The one certainty on this occasion was that Aston Villa v Middlesbrough was a banker draw on the coupon of everybody hopeful of becoming rich. Just as it was for the 50,097 who braved the cold. A Gibson header – his first goal after 18 appearances/ Darkness was beginning to set in when the Teesiders scored twice but Ugolini used his hands to rugby tackle Frank Moss and Dorsett did the necessary.

Monday lunchtime at 12.30 and the BBC light programme took us over to the Football Association headquarters at Lancaster Gate where a man from West Bromwich and his cohort would draw numbered balls from a velvet bag to decide the fate of the 32 plus survivors into the fourth round. Chesterfield away – if.

This time the replay was fixed for the following Wednesday, causing Villa to set off on a hurriedly-arranged seaside break such that travel agent Doug Ellis would have been proud to have organised. First came a hotel in Saltburn, Then, although not on the pools this time many could have predicted the outcome. A one hundred and twenty minute stalemate in front of a mammoth 49,876. Mammoth for Ayresome Park that is. See you again in Leeds next Monday. Meanwhile Villa move over to Blackpool to continue to enjoy the sea air.

They cannot be said to have enjoy the visit to Bloomfield Road. Did they ever? Dorsett suffered injuries in a car crash – not the first Villa player to become such a victim. Paving the way for Pat Daly, he from Shamrock Rovers, to make his debut at left-back in direct opposition to Stanley Matthews. Aided by Frank Moss the gambit nearly succeeded but you only needed to allow you Matthews one chance, which Mortenson duly converted.

History does not record how we travelled from Blackpool to Leeds. But after a 0-3 humiliation we did not get to see the famous twisted spire. Despite being fed up of playing Middlesbrough it became ours and their misfortune that we got to play again when they became our next league opponents at Villa Park. Perhaps the referee, JW Bowers, was also fed up of seeing everybody too because he got to referee all four games. 32,387 so over 18,000 had already seen enough. Perhaps they were the tired of the two teams but to the rare Villa Park chant of 1-2-3-4-5 we had to settle for only four.

With Blues also having been knocked out of the cup (0-3 at second division Swansea) somebody came up with the perverse idea of a friendly at B6 on fourth round day. With players earning £10 per week (that’s right, £10) perhaps we were determined to get value for money out of them. 20,000 went along with the ruse. We put out our best eleven, they a more mixed bag. On a frozen pitch that they would not have dared play on these days we beat them 3-1. The man who gained most satisfaction from the game was referee Major Frank Green, who coming from Wolverhampton would not normally referee a top game at Villa Park.

A visit to Goodison Park is always a treat especially if you manage to catch one of the toffees being tossed into the crowd by the girl with the tray. Gibson (his first league goal!) saw us ahead before the half-time scores went up but with Craddock a passenger Catterick (later to become their manager) spoilt the afternoon for those who had paid 10/6 (52p) to travel on the excursion train.

Ever keen to bring the best to Villa Park it was arranged for Hibernian to come to entertain anybody in need of a Saturday afternoon fix. 32,000 as it happens Not bad for a non-match. With a full strength team on view they witnessed the rarity of five Villa goals against just two. Major Frank Green again.

Victory over Huddersfield at home could just about ensure our survival. After 20 minutes Ford had scored twice. Then bang on a quarter to four, a penalty. 3-0 surely. No. Dorsett did not so much miss as goalkeeper Mills miraculously pulled off a save. Then on the stroke of four o’clock (half-time ten minutes, remember) Huddersfield scored. Playing as though their top flight depended on it (which it did) Rutherford etc held firm.

Bring on the Baggies. But not before we had played our annual friendly against the whole of the British Army. This time at B6 rather than more usually, Aldershot. We always paid The Army the respect of putting out our best available as they were quite likely to bring along an eleven up to B international status. This time they included Nigel Sims (Wolverhampton) Bob Stokoe (Newcastle) and Jimmy Hill (Coventry City) 3-0, as I found out when I passed the ground on my way home from school.

Albion, one place below us and a couple of points adrift attracted the usual 47,539. Not a game to watch from the Aston End in the face of a bitterly cold northerly wind. It was nip and tuck right until twenty to five when Gibson ensured a home win, spoiling many a football coupon.

Ford (Wales) and Martin (Ireland) would again be in direct opposition to each other on Wednesday. 0-0 as it turned out. We should have been at Old Trafford onfFifth round day but instead gave players and fans a well earned Saturday afternoon off. It might have been better if we had then had the following Wednesday afternoon by the fireside. Having lost 0-2 at Chelsea, Manchester United decided to take things out on us in their quest to become champions. It was actually our first visit to Old Trafford since the war as they had had to play at Maine Road whilst their ground was being made habitable again. Had not Goffin missed a thirtieth-minute penalty which would have given us the lead things might have been different. Perhaps he took it because Dorsett had had his last penalty saved. After going in level for their oranges United went rampant and aided by three penalties (four in one game!) we went down to a humiliating 0-7 defeat.

Liverpool had now lost their invincibility when they came to Aston. Only a win would do for the visitors. But how a team which had lost 0-7 at Old Trafford could come home three days later to beat championship and FA Cup hopefuls Liverpool 2-0 is one of Pele’s great mysteries. Yet it was “Easy, easy”. Goffin started it with a Goal of the Season contender before Dixon applied the coup de grace towards the end. 40,820. Relegation! Phooey.

STOP PRESS We have just signed a new full-back. Stan Lynn from Accrington Stanley. Who?

We missed out on the semi-finals at Villa Park – Arsenal v Chelsea and Liverpool v Everton. We had been due to go to Highbury but that became a victim of an Arsenal v Chelsea replay so our next fixture was at home to Burnley. 29,923 saw the one sided game they expected but what they did not expect to see was Potts (later their manager) steal it at the end. Take that Pele.

But what goes around comes around and as we finally got to turn out at Highbury what a turn out it was. Perhaps they were content just to have reached the FA Cup final. They had the cricketing brothers Denis and Leslie in their ranks and they might well have witnessed a cricket score. But 3-1 was as good as it got. Only 24,736 on a Wednesday afternoon. We did not normally change strip against Arsenal but much was made of the fact that we played in white with black shorts.

One place you do not want to go is Sunderland when there is a gale blowing. Davis (how on earth did we let the league’s leading goal scorer go to Sunderland at the end of the war?). At least he did not score against us; that was left to Ivor Broadis, twice. Sunderland still had a chance of the title but the 1-2 was not of major consequence to us in the grand scheme of things.

Charlton Athletic graciously agreed to alter the Good Friday kick-off time from 11.15 to 3 pm to enable more Villa supporters to attend. Wasn’t that nice of them? They might not have been so accommodating had they known we were going to win 4-1. Then another four goals the following afternoon as Chelsea, after their semi-final disappointment, duly surrendered. As was traditional we played our Easter holiday home games on the Tuesday to save factories having to close down the furnaces twice. The wind ruined any hopes of another four goals and Bertram made sure it stayed at 1-1.

While I watched the reserves beat Stoke City reserves 4-3 Malkin (who?) saw to it that we went down in the 70th minute in the Potteries. Next an unusual game at Villa Park. RUGBY. RI Scorers International XV played North Midlands (Moseley by any other name), An odd experience for which I did not record the result. But I know the game frightened me. And I might have to play it at school next year!

Next Bolton Wanderers and Nat Lofthouse had nothing much to lose so we caused them to do just that. 3-0 Goffin 2, Dixon 29,820.

It would be wrong to say that we relegated the Blues when we went to Cattell Road; they had already achieved that by their own efforts. So we played for fun and fun meant 2-2. 41,678, not bad for a relegated team. Local derby or not. I do not recall going to St. Andrews so must have seen the reserves beat Manchester United reserves 3-0.

Other than it was May Day there is no apparent reason for our going to Merthyr Tydfil to play a friendly. There is no mention of a benefit. Be that as it may it was the current first team plus John Cordell in goal. So without being there it is difficult to explain how we came to lose 4-7. Repeat, 4-7.

Villa fans had the honour, if that is what is was, of being present on the ground where the first division championship was won. Except the ground was Fratton Park (who would have believed that at Christmas?) Despite Wolves beating Blues 5-0 on the final day Portsmouth 5-1’s win over us meant they won it on goal average 74-38 (1.947) against 76-48 (1.58) or even goal difference in new money.

P42 W15 D12 L15 F61 A61 Pts 42. Position 12th. An average team by any definition.