1977–78 Aston Villa F.C. season

1977–78 season of Aston Villa

Aston Villa 1977–78 football season

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

Second City Derby Football team season

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 v t e	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	ENG	Jimmy Rimmer
-	DF	ENG	John Gidman
-	DF	SCO	Gordon Smith
-	DF	WAL	Leighton Phillips
-	DF	SCO	Ken McNaught
-	MF	ENG	Dennis Mortimer
-	FW	ENG	John Deehan
-	FW	ENG	Brian Little
-	FW	SCO	Andy Gray


No.	Pos.	Nation	Player
-	MF	ENG	Gordon Cowans
-	MF	ENG	Frank Carrodus
-	DF	ENG	John Gregory
-	MF	SCO	Alex Cropley
-	DF	SCO	Allan Evans
-	MF	SCO	Tommy Craig
-	DF	ENG	John Robson
-	DF	ENG	Mike Buttress
-	DF	ENG	Ivor Linton

References

^ 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.)
^ "Former Villa chairman Bill Dugdale reveals battles with Doug Ellis". Business Live. 18 May 2011.^{[permanent dead link]}
^ Shaw, Phil (1 November 2005). "Deadly's legacy will have lively potential" (reprint hosted at NewsBank). The Independent. London. Retrieved 19 March 2012.
^ "Aston Villa's Seasons". AVFC History.
^ ^a ^b Smailes, Gordon (2000). The Breedon Book of Football Records. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 140. ISBN 1859832148.
^ "All Aston Villa's Matches". AVFC History. Retrieved 6 August 2023.

External links

AVFC History: 1977–78

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1977–78 in English football

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National teams

League competitions

Levels 1–4	Football League (First Division, Second Division, Third Division, Fourth Division)
Levels 5–6	Isthmian League (Premier, One) Northern Premier League (level 5 only) Southern League (Premier, One North, One South)
Levels 7–9	Isthmian League (Two) Athenian League (level 7 only) Cheshire County League (level 7 only) Eastern Counties League (level 7 only) Essex Senior League (level 7 only) Hellenic League (Premier, One) Kent League (level 7 only) Lancashire Combination (level 7 only) London Spartan League (Premier, Senior) Midland Football Combination (level 7 only) Midland League (Premier, One) Northern League (level 7 only) South Midlands League (Premier, One) Sussex County League (One, Two) United Counties League (Premier, One, Two) West Midlands (Regional) League (level 7 only) Western League (Premier, One) Yorkshire League (One, Two, Three)

Cup competitions

FA cups	FA Cup (Qualifying rounds, Final) Charity Shield FA Trophy (Final)
Football League cups	League Cup (Final)

European competitions

Club seasons
First Division	Arsenal Aston Villa Birmingham City Bristol City Chelsea Coventry City Derby County Everton Ipswich Town Leeds United Leicester City Liverpool Manchester City Manchester United Middlesbrough Newcastle United Norwich City Nottingham Forest Queens Park Rangers West Bromwich Albion West Ham United Wolverhampton Wanderers
Second Division	Blackburn Rovers Blackpool Bolton Wanderers Brighton & Hove Albion Bristol Rovers Burnley Cardiff City Charlton Athletic Crystal Palace Fulham Hull City Luton Town Mansfield Town Millwall Notts County Oldham Athletic Orient Sheffield United Southampton Stoke City Sunderland Tottenham Hotspur
Third Division	Bradford City Bury Cambridge United Carlisle United Chester Chesterfield Colchester United Exeter City Gillingham Hereford United Lincoln City Oxford United Peterborough United Plymouth Argyle Port Vale Portsmouth Preston North End Rotherham United Sheffield Wednesday Shrewsbury Town Swindon Town Tranmere Rovers Walsall Wrexham
Fourth Division	Aldershot Barnsley Bournemouth Brentford Crewe Alexandra Darlington Doncaster Rovers Grimsby Town Halifax Town Hartlepool United Huddersfield Town Newport County Northampton Town Reading Rochdale Scunthorpe United Southend United Southport Stockport County Swansea City Torquay United Watford Wimbledon York City