1960–61 Aston Villa F.C. season

Main articles: History of Aston Villa F.C. (1874–1961) and List of Aston Villa F.C. records and statistics
Aston Villa
1960–61 season
ManagerEngland Joe Mercer
StadiumVilla Park
First Division10th
FA CupFifth round
League CupWinners
Charlie Aitken

Aston Villa played the 1960–61 English football season in the Football League First Division.

The League Cup was held for the first time in 1960–61 to provide clubs with a new source of income with Aston Villa winning that inaugural year. Despite an initial lack of enthusiasm on the part of some other big clubs, the competition became firmly established in the footballing calendar. Villa beat Rotherham United 3–2 on aggregate after extra time. Rotherham won the first leg 2–0 at Millmoor, their home ground thanks to goals from Alan Kirkman and Barry Webster. In the second leg at Villa Park, Harry Burrows and Peter McParland levelled the tie on aggregate and Alan O'Neill scored in extra-time to win the cup.

In the Second City derby Aston Villa beat Birmingham City 6–2 at Villa Park, Peter McParland, Gerry Hitchens(3), and Alan O’Neill(2) scoring for Villa.[1] The away fixture was drawn 1-1.[2]

There were debuts for Charlie Aitken (561), John Sleeuwenhoek (226), Alan Baker (92), Geoff Sidebottom (70), Alan O'Neill (23), Fred Potter (6),[3] Jimmy McMorran (14), Alfie Hale (5) and Mike Kenning (3).[4]

Table

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Main article: 1960–61 Football League
Pos Team
 Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification or relegation
6 Leicester City[a] 42 18 9 15 87 70 1.243 45 Qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup
7 Manchester United 42 18 9 15 88 76 1.158 45
8 Aston Villa 42 17 9 16 78 77 1.013 43
9 Blackburn Rovers 42 15 13 14 77 76 1.013 43
10 West Bromwich Albion 42 18 5 19 67 71 0.944 41
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. ^ Leicester City qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup preliminary round as the 1960–61 FA Cup runners-up, since the winners, Tottenham Hotspur, had already qualified for the European Cup.

League Cup

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The 1960–61 Football League Cup was the inaugural knockout competition for England's top 92 football clubs. The competition ended with the two-legged final almost a year later on 22 August and 5 September 1961. The tournament was won by Aston Villa, who beat Rotherham United 3–2 on aggregate after extra time.

Rotherham won the first leg 2–0 at Millmoor, their home ground thanks to goals from Alan Kirkman and Barry Webster. In the second leg at Villa Park, Harry Burrows and Peter McParland levelled the tie on aggregate and Alan O'Neill scored in extra-time to win the cup for Aston Villa.

5 League teams did not compete (Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur, Sheffield Wednesday, West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers). Villa received a bye to the second round and, on 12 October, beat Huddersfield Town 4–1 at home before a crowd of 17,057.

On 15-11-1960 7,677 watched Preston North End draw 3–3 with travelling Villa. The Villains won the home replay 3–1 in front of 15,000.

Fourth round

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Home team Score Away team Attendance Date
Aston Villa (1) 3–3 Plymouth Argyle (2) 12,117 13-12-1960
Plymouth Argyle (2) 0–0[5] Aston Villa (1) 11,006 19-12-1960
Plymouth Argyle (2) 3–5 Aston Villa (1) 13,548 06-02-1961

Fifth round

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Home team Score Away team Attendance Date
Aston Villa (1) 3–0 Wrexham (4) 19,500 22-02-1961

Semi-finals

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The semi-final draw was made in February 1961 after the conclusion of the quarter-finals. Unlike the rounds up to that point, the semi-final ties were played over two legs, with each team playing one leg at home. The matches were played in March, April and May 1961.

Home team Score Away team Attendance Date
Burnley (1) 1–1 Aston Villa (1) 15,908 10-04-1961
Aston Villa (1) 2–2 Burnley (1) 23,077 26-04-1961
Aston Villa (1) 2–1 Burnley (1) 7,953 02-05-1961

Final

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Further information: 1961 Football League Cup Final

The 1961 League Cup Final was played on 22 August and 5 September 1961 and was contested between First Division side Aston Villa and Second Division team Rotherham United. Aston Villa won the game 3–2 on aggregate (after extra time).

First leg

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Rotherham United2–0Aston Villa
Webster 51'
Kirkman 55'
Millmoor, Rotherham
Attendance: 12,226
Referee: K.A. Collinge
Rotherham United
Aston Villa
1 England Roy Ironside
2 England Peter Perry
3 England Lol Morgan
4 England Roy Lambert (c)
5 England Peter Madden
6 England Ken Waterhouse
7 England Barry Webster
8 England Don Weston
9 England Ken Houghton
10 England Alan Kirkman
11 England Keith Bambridge
Manager:
Scotland Tom Johnston
1 England Nigel Sims
2 England Stan Lynn
3 England Gordon Lee
4 Wales Vic Crowe (c)
5 England Jimmy Dugdale
6 England Alan Deakin
7 Scotland Jimmy MacEwan
8 Scotland Bobby Thomson
9 England Ralph Brown
10 Scotland Ron Wylie
11 Northern Ireland Peter McParland
Manager:
England Joe Mercer

Second leg

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Aston Villa3 – 0 (a.e.t.)Rotherham United
O'Neill 67'
Burrows 69'
McParland 109'
Attendance: 31,202
Referee: C.W. Kingston
Aston Villa
Rotherham United
1 England Geoff Sidebottom
2 England John Neal
3 England Gordon Lee
4 Wales Vic Crowe (c)
5 England Jimmy Dugdale
6 England Alan Deakin
7 Scotland Jimmy MacEwan
8 England Alan O'Neill
9 Northern Ireland Peter McParland
10 Scotland Bobby Thomson
11 England Harry Burrows
Manager:
England Joe Mercer
1 England Roy Ironside
2 England Peter Perry
3 England Lol Morgan
4 England Roy Lambert (c)
5 England Peter Madden
6 England Ken Waterhouse
7 England Barry Webster
8 England Don Weston
9 England Ken Houghton
10 England Alan Kirkman
11 England Keith Bambridge
Manager:
Scotland Tom Johnston

References

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General

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  • "English League Cup 1960/1961". Soccerbase. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  • "England League Cup Full Results 1960-1996". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Archived from the original on 21 February 2009. Retrieved 3 February 2009.
  • "English League Cup 1960-1961 : Results". Statto. Archived from the original on 2 March 2012. Retrieved 3 February 2009.

Specific

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  1. ^ "Aston Villa 6-2 Birmingham City, 1960-61 Division One, 22 Oct 1960".
  2. ^ "Birmingham City 1-1 Aston Villa, 1960-61 Division One, 11 Mar 1961".
  3. ^ "Fred Potter, Villa Goalkeeper, 1960-61".
  4. ^ "Aston Villa's Seasons". AVFC History.
  5. ^ After Extra Time
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