From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Aston Villa
1977–78 season
Chairman Sir William Dugdale, Bt [1] [2]
Manager England Ron Saunders
Stadium Villa Park
First Division 8th
FA Cup Third round
League Cup Fourth round
←  1976–77
1978–79 →
Second City Derby
33--28--24
←  1976–77
1978–79 →

The 1977–78 English football season was Aston Villa's 78th in the Football League and their third consecutive season in the top division.

Villa reached the quarter-final of the UEFA Cup where they went out 4–3 on aggregate against Barcelona. In the domestic league, however, they struggled, and Saunders started rebuilding the team. [3]

There were debut appearances for Jimmy Rimmer (229), Ken McNaught, John Gregory, Tommy Craig, David Evans and Allan Evans. [4]

Diary of the season

17 April 1978: Newcastle United lose at Aston Villa and are relegated to the Second Division. [5]

2 May 1978: Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Aston Villa 3–1 to stay in the First Division at West Ham United's expense. [5]

Villa lost both games in the Second City derby. [6]

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
6 West Bromwich Albion 42 18 14 10 62 53 +9 50 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
7 Coventry City 42 18 12 12 75 62 +13 48
8 Aston Villa 42 18 10 14 57 42 +15 46
9 Leeds United 42 18 10 14 63 53 +10 46
10 Manchester United 42 16 10 16 67 63 +4 42
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored

Squad

All Aston Villa players: 1978 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
- GK England  ENG Jimmy Rimmer
- DF England  ENG John Gidman
- DF Scotland  SCO Gordon Smith
- DF Wales  WAL Leighton Phillips
- DF Scotland  SCO Ken McNaught
- MF England  ENG Dennis Mortimer
- FW England  ENG John Deehan
- FW England  ENG Brian Little
- FW Scotland  SCO Andy Gray
No. Pos. Nation Player
- MF England  ENG Gordon Cowans
- MF England  ENG Frank Carrodus
- DF England  ENG John Gregory
- MF Scotland  SCO Alex Cropley
- DF Scotland  SCO Allan Evans
- MF Scotland  SCO Tommy Craig
- DF England  ENG John Robson
- DF England  ENG Mike Buttress
- DF England  ENG Ivor Linton

See also

References

  1. ^ Dyer, Christopher (10 March 2022). "Dugdale, Sir William Stratford, second baronet". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/odnb/9780198614128.013.108089. ISBN  978-0-19-861412-8. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. ^ "Former Villa chairman Bill Dugdale reveals battles with Doug Ellis". Business Live. 18 May 2011.[ permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Shaw, Phil (1 November 2005). "Deadly's legacy will have lively potential" (reprint hosted at NewsBank). The Independent. London. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Aston Villa's Seasons". AVFC History.
  5. ^ a b Smailes, Gordon (2000). The Breedon Book of Football Records. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 140. ISBN  1859832148.
  6. ^ "All Aston Villa's Matches". AVFC History. Retrieved 6 August 2023.

External links

AVFC History: 1977–78