool 4–1 Aston Villa Liverpool
15:00 BST Johnson ?', ?'
Cohen ?'
? ?' (o.g.)
Report ? ?' (o.g.) Stadium: Anfield
Attendance: 51,451

League Cup

28 August 1979 (1979-08-28) 2nd round 1st leg Colchester United 0–2 Aston Villa Colchester
Report Shaw 35', 73' Stadium: Layer Road
Attendance: 6,221
Referee: B Hill
5 September 1979 (1979-09-05) 2nd round 2nd leg Aston Villa 0–2 (a.e.t.)
(9–8 p)
Colchester United Birmingham
Report Lee 19'
Gough 79'
Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 19,475
Note: Match drawn 2–2 on aggregate, Aston Villa won 9–8 on penalties
25 September 1979 (1979-09-25) 3rd round Aston Villa 0–0 Everton Birmingham
19:00 BST Report Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 22,635
Referee: Tony Glasson
9 October 1979 (1979-10-09) 3rd round replay Everton 4–1 Aston Villa Liverpool
19:30 BST Kidd 5'
Latchford 12', 71'
Rimmer 75' (o.g.)
Report Swain 88' Stadium: Goodison Park
Attendance: 22,080
Referee: Trelford Mills

FA Cup

4 January 1980 (1980-01-04) 3rd round Bristol Rovers 1–2 Aston Villa Eastville
19:30 GMT Report Shaw ?'
Cowans ?'
Stadium: Eastville Stadium
Attendance: 16,060
26 January 1980 (1980-01-26) 4th round Cambridge United 1–1 Aston Villa Cambridge
15:00 GMT Report Donovan ?' Stadium: Abbey Stadium
Attendance: 12,000
30 January 1980 (1980-01-30) 4th round replay Aston Villa 4–1 Cambridge United Birmingham
19:30 GMT Evans ?'
Donovan ?', ?'
Little ?'
Report Stadium: Villa Park
Attendance: 36,385
16 February 1980 (1980-02-16) 5th round Blackburn Rovers 1–1 Aston Villa Blackburn
15:00 GMT Report Geddis ?' Stadium: Ewood Park
Attendance: 29,468
20 February 1980 (1980-02-20) Quarter-finals West Ham United 1–0 Aston Villa Upton Park
15:00 GMT Stewart ?' Report Stadium: Upton Park
Attendance: 36,393

Statistics

Appearances and goals

As of end of season[10]

No. Pos Nat Player Total First Division FA Cup League Cup
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
GK  ENG Jimmy Rimmer 51 0 41 0 6 0 4 0
GK  ENG Nigel Spink 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
DF  ENG Brendon Ormsby 25 0 21+2 0 1+1 0 0 0
DF  SCO Allan Evans 44 10 35 8 5 2 4 0
DF  SCO Ken McNaught 40 1 30 1 6 0 4 0
DF  ENG Mark Jones 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
DF  JAM Noel Blake 3 0 3 0 0 0 0 0
DF  IRL Eamonn Deacy 3 0 2+1 0 0 0 0 0
DF  ENG Colin Gibson 40 2 30+1 2 6 0 3 0
DF  ENG Mike Pejic 12 0 10 0 0 0 2 0
DF  ENG Pat Heard 11 0 9 0 0 0 2 0
DF  ENG Kenny Swain 50 0 41 0 5 0 4 0
DF  ENG Gary Williams 2 0 1+1 0 0 0 0 0
MF  ENG Ivor Linton 16 0 12+3 0 1 0 0 0
MF  ENG Gary Shelton 5 0 4 0 0 0 0+1 0
MF  SCO Alex Cropley 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0
MF  ENG Lee Jenkins 1 0 0+1 0 0 0 0 0
MF  ENG Dennis Mortimer 36 6 26 6 6 0 4 0
MF  SCO Des Bremner 44 3 36 3 6 0 2 0
MF  ENG Gordon Cowans 52 7 42 6 6 1 4 0
MF  ENG Terry Bullivant 7 0 6 0 1 0 0 0
MF  ENG Tony Morley 20 3 15+3 3 0 0 2 0
FW  ENG Gary Shaw 33 12 28 9 3 1 2 2
FW  ENG Brian Little 37 6 29 5 6 1 2 0
FW  IRL Terry Donovan 15 5 9 2 6 3 0 0
FW  ENG David Geddis 24 3 19+1 2 2 1 2 0
FW  SCO Joe Ward 2 0 1+1 0 0 0 0 0
FW  ENG Robert Hopkins 2 1 0+2 1 0 0 0 0

Goalscorers

As of end of season.[10]

Rnk Pos Player First Division FA Cup League Cup Total
1 FW Gary Shaw 9 1 2 12
2 DF Allan Evans 10 0 0 10
3 MF Gordon Cowans 6 1 0 7
4 FW Brian Little 5 1 0 6
MF Dennis Mortimer 6 0 0 6
6 FW Terry Donovan 2 3 0 5
7 MF Des Bremner 3 0 0 3
FW David Geddis 3 0 0 3
MF Tony Morley 3 0 0 3
10 DF Colin Gibson 2 0 0 2
11 FW Robert Hopkins 1 0 0 1
DF Ken McNaught 1 0 0 1
DF Kenny Swain 0 0 1 1
Own Goals 3 0 0 3
TOTALS 54 6 3 63

Clean sheets

As of end of season.[10]

Rnk Pos Player First Division FA Cup League Cup Total
1 GK Jimmy Rimmer 12 2 2 16
TOTALS 12 2 2 16

Overall

As of end of season.[10]

Games played 51 (42 First Division, 5 FA Cup, 4 Football League Cup)
Games won 19 (16 First Division, 2 FA Cup, 1 Football League Cup)
Games drawn 17 (14 First Division, 2 FA Cup, 1 Football League Cup)
Games lost 15 (12 First Division, 1 FA Cup, 2 Football League Cup)
Goals scored 62 (51 First Division, 8 FA Cup, 3 Football League Cup)
Goals conceded 61 (50 First Division, 5 FA Cup, 6 Football League Cup)
Goal difference +1 (+1 First Division, +3 FA Cup, −3 Football League Cup)
Clean sheets 16 (12 First Division, 2 FA Cup, 2 Football League Cup)
Best result(s) W 3–0 (H) v SouthamptonFirst Division – 6 October 1979
W 3–0 (H) v Coventry CityFirst Division – 19 December 1979
W 4–1 (H) v Cambridge UnitedFA Cup – 30 January 1980
Worst result(s) L 3–0 (H) v Manchester UnitedFirst Division – 8 September 1979
L 4–1 (A) v EvertonFootball League Cup – 9 October 1979
L 4–1 (A) v LiverpoolFirst Division – 3 May 1980
Most appearances Gordon Cowans with 52 appearances
Top scorer(s) Gary Shaw (12 goals)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Aston Villa's Seasons". AVFC History.
  2. ^ "www.thewolvessite.co.uk". Archived from the original on 6 November 2012. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  3. ^ The Guardian, Clough apology to directors, 19 October 1979
  4. ^ "Pat Heard Career statistics". Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  5. ^ a b Smailes, Gordon (2000). The Breedon Book of Football Records. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 234. ISBN 1859832148.
  6. ^ "www.liverweb.org.uk". Archived from the original on 22 November 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  7. ^ "All Aston Villa football club players: 1980". 11v11.com. 11v11. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  8. ^ "The Squads". avfchistory.co.uk. AVFCHistory. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n "Transfers". avfchistory.co.uk. AVFCHistory. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d "1979-80 season squad statistics". 11v11. Retrieved 26 September 2024.