1971–72 Aston Villa F.C. season

The 1971–72 English football season was Villa's 73rd season in the Football League, this season playing in the Football League Third Division. Under manager Vic Crowe^[1] Aston Villa won promotion to the Second Division as champions with a record 70 points, and thus ended their two-year spell in the Third Division. By the end of the decade they would be firmly re-established as a First Division club.

Aston Villa

1971–72 season
Chairman	Doug Ellis
Manager	Vic Crowe
Stadium	Villa Park
Third Division	1st
FA Cup	First round
League Cup	Fourth round
← 1970–71 1972–73 →

In July 1971, Ray Graydon secured a £50,000 move from third division Bristol Rovers, with captain Brian Godfrey moving in the opposite direction.^[2][3] Graydon missed just one of Villa's 46 league games in the 1971–72 season, scoring 14 goals as the club secured the Third Division title with a five-point margin over Brighton & Hove Albion.^[4]

Willie Anderson's contribution included scoring a career high fifteen goals in all competitions with eight coming from penalties, helping him gain a reputation as a penalty taker specialist.^[5]

Third Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Aston Villa (C, P)	46	32	6	8	85	32	2.656	70	Promotion to the Second Division
2	Brighton & Hove Albion (P)	46	27	11	8	82	47	1.745	65
3	Bournemouth	46	23	16	7	73	37	1.973	62
4	Notts County	46	25	12	9	74	44	1.682	62	Qualification for the Watney Cup
5	Rotherham United	46	20	15	11	69	52	1.327	55
6	Bristol Rovers	46	21	12	13	75	56	1.339	54	Qualification for the Watney Cup
7	Bolton Wanderers	46	17	16	13	51	41	1.244	50
8	Plymouth Argyle	46	20	10	16	74	64	1.156	50
9	Walsall	46	15	18	13	62	57	1.088	48
10	Blackburn Rovers	46	19	9	18	54	57	0.947	47
11	Oldham Athletic	46	17	11	18	59	63	0.937	45
12	Shrewsbury Town	46	17	10	19	73	65	1.123	44
13	Chesterfield	46	18	8	20	57	57	1.000	44
14	Swansea City	46	17	10	19	46	59	0.780	44
15	Port Vale	46	13	15	18	43	59	0.729	41
16	Wrexham	46	16	8	22	59	63	0.937	40	Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round
17	Halifax Town	46	13	12	21	48	61	0.787	38
18	Rochdale	46	12	13	21	57	83	0.687	37
19	York City	46	12	12	22	57	66	0.864	36
20	Tranmere Rovers	46	10	16	20	50	71	0.704	36
21	Mansfield Town (R)	46	8	20	18	41	63	0.651	36	Relegation to the Fourth Division
22	Barnsley (R)	46	9	18	19	32	64	0.500	36
23	Torquay United (R)	46	10	12	24	41	69	0.594	32
24	Bradford City (R)	46	11	10	25	45	77	0.584	32

Source:^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated

Diary

• 20 November 1971: As a third division club Villa were required to compete in the first round joined those non-league clubs having come through the qualifying rounds.^[6] Villa were knocked out by Fourth Division Southend.
• 31 March 1972: Third Division table-toppers Aston Villa pull away from A.F.C. Bournemouth.^[7]

References

1. Saunders chosen as Aston Villa's new manager, 5 June 1974, The Times, Issue: 59107
2. "Ray Graydon treasures his Aston Villa memories". Birmingham Mail. 27 February 2010. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
3. "ABOUT Ray Graydon". www.lerwill-life.org.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
4. Abbott, Colin. "Villan on the Spot: Ray Graydon". www.avfc.co.uk. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
5. Kendrick, Mat (6 October 2017). "These are the Aston Villa wingers you loved watching". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
6. "FA Cup Trivia". The Football Association. 16 May 2003. Archived from the original on 6 January 2004.
7. "Leeds lose chance of going to top". The Herald. Glasgow. 1 April 1972. p. 2. Retrieved 27 January 2018.

External links

• AVFC History: 1971-72 season