Now You're Gonna Believe Them

“You must’ve cheated”
“I didn’t”
“Yeah, don’t give me that. You’ve changed the database to add some big players who wouldn’t ever join your club”
“No, no I didn’t.  Here, have a look at my squad. All these players are those who weren’t wanted by other clubs”
“Ok, well then you must’ve manipulated the scores. Each time you went behind you turned it off and started again”
“Well…..we were hardly ever behind so I didn’t need to”
“Ok, well bless you, you enjoy your fantasy.  It would never happen in real life”

This is a scenario that’s gone on around the world for any of us who’ve played Football Manager and published blogs of our progress.  One of the ultimate addictive facets to the game is the ability to take control of a ‘little club’ and guide them to glory, dreaming of press conferences, awards and team talks where you get to pit your wits against Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.

What we have just witnessed in English football is an achievement of Football Manager proportions.  These things weren’t supposed to come true, in these days of clubs as behemoths burning more money than some countries GDP, football looked for all the world as though without money no club could hope to succeed.  Maybe in cup competitions the minnows could progress, mainly through luck of the draw as the bigger sides knock each other out, and maybe through the luck of timing.  A little club could come up against a big side who field a side to protect their stars as they are days away from a crucial European match.  Plus, cup competitions may only require you to negotiate six or seven matches.  But a league competition?  Surely that goes on too long for a lesser side to prevail?

But Leicester City has defied all the odds and overturned considered convention. 

There are plenty of reasons, or maybe even excuses, clubs can identify to suggest why they’re not currently winning titles.  Maybe they don’t have enough money to buy the quality of player to win trophies, their ground isn’t big enough to bring in enough revenue to afford these players’ wages.  They’ve given youth players a go but they’re struggling to come to terms with the higher standard of play.  All their best players get poached by bigger clubs.  They need a quality goalscorer, or a quality centre-half or a talented goalkeeper.  All those cost money and none of those players are interested in playing for clubs who don’t compete in European competitions.

Leicester has just blown all those excuses out of the water.  They ripped up the rulebook and laughed in the face of “it cannot be done”.  Of course there are a number of factors which have helped them achieve this, mainly the abject performances of other clubs who really should’ve won a league title when only 77 points were required for success.

It’s not just the big boys who’ve had their noses put out of joint and given homework for the summer to work out how they take on Leicester, but clubs who were above The Foxes in early 2015 are all now going to reassess their goals and aspirations.

DREAM BIG

There is a story often given by positive speakers about fleas in a jar.  If you put fleas in a jar and put the lid on, the fleas will jump up and hit their heads on the lid.  They keep doing this for a while until they work out that if they jump just below the level of the lid then they don’t get a headache.  They condition themselves so well they keep on doing this.  If you then remove the lid what happens?  The fleas keep jumping to the level of just below the lid as they’re not aware the lid has been removed.  You can keep them in that jar with the lid off for ages as they’ve been conditioned to believe that jumping any higher will bring them pain.

This is where many clubs who would consider themselves on a par with Leicester, now find themselves.  The lid has been lifted but have they got the ability to realise or the dreams to be able to jump higher?

Some clubs appeared to start the season with acceptance of a relegation battle.  They only really got to work once the drop was a very real possibility and suddenly they put in big enough performances to get them out of the mire.

Leicester’s success isn’t a fluke.  Although it is true this should give many people confidence in aiming to achieve the impossible, you can’t just turn up with a group of players, run around a lot and hope to win the league.  Leicester’s success may actually have been a perfect storm.

Will there be another season when Arsenal, Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea all lose a total of 38 matches between them?  Compare that with last season when they lost a total of 25 between them.  That is not to belittle Leicester’s achievement, it’s not their fault those big four clubs all had a meltdown at the same time.  One of the benefits for Leicester for next season is the panic which now pervades the boardrooms of all four clubs to try and work out how to re-arrange their business plans.  Already two of them have announced new management, with another one rumoured to, and the fourth resisting the urge for now. 

There is no single factor which has contributed to Leicester’s stunning title win and in a way what this has proven is that money alone cannot win you a title, but then Manchester City are evidence you need a little more than just money to win league titles.  The fact Leicester staved off relegation last season from a seemingly desperate position will have gone someway for them believing they could achieve anything.

Leicester fell to the bottom of the Premier League at the end of November 2014 when they lost 2-3 at QPR.  It was their seventh defeat in the first thirteen matches of the season, and began a run of six straight defeats.  They ended it by beating Hull City but on New Year’s Day they were still bottom of the pile

The table on New Year’s Day morning makes interesting reading.  Leicester were bottom, with Burnley and then Crystal Palace three points above them.  The fortunes of those bottom three eighteen months on is interesting.  Leicester are now Premier League Champions, Crystal Palace are in the FA Cup Final and Burnley have just won the Championship title.

When Leicester lost at Tottenham in late March they were seven points from safety with just nine matches to go.  The proceeded to lose just one of those nine, at home to the eventual champions Chelsea, and drew at Sunderland.  All the rest they won.  Back-to-back wins against West Ham and West Brom saw them finally drag themselves from the bottom of the table in mid-April.  Those remaining seven matches are enlightening when looking back now.  They only conceded in two of those matches, the Chelsea defeat and the final game 5-1 thrashing of QPR.  Fast forward to this season and they have kept fifteen clean-sheets.  More tellingly twelve of these have come in the second half of the season.  Between the Boxing Day defeat at Anfield and the 2-2 draw at home to West Ham in mid-April, they played fifteen matches and only conceded in four.  They lost just once, at Arsenal and the consistency is one huge reason for their success.

WORK ETHIC

They have a work ethic, as so many have identified, and this where they work so hard for each other.  They swarm all over sides.  They don’t need to worry about possession of the ball as they’ve proved their ability to retrieve possession, they lead the league in interceptions, and then counter attack at pace.  They possess a striker, Jamie Vardy, who never stops running and has scored 24 goals.  He also broke the Premier League record for consecutive games scored in.  They’ve identified their strengths and worked them thoroughly.  Not worry about not having the ball as long as they can nick it when their opponents are pushing forward, get it up the pitch quickly and then have a striker who can convert more often than not.  Largely Vardy has made the same run time and again every game, all season and yet sides have still to combat it.  They have a greater conversion rate of chances than any other club in the league.

There is also a fascinating synergy between the last two seasons.  They’ve been crowned Champions after 139 days at the top of the table.  Last season they were at the bottom for 140 days.

Claudio Ranieri deserves all the plaudits heading his way, so do the owners for choosing him against others better judgement.  But the groundwork within the club set up by the backroom staff and Nigel Pearson last season, is what has gone a long, long way towards their success.  The medical staff have found a way of preparing and looking after players who have been able to survive the rigours of a 38-game season without a soft-tissue injury anywhere.  Many felt sorry for him when a re-financed Chelsea ditched him for Mourinho in 2004.  Leicester is his sixth club appointment since then and he came from a less than auspicious experience as manager of Greece.  He was not to know of the turmoil behind the scenes within the Greek FA and was only in charge for four matches.  In nearly thirty years of management this is his first league title.  Few begrudge him that.

Have they been lucky? I think they have, but then again they’ve seized on an opportunity and run with it.  They’ve lost three games all season, with only two clubs ever getting the better of them (Arsenal, twice, Liverpool, once).  Chelsea lost just three last season, which puts that into perspective.  They have been clear of injuries, but then as has just been mentioned, they have created their own luck in that department.  They didn’t seem to suffer from any contentious decisions by officials, possibly until the Vardy sending off against West Ham.  They didn’t have many goals chalked off or many goals given against them where replays suggested otherwise.

What Leicester has proved is that there is no substitute for hard work, planning and preparation.  Ranieri didn’t make too many adjustments to the 2014-15 side but the changes he did make were crucial.  There are all sorts of stats about how little they’ve spent compared to the bigger clubs in English football, but what they have generated is a fantastic team spirit where the players are prepared to sacrifice themselves for each other.  There are no huge egos at the club, no big names.  At the end of last year I read a comment from someone about how Leicester would struggle to keep hold of players like Vardy and Mahrez.  Now I’m sure the club is looking forward to barging in on their rivals transfer negotiations, saying “don’t go there, they haven’t got Champions League football”.

PREDICTIONS ARE USELESS

I tweeted towards the end of November about the incredibly tough run of fixtures they had coming up.  They’d just won at Newcastle and gone to the top of the table after thirteen games.  Their run was Manchester United (h), Swansea (a), Chelsea (h), Everton (a), Liverpool (a), Manchester City (h).  My argument was they’d gained a lot of points against weaker opposition.  They’d only picked up two points from games against Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United.  I, like many others, expected them to fall away.  I expected them to find the going tough, players would pick up injuries, etc, etc.  .  Most people were likely to have agreed with me about Leicester’s chances, although there was one chap who reckoned they’d get “12 points there easy”.  Take a bow Ross Bell (@RossBell1984), you were almost on the money.  They picked up thirteen points, winning three, drawing two and losing just one of those six matches, at Liverpool.

When they lost at The Emirates in mid-February many people expected Arsenal to go on and take the title.  They were two points behind Leicester and with a supposedly far superior squad and a manager who’d experienced a title win.  But from there Leicester really hit a rhythm, gaining nineteen points from a possible twenty-one over the next seven games, conceding in just one.  A series of 1-0 wins took them further ahead of the pack.  In contrast, Arsenal’s seven matches earned them just nine points.  In the days of George Graham at Arsenal the fans frequently sang “one-nil to the Arsenal”.  All these years later they’d been “out Arsenal-ed” by Leicester City.  58,000 is the average attendance at Arsenal, whereas Champions Leicester only house 32,000 every week.  Even Aston Villa command a higher average attendance.

NO COMPARISON

Was this the ‘greatest story ever told’ in football?  There have been a couple of contenders to challenge this.  Ipswich winning the title in 1962 a year after winning the Second Division title.  Nottingham Forest won the league in 1978 a year after finishing third in the Second Division.  They then went onto win back-to-back European Cups.  The Forest side is a decent comparison with Leicester in that they didn’t have any superstars, until Brian Clough signed one of the best goalkeepers in the world, Peter Shilton.  But other than that they had a lot of players who inidividually weren’t necessarily anything special, but collectively were very hard to beat.  Liverpool had just won back-to-back league titles and also the European Cup, a year after the UEFA Cup.  They contained internationals such as Clemence, Neal, Hughes, Hansen, Thompson, Souness, Dalglish, McDermott and Ray Kennedy.  They won the league by seven points which is the equivalent of ten points today.

In the sixties the league was won by eight different teams.  In the seventies six different clubs won the First Division.  In the last ten years just three different clubs have won the title.  This is not to denigrate either Ipswich or Forest’s achievements but money has changed everything, especially expectations.  

WHAT NEXT?

Leicester may do quite well in Europe, particularly as their brand of football should be very difficult for foreign teams to contend with as they rarely come up against it.  The key could be to keep the same group of players.  It will be important for them to recruit well, paying particular attention to attitude and temperament.  All the talk coming out of the King Power Stadium is they intend to do just that.  What remains for them next season is anybody’s guess.  So many, including their own supporters, got this season wrong so it seems churlish to try and predict anything further of this wonderful story.  Personally, I’m going to just sit back and enjoy it.  One of the most popular successes for many a year.  Let’s hope that success doesn’t ruin the players or the team spirit.

What is Going on Out There?

This season has been different right from kick-off.  Up to the halfway point there is no runaway leader and the previous big four are now spread throughout the table.  Chelsea’s awful season has opened up opportunities for other clubs, but also Leicester City’s emergence has thrown the form book out the window.  Right from the early part of the season Crystal Palace and West Ham have occupied top seven places, and Watford’s recent run has seen them move into that once longed for esteemed group.

The big clubs have struggled to put consistent runs together as what was thought just a strange start to a season has become a constant source of frustration for those who believed they knew the script.  For some this is a welcome alternative to believing you could predict the top four or top six before a ball has been kicked.  For others, the trend of each team beating each other has created the sense that despite losing a few matches, a club can still climb several places with a few wins.  My own club, Liverpool are a case in point.  Despite taking just one point from games against Newcastle, West Brom and Watford, we are only five points off a top four place.

So what is it about this season that has made it so close?

I believe there are several important factors which have all contributed.  During this article I will make reference to ‘bigger’ and ‘lesser’ clubs.  This is not to denigrate or disrespect any club, it is merely to demonstrate how some clubs are perceived to be perennial achievers or strugglers and how some clubs performances this season has been very different to how they were expected to perform.

Fancy Dans

First of all the Premier League is a poorer place as far as world class players are concerned.  When you look back a number of stars of the world game have left these shores over the past five years or so.  Players such as Suarez, Modric, Bale, Mascherano, Tevez, van Persie, Drogba, Gerrard and Lampard have all vacated the league and it is poorer for it.  The likes of Aguero, Toure, Hazard, Ozil, Sanchez, Di Maria, Falcao have come in with varying degrees of success but it is difficult to say who is the best player in the league right now.  Hazard was fantastic last season and a deserved player of the year but this season has been a shadow of his former self.  Aguero can’t seem to string more than a couple of games together, Di Maria came in and was a complete failure and Falcao looks as if he’d be better off in another country.  Ozil is beginning to show his class and Sanchez has been excellent since his arrival at Arsenal, but he’s suffering an injury at the moment.

My point is there are some decent players, some very good ones but world class?  Not sure.  But what does seem to have happened is we have gone back to the type of player from abroad who is given the label “he’s good but can he do it on a cold Tuesday night at Stoke?”

When the Premier League began to plunder foreign leagues for new talent this was a common problem.  Often it would take foreign players a season or so to adjust to the pace and physicality of the league.  Which is what made Fernando Torres debut season for Liverpool all the more stunning.  Of course there have been a whole host of players who have come in and hit the ground running, but for those who possess ‘potential’ or maybe just average ability then they can take a while to settle in.  Some of the ‘bigger’ clubs have gone for this type of player, a fancy dan rather than a grafter. 

TV Deal

The new TV deal, a reported £5.14bn, has given many clubs the ability to buy players who once may have been out of reach.  The equality with which the Premier League dishes out the prize money from TV has contributed to many lesser clubs being able to sign players who may only have previously come over here for the bigger clubs.  Yohan Cabaye at Crystal Palace is an example.  He was at Paris St. Germain and with Champions League football almost guaranteed every year, but he chose to return to England to play under Alan Pardew who’d been his boss at Newcastle. 

Stoke City is another example where they have been able to sign the likes of Bojan Krkic and Xherdan Shaqiri.  Bojan was signed from Barcelona, having spent time at Roma, Milan and Ajax, yet he chose Stoke City for his chance to play in the Premier League.  This in no way is to suggest there is anything wrong with Stoke but Bojan is not the type of player they have attracted in the past.  Shaqiri, a Swiss international, was at Basle when there was intense speculation over his next move.  He was reportedly a target for Liverpool but when Bayern Munich came calling he found it too tempting to turn down.  He then moved onto Inter yet Stoke managed to lure him from Serie A. 

The new riches enjoyed by more clubs within the Premier League has enabled players like Cabaye, Bojan and Shaqiri to go to clubs not really considered ‘big’.  The FFP rules have also had an effect on stopping the bigger clubs from just hoovering up all the best talent, and so this talent can now be spread more evenly within the league.

Counter Attack

Many of the lesser clubs no longer just turn up at Old Trafford, Anfield or The Emirates believing they should just lay down and hand over the three points.  They believe if they have a go they might be able to get something from the game.  The other major contributory factor with this is the adoption of the counter attack as a tactic.  Teams are happy to sit back and soak up the pressure and then hit their opponents on the break, at pace.  Leicester City is a prime example of that.  This has been particularly effective in enticing the bigger clubs to keep the ball, knock it around and generally show off but then when they lose it, they’re hit on the break and found to have not left anyone manning the fort at the back.

If you put these two factors together you have a toxic mix, as far as the bigger clubs are concerned, where many league games can be like cup ties with a baying crowd urging their team on as they smell the blood of big names who have spent the past ten to fifteen years lauding it as if it’s some sort of birth right.

It makes for an exciting season and with points seemingly more generously spread throughout the table then few can be sure of where they will finish until we move towards March and April.

Is this a trend or a freak? 

Going back to the point about the type of foreign player who has been recruited by Premier League clubs, many of them are young and come under the ‘potential’ category.  Within a few seasons many of these players should start to realise this potential and become stars.  We may well find those clubs who have recruited more wisely will begin to pull away from the others again, but until this happens we can enjoy a much more equitable competition than we have had to endure for the past five years or so.

A Moment in Time - When Aston Villa were Relegated - 1986-87

The season is 1986-87.  It is 5 years since Aston Villa were League Champions, 4 years since they were kings of Europe.  In January 1983, they beat Barcelona to win the European Super Cup.

After the European Cup success, their final league positions had been on a steady decline

1982-83 – 6th

1983-84 – 10th

1984-85 – 10th

1985-86 – 16th

From the squad that played in the season, ’86-’87, only 5 players remained from either their league title or European Cup winning sides.  Gone were players such as Gordon Cowans, midfield talisman who was now in Italy, Dennis Mortimer, the inspirational captain, Tony Morley, speedy winger and Des Bremner.

Ironically, Villa had begun to compile a team full of young players who would go on to have decent professional careers.  Players such as Tony Dorigo, Steve Hodge, Tony Daley, Mark Walters.  All four were later capped by England.  Dorigo was part of the Leeds United League title winning side of 1991, Hodge was part of a Nottingham Forest side runners-up in the FA Cup in 1991.  Walters won an FA Cup winners medal with Liverpool in 1992.  There was also Paul Elliott, who went on to have a promising young career with Chelsea.

Many Villa sides were compared to the 1981 squad when just 14 players were used.  This time round, Villa would call up 26.  Injuries and loss of form are never helpful when you’re fighting for survival, and this season was no exception.

The play-off system had recently been introduced and in these early days the First Division was included.  The bottom three clubs would be automatically relegated, but the club finishing 19^th would go into a play-off competition with three clubs from the Second Division.  The FA was trying to reduce the number of teams in the First Division gradually each season so only two clubs would automatically come up from the Second Division, but a third could get promoted at the expense of the 19^th placed First Division side.  So, to ensure First Division survival a club would need to finish at in at least 18th place.

Manager

Graham Turner, age 39 – Had a playing career with Wrexham, Chester and Shrewsbury which spanned 19 years.  As player-manager of Shrewsbury they won Third Division title.  Took over Aston Villa in 1984.  After leaving Villa Park, he moved to Wolves for 8 years, and then onto Hereford where he spent 14 seasons as manager.

Billy McNeill, age 46 – Part of Celtic team that won the European Cup in 1967.  Managed Clyde, Aberdeen, Celtic and Manchester City before taking over at Villa Park once Turner was sacked.  Lasted until the end of the season, when he returned to Celtic.

Squad

Goalkeepers

Kevin Poole (age 23, 11 apps) – Turned professional with Villa in 1981.  Spent 6 seasons there before moving to Middlesbrough in 1987.

Nigel Spink (age 28, 38 apps) – Made his name when he came on as a sub for Jimmy Rimmer in the European Cup Final in 1982.  Then became the regular keeper at Villa Park, spending 19 years there, before moving to West Brom in 1996.

Defenders

Gary Williams (age 26, 26 apps) – Began his career at Villa in 1978, one of the survivors from their League and European triumphs.  Left Villa at the end of this season to move to Leeds United.

Tony Dorigo (age 20, 48 apps) – Born in Melbourne, but played for 15 times for England.  Made his debut for Villa in 1984, remained at the club before moving to Chelsea at the end of this season.  Later won a League title with Leeds United.

Allan Evans (age 29, 33 apps, 7 goals) – Another survivor from the title winning team.  Joined from Dunfermline in 1977, and eventually played 380 times for Villa before moving to Leicester in 1989.

Paul Elliott (age 22, 37 apps, 5 goals) – Began his career at Charlton before moving to Luton in 1983 and then onto Villa, 2 years later.  Left the club at the end of the season moving to Pisa in Italy.

Martin Keown (age 20, 42 apps) – Began his career at Arsenal in 1984 and then moved to Villa in 1986, spending 3 years there before moving to Everton and then back to Arsenal.

Dave Norton (age 21, 25 apps) – Scottish born, he signed as an apprentice at Villa in 1981, but didn’t make his debut until 1985.  Eventually left the club in 1988 when he moved to Notts County.  Had his most successful time, in terms of playing, at Hull from 1991.

Dean Glover (age 22, 5 apps) – Signed professionally for the club in 1981 and was another who left after this season, moving to Middlesbrough.  Later played and then managed, Port Vale.

Bernard Gallacher (age 19, 1 app) – Scottish born, signed at Villa as an apprentice in 1985.  Only made his debut for the club in the final game of this 86-87 season.  Stayed at the club until 1991 when he moved to Doncaster.

Philip Robinson (age 19, 3 apps) – Began his career at Villa in 1985 and then moved to Wolves two years later.  The games he played during this season were the only appearances he made for the club during his career.

Midfield

Andy Blair (age 26, 4 apps) – Began his career at Coventry in 1978, moving to Aston Villa during their League Championship season.  Spent 2 years at Sheffield Wednesday in 1984, before moving back to Villa Park at the start of this season.

Steve Hunt (age 30, 46 apps, 4 goals) – Began his career at Villa in 1973.  After 4 years he spent time at New York Cosmos before returning home to Coventry.  Spent 2 years at West Brom before joining Villa in 1986.

Steve Hodge (age 23, 21 apps, 6 goals) – Started his career at Nottingham Forest in 1980, spending 5 years there before moving to Villa in 1985.  Left the club during this season to move to Tottenham, before going back to Forest in 1988.  Won 24 caps for England.

Tony Daley (age 19, 38 apps, 4 goals) – Joined Villa as an apprentice, making hisdebut in 1985.  Spent 9 years at the club making over 230 appearances before moving to Wolves.  Played 7 times for England.

Mark Walters (26 apps, 4 goals) – Also began his career at Villa as an apprentice, making his debut in 1982.  Spent 6 years at the club, before joining Rangers and then moving onto Liverpool in 1991.

Paul Birch (age 23, 35 apps, 4 goals) – Came through the youth system at Villa, making his debut in 1983.  Came on as a sub in the Super Cup win.  Stayed with the club until he moved to Wolves in 1991.

Neale Cooper (age 23, 15 apps, 1 goal) – Began his career at Aberdeen where he won League, Cup, League Cup and European Cup-Winners Cup medals.  Signed for Villa during the summer 1986.  Struggled with injuries during his 2 years at the club, and moved back to Rangers in 1988.

Paul Kerr (age 22, 6 apps, 2 goals) – Began his career at Villa, making his debut in 1982.  Only made 24 appearances until he moved to Middlesbrough in 1987.

Strikers

Simon Stainrod (age 27, 35 apps, 8 goals) – Began his career with Sheffield United in 1975, moving to Oldham in 1979 and then QPR a year later.  After a short spell at Sheffield Wednesday, he joined Villa in 1985.  Left in 1987 and had spells at a further 6 clubs before the end of his career in 1995.

Garry Thompson (age 26, 37 apps, 7 goals) – Began his career at Coventry in 1977.  Spent 6 years there before he moved to West Brom and then Sheffield Wednesday, joining Villa at the start of this season.  Joined Watford in 1988.  Later went on to manage Bristol Rovers.

Gary Shaw (age 25, 1 app) – His goals played a major part in Villa’s success in the early ‘80’s, but injuries restricted his appearances during this season, to just 1 game.  Eventually left the club in 1988.

Andy Gray (age 31, 22 apps, 2 goals) – Started his career at Dundee United, before moving to Villa in 1975, winning a League Cup winners medal.  He joined Wolves for a record transfer in 1979, winning another League Cup.  He then joined Everton in 1983, winning a League Championship in 1985.  Moved back to Villa for his 2^nd spell in 1985, when Gary Lineker joined Everton.  Not as successful in his 2^nd spell, leaving in 1987 having scored just 5 goals.

Warren Aspinall (age 19, 12 apps, 3 goals) – Started his career at Wigan in 1985, before moving to Everton a year later and then Villa in February 1987.  He joined Portsmouth in 1988 for whom he played more games for than anywhere else.

Mark Burke (age 18, 1 app) – Turned professional during this season, making his debut for the club.  Later in 1987 he moved onto Middlesbrough.

Tony Barton had been in charge of Villa when they won the European Cup in 1982.  He remained in charge until the summer of 1984, when he was sacked.  Villa had become disappointed with the league finishes since the European win, and wanted a new direction.  They appointed Graham Turner, a young up-and-coming manager at Shrewsbury.  As a player-manager he had guided them to the Third Division title in 1979.  By the start of the 1986-87 season, there were already concerns about Turner’s ability.  Not only did they look a long way from competing in Europe, but they’d finished just 3pts ahead of the relegation zone the previous season. 

The season kicked off at home to Tottenham.  Clive Allen put the visitors in front after just 4 minutes, and then when he got his 2^nd goal, 20 minutes later, gloom descended The Holt End.  Allen completed his hat-trick in the second half and Villa had been beaten, 0-3 at home on the opening day.

Three days later, they travelled to Plough Lane to meet Wimbledon.  This was Wimbledon’s first season in the top flight after just 10 seasons in League football, and so their first home game was eagerly anticipated, and again Villa conceded an early goal as Glynn Hodges put the home side in front after 9 minutes.  Things just got worse for Villa as Gary Williams was sent-off 4 minutes after they went behind, but then Steve Hodge was brought down in the box and Allan Evans converted the penalty to equalise.  John Fashanu then restored The Dons lead right on half-time.  4 minutes to go and Evans then gave away a penalty himself, and Gage converted.  Garry Thompson did get one back for Villa, with his first goal for the club since his summer move from Sheffield Wednesday. But Villa lost 2-3 and had begun the season with 2 defeats.

After losing again, 0-1 away to QPR, they then entertained Luton Town at Villa Park.  Two goals from second half substitute, Paul Kerr, gave Villa their first win of the season, 2-1.  Their joy was short-lived as they were then beaten at home by Oxford United, 1-2.

Oxford had enjoyed their finest period in their history, after they won the Second Division title in 1985.  They’d finished just 1pt above the relegation zone in 1986, beating Arsenal 3-0, on the final day to stay up.  Oxford were a mixture of honest professionals and ‘journeymen’, such as Dave Langan, John Trewick along with Ray Houghton and John Aldridge.  Oxford were again expected to be relegation candidates, and so this defeat was another nail in Turner’s coffin.

Worse was to follow.  Villa visited the City Ground to meet Nottingham Forest.  After losing on the opening day to Everton, Forest had won 3 of their next 4 matches.  Villa met them at just the wrong time.  Garry Birtles and Neil Webb both scored twice, with Franz Carr and Nigel Clough also scoring as Forest ran out 6-0 winners.

This was all too much for new chairman, Doug Ellis and the axe fell on Turner.  Forest would go on to hit Chelsea for 6 the following week, but that was little consolation for Villa who searched for a new manager.

Sacked

Billy McNeill was in charge at Celtic and had lead them to 3 League titles, 1 Scottish Cup and 1 League Cup success.  In 1983 he moved to Manchester City who were then a Second Division side, and guided them to promotion to the First Division.  McNeill had been touted for the job at Old Trafford, before Ron Atkinson got it.  Villa were a whole new challenge for the man who had captained the first British side to win the European Cup.  They were 21^st in the table, although Man Utd were only 2 places above them.

If McNeill was not certain of the task ahead of him, his first game should have made it abundantly clear.  They were at home to Norwich City and were thumped, 1-4, and moved to the bottom of the table.  Next up, a trip to the champions at Anfield.  Both teams had been involved in League Cup (now Littlewoods Cup) action in the week, and their fortunes could not have been more contrasting.  Villa were held, 1-1 at Second Division side, Reading.  Liverpool thrashed Fulham, 10-0.

Villa produced a decent performance to come away with a 3-3 draw with goals from Hodge, Thompson and another penalty from Evans.  Villa were bottom of the table with just 4pts from 8 games.

October

Villa then travelled to Midlands rivals, Coventry and it was an ex-sky blues player who scored the only goal of the game.  Garry Thompson had spent 6 years at Highfield Road, and was a delighted scorer to give Villa only their 2^nd win of the season.  Unfortunately for Villa this would remain their sole away win all season.

This took Villa off the bottom of the table, and they went on to beat Reading in the 2^nd leg of their League Cup tie, where Andy Gray scored twice.  Gray had returned to the club for his 2^nd spell, and these were his only goals of the season.  They then won 3-1 at home to Southampton in the league, where Paul Elliott scored twice and Evans converted his 3^rd penalty of the season.  This put Villa up to 18^th.  For younger readers, it may surprise you to know the 4 clubs below them were, Chelsea, Man Utd, Newcastle and Man City.

The mini-revival took a jolt as they went to Watford and were beaten, 2-4.  But they managed to bounce back with 2-0 wins over both Newcastle and Leicester.  Steve Hodge bagged a brace against Newcastle and Simon Stainrod did the same against Leicester.  Villa had now picked up 13pts from a possible 21 and Stainrod had found the net 4 times.  Things seemed to be on the up, as they were up to the heady heights of 16^th

November

Then things took a turn for the worst.  Although they got past Derby in the League Cup after a replay, their league form hit the buffers and they went 7 games without a win.  They went to Maine Road for McNeill’s return to his old club, but City youngster, Paul Moulden, scored his first goals for the club with a double as City won 3-1.  After draws against Chelsea (0-0) and West Ham (1-1), they were then thumped at home, 0-4 by Arsenal. Ironically, future Gunner, Martin Keown, scored an own goal, as Perry Groves, David Rocastle and Martin Hayes took advantage of some poor defending. 

December

Allan Evans scored his 4^th penalty of the season but they were beaten, 1-2 at Sheffield Wednesday, and then scored another when they held Man Utd to a 3-3 draw at Villa Park.  Just before Christmas a late penalty from John Aldridge denied Villa a win at Oxford, but finally the run ended on Boxing Day when Charlton were the visitors and goals from Birch and Daley gave Villa a 2-0 win.

Christmas was an important period for most clubs, and for Villa they had 3 games against sides in the bottom half, 2 of them below Villa.  They went to Oxford and drew, 2-2, and then came their victory over Charlton.  The day after, they travelled to Stamford Bridge.  Chelsea were bottom of the table, scoring just 21 goals in their 21 matches.  They won on Boxing Day, beating Southampton, 2-1.  This was their first win for 9 games, and ended a run of 1 win in 12.  Aston Villa were just the boost Chelsea needed.  They won 4-1, as Kerry Dixon scored twice.  Villa had become one of 9 wins Chelsea would have in a 13 game period, which ultimately saved their season.  But for Villa, this begun an even more desperate run than the Charlton victory had ended.

At the end of the year, Villa were in 18^th place, just 2pts above the bottom club, Leicester.

January

January was a dreadful month for Villa.  They didn’t win a single game.  They didn’t score in three league games and were knocked out of the FA Cup by Chelsea, albeit in a replay.  They suffered two further defeats into February, at home to QPR and away at Luton.  This stretched their run to 1pt from the last 6 games, and 1 win in their last 14.  Villa were now entrenched in the bottom three.  Evans scored his 6^th goal of the season, all from the spot, against Luton.  It was their first goal in the league for 5 matches.  They had lost three successive matches and 5 from their last 6.

On the back of that form, they had to welcome Liverpool to Villa Park.  Liverpool had just won their last 4 matches.  But Villa managed to produce a dogged performance and gained a 2-2 draw.  This was followed by draws against Norwich (1-1) and Wimbledon (0-0).  Their losing run had come to an end, but they had gone 9 games since their last win.

March

They were then due to take a trip to St. James’s Park to play the bottom club, Newcastle United.  The last time they played ‘the bottom club’, they lost to Chelsea.  Nothing changed this time either, as Tony Cunningham took advantage of some slack marking to give the home side an early lead.  Just before the break, Tony Daley then delicately chipped the keeper to equalise and silence the crowd.  In the second half a good run and low shot from Peter Beardsley won it for Newcastle and Villa lost, 1-2. 

They were away next to Southampton, who themselves were looking over their shoulder.  The Saints were just 4pts ahead of Villa, in 17^th and 2pts above the drop zone.  You wouldn’t have thought the two teams were so close as Villa were easily beaten, 0-5.  Northern Ireland international, Colin Clarke, scored twice as Southampton were 4-0 up by half-time.  Villa managed to secure a 1-1 draw when Watford visited and then finally the run ended.

At the end of March, Coventry were the visitors.  Villa had beaten their neighbours back in October, but with Coventry in 8^th place, it looked as if there was little hope.  Birch scored the only goal of the game and Villa had done the double over Coventry, which would at least give some fans cause to celebrate.  Villa had gone 12 games since they last won, on Boxing Day, and this win had been a long time coming.  The win took Villa out of the relegation zone, albeit by 1pt, but they had still played a game more than the teams below them.

April

Eight games to save their season and some big games to come.  On 4^th April four of the bottom five clubs met.  Villa entertained Man City at Villa Park.  City were bottom, but this time Villa managed to avoid defeat with a 0-0 draw.  The relegation battle was hotting up and despite avoiding defeat, Villa dropped two places.  Goals from Ken Wharton and Paul Goddard gave Newcastle a crucial 2-0 win against Leicester, and an exciting game at Selhurst Park where Charlton beat Watford, 4-3.  By the time Villa were next in action they were now 4pts from safety and they were again up against another side battling relegation, when they met Leicester at Filbert Street.  Mark Walters scored his first goal since before Christmas, but former Southampton striker, Steve Moran, equalised for the home side and the game ended 1-1. 

Villa had now gone 4 games without defeat but with Newcastle continuing to pick up points, Villa were still 4pts behind them having played a game more.

Newcastle then extended their unbeaten to run 8 as Paul Goddard scored in his 6^th successive game to give them a surprise 1-0 at Highbury.  Man City then grabbed a 1-1 draw with 3^rd placed Tottenham and the gap on Villa had closed to 1pt.  The Easter weekend began with League leaders, Everton were next to visit Villa Park.  They fought hard but a Kevin Sheedy goal saw Villa lose, 0-1.  Charlton and Man City both lost and all three looked distinctly desperate with just 5 games to go.  Newcastle won again, this time beating Man Utd 2-1 with Goddard now extending his run to scoring in 7 consecutive matches. 

It was looking like the play-offs would be the only hope for Villa with them needing 7pts to be safe and only 5 games to go.

Next up was the type of game we now call a ‘relegation 6-pointer.  Charlton were immediately above Villa in the table, with the two separated by 1pt.  It all went wrong for Villa, and Charlton came away with a crucial 3-0 victory, with goals from Peter Shirtliff, Mark Stuart and Jim Melrose.  Things were now extremely desperate for Villa, they were 9pts from safety and even 7pts from a play-off place and fast running out of matches.

Then they managed to pull a great result out of the bag.  West Ham visited Villa Park.  They were 14^th in the table, with little to play for.  Villa took advantage and Warren Aspinall chose this match to score his first goals of the season, as he scored twice and Villa won, 4-0.  This was Villa’s biggest win of the season, although only 13,500 saw it, but it seemed really out of character, as they’d won just 1 in their last 17.  Elsewhere, two goals from Imre Varadi helped Man City beat Arsenal, 3-0, as another Melrose strike earned a point for Charlton at Southampton. 

Three games to go, could Villa pull off a remarkable escape? It was looking unlikely with 2 of those matches away from home at Arsenal and Man Utd.

May

May 2^nd saw Villa visit Highbury to meet 4^th placed, Arsenal.  Aspinall was again on target, but a Martin Hayes double meant Villa lost, 1-2.  Their only comfort was the three sides immediately above them all lost, but Man City earned a valuable point at Everton and now Villa were bottom of the table.  They now needed to win their last 2 matches otherwise it was relegation.  The most remarkable result of the day was at Hillsborough where Sheffield Wednesday dispelled any potential relegation worries when they thumped QPR, 7-1.  Goals from David Hirst (2), Brian Marwood (2), Mel Sterland, Gary Megson and Mark Chamberlain.

Sheffield Wednesday were then Villa’s next opponents on Bank Holiday Monday at Villa Park.  May 4^th 1987 was a black day in Villa history.  The game was memorable for Phil Robinson who scored his debut goal in professional football.  But it wasn’t enough, Villa lost, 1-2 with David Hirst and Lee Chapman scoring and that was it.  Every other club around them picked up points.  Imre Varadi scored the winner when Man City beat Nottingham Forest.  Leicester drew 1-1 with Coventry and goals from ex-Tottenham players, Paul Miller and Garth Crooks helped Charlton win 3-0 up at Newcastle. 

AstonVilla were relegated, just 6 years after their famous League Championship.  They would need win their final match by 13 goals to avoid finishing last.  Their final match was a visit to Old Trafford.  Paul Birch scored the final goal of Villa’s First Division season, but goals from Mike Duxbury, Bryan Robson and Clayton Blackmore gave Man United a 3-1 win.

Aston Villa had finished 2^nd to Manchester United in the Second Division in 1974-75, to win promotion to the First Division.  During their time there, they won 2 League Cups, 1 League Championship, 1 European Cup and 1 European Super Cup.  But now it was all over.  Second Division football beckoned from August 1987.

For manager, Billy McNeill, he earned the rather unusual accolade of managing two relegated clubs in the same season, as Manchester City also went down.  At the end of the season, McNeill stepped down and returned to Celtic.  Villa then appointed Watford manager, Graham Taylor, who got them back up straight away.  But that is for another day.