Gone is the usual pre-season practice game Colours v Light Blues, replaced by games probably previously played behind closed doors. But most top clubs chose to give their lesser neighbours a boost to their bank balance by taking their team along to hopefully give the locals a treat by perhaps having international players appear on their pitch. But no. Aston Villa, “greatest club in the world” until a few short months ago (19th January 1963) think it is sufficient unto the day to allow lower league players the chance to be able to say they once played at Villa Park even if the night was a bit short of spectators.

Enter first, third division Shrewsbury Town. Unfortunately they did not quite enter into the spirit of the occasion by providing an easy runout but instead proceeded to do everything possible to try to win. A dreadful curtain raiser which took a late equaliser by Deakin (88) to suggest that this was going to be anything but a season of struggle. Our next visitors, second division Northampton Town were in the middle of a meteoric rise but nevertheless knew the part they were expected to play and allowed us to play shots in. 8-0 hid all the forebodings from earlier in the week.

A visit to Nottingham Forest, where we had not won since 1937, is not where we would have chosen to start the season proper. But we now had in our midst a player, formerly with Notts County, Tony Hateley, who seemed determined to prove to the other half of the city what they had missed. In the gale-force wind it took a route one goal to decide the issue in our favour. Sims to Hateley, no messing (26). But Forest continued to mess about and 29,505 saw a nine homes coupon buster. I had gone to the game on a Midland Red 99 service bus using a 10/- Day Anywhere Ticket. Thus allowing me to see the pre-lunch session at Trent Bridge, Nottinghamshire v Warwickshire.

All the pre=match publicity now anticipated the arrival at Villa Park of veteran Stanley Matthews – older even than the Villa manager, Joe Mercer – with a Stoke City he had just inspired to promotion. 40,147 fans, who should have known better, felt cheated when he failed to appear after his exertions in overcoming Tottenham on opening day. Perhaps it was all something of a Bebbington plot (see Mary Queen of Scots) because Bebbington was the player who deputised. All the good work and anticipation from the weekend came to naught.

The opening goal came after the ball had struck the crossbar from a corner and Mudie was more attentive than those around him (21). Dobing scored the second from a crowded area in similar circumstances (29) and already the natives were getting restless. After a pep talk Hateley used his head when Irvine mis-fielded (46) and there were hopes of a revival which were not really fulfilled even against ten and a half men as Dobing limped around such that he was ignored and so able to increase the discontent (86).

Half the crowd from Monday night had seen enough and stayed away when Blackburn Rovers came to provide the opposition. Not a problem surely for the 21,522. Perhaps there was a hint of trouble when a misprint in the Villa News had Dougan, who had joined Peterborough United, lining up for them rather than Douglas. If corners had counted we would have been well ahead before a breakaway goal by McEvoy, as was the new vogue, visibly destroyed Sleeuwenhoek and those around him (37). Ferguson’s task was no more difficult when he might have emptied the stadium if there had not still been more than a half an hour remaining (57).

There was then very little to cheer about until England, their centre-half, deflected a shot from Crowe out of the reach of Else, the goalkeeper who never wore gloves, for an o.g. (75). But even this did little to revive a flagging Villa and already we were seeming reminders of the eleven consecutive defeats.

Aston Villa Reserves 2 Stoke City Reserves 0. But are any of ours good enough? No, apparently, as having paid our 9/- to British Rail we set off for Stoke and, this time, a reunion with Mr Matthews. 37,537 turned up knowing that he would definitely be playing. And he threatened to be doing so on his own as Lee, half his age, struggled to cope with him.

But we were playing with a little more enterprise until a shot from Dobing was deflected by Sleeuwenhoek and came to be recorded as an own goal (29). Then, after a series of narrow escapes, Burrows showed them how to do things properly with a shot which instantly revived our fortunes (39) but the revival meeting was cut short when our offside trap failed and Viollet, fed by Matthews, couldn’t miss and didn’t (53). But for once all was not yet lost. Crowe missed a sitter, Hateley didn’t (82) 2-2. Home by midnight.

Off on the road again with Don and Brian, this time to Blackpool, with no expectations whatsoever of our outshining the illuminations. But Wright had a debut far beyond the realms of fantasy. Less so England captain Armfield who was given the proverbial run around by Woosnam and Burrows. Deakin started the fun when it became our turn to score a ‘modern’ goal when he dashed forward to net against the run of play (16). Not something the 16,855 were expecting to happen, anymore so than with all guns blazing Burrows hit the ducks three times (42, 56 & 69). Then Thomson was tripped but expecting to go nap Hateley shot wide from twelve yards. Never mind! More fun than the Fun House or Max Bygraves at the Opera House. Five away points from six, bettered only by Liverpool How did that happen? But no hanging around – we have a train to catch from Wolverhampton.

Three consecutive away games – Arsenal, on a Tuesday evening starting from Banbury. Arsenal had conceded seven at Leicester City and four at the Hawthorns so we had hopes. But ‘get there early’ at Highbury too for any hopes we had were virtually destroyed in the very first minute when Baker scored whilst we still seemed to inning up. Then the Arsenal defenders, who seemed to be bigger than other defenders due to the shirts designed by Herbart Chapman, adopted a policy of ‘thou shalt not pass’ and we didn’t or couldn’t.

Further misfortune struck when with Hateley and a defender lying on the ground after a collision Baker ran clear again (28). Then a myopic referee denied us a penalty visible from beneath the clock before not even Sims could deny Baker his hat-trick (62..) A thoroughly unsatisfactory evening.

Perhaps a visit from Chelsea would cheer us up. And it did, although it was not all that much.MacEwan back in the absence of an up and coming reserve received the plaudits of most of the 23,681 (13). Then the tactics seemed to be to get the ball in the air to Hateley, something might happen and something did happen, Hateley (78). But most of the credit for the win went to Sims, who defied Tambling more times than Tambling would have wished.

Then on Monday night a third London team in a row, Tottenham Hotspur, hopeful of getting their crown back. The bigger the crowd the more the likelihood of defeat. 36,643. Guts rather than ability kept them in check for half an hour when we gained the luxury of an own goal courtesy Baker (34). Greaves made up for this error (51) until Baker surprised everyone including Baker (56). Could we reset the record books and beat them at home for the second successive season? But even without Blanchflower it was apparent that they held more tricks than we did and we were eventually completely overrun. Greaves (70) Dyson (76) and Jones (86). England manager Alf Ramsey enjoyed the spectacle even if Mercer didn’t.

Next, for me, a life-changing moment. Continental holidays had become all the vogue, mainly to Spain. But I had been offered a ten-day holiday in Austria free gratis and for nothing. Too good to miss even if it meant missing two Villa matches thus ending my record of continuous attendance dating back to Christmas 1956. Coach to Manston Airport in Kent then a very short first-ever flight across the Channel and an overnight journey to the Alps. This at a time when there were severe restrictions on foreigncCurrency. Travel Agents had to state the amount of foreign shekels in the package then there were limits on how much could be taken out of the country and it had to be shown on the one year passport everyone was now using.. An unforgettable experience

Thus I have to admit to missing our fourth London team in a row and our first-ever victory at West Ham United – Burrows (11) and 20,346. But I have the programme.

Less significant was the single sheet programme v Barnsley in the League Cup second round. Those of the 10,679 who got there early saw Hateley (2) and Baker (6). O’Hare added a frisson of panic(63) before Burrows (82) guaranteed an appearance in round three.

It now occurred to me that I would never be able to afford a continental holiday off my own bat. With all the traveling to Banbury I felt that I was not so much getting paid to go to work but actually having to pay to go to work.

I might have wished I was still abroad because I came home to witness the nadir in pathetic Villa performances. A game of almost continual footstamping and slow handclapping to test the patience of the onlookers. Made worse that the game as good as lasted less than a minute That is all the time it took Derek Pace to do what Derek Pace is always expected to do against Villa. Chatterley, making his debut, must have wished, anybody but Pace. Bobby Thomson escapes Villa Park by joining Stan Lynn at St. Andrews. Perhaps many of the 22,228 from this afternoon might be thinking of following suit.

It is unlikely that many of them would have thought “Let’s go to Liverpool next Saturday”. British Railways only wants 16/6. I, as you would now expect, was on the train which left New Street at 10.00 arrived Lime Street 12.40. I know the way to Anfield so the idea that it only takes ten minutes to walk to the ground as shown on the railways handbill fits nicely with the fiction one comes to expect of the offices on Smallbrook Ringway.

The game was every bit as one=sided as the pundits predicted to the point of embarrassment. When 39,106 mainly Liverpool supporters start feeling sympathetic towards you. you know things are bad. Graham, a debutant at number ten in a desperate attempt to try to find somebody, anybody, to work magic. But the truly amazing thing given all this criticism is that we went in at half-time level at two apiece. Hateley (35& 44) – the antithesis of the ‘Revie plan’ in response to St. John (10) and Callaghan (15). As Liverpool upped the pace Sims blundered twice in failing to hold on to the spud and goals by Thompson (50) and Hunt (69 and 78) questioned whether we were still in the same league.

To say that hopes were not high when another team with ecclesiastic routes, Everton deigned to appear on an autumnal Monday night. Methodists v Congregationalists. But right now having thrown the names into a hat we were decidedly deficient in the method department. Referee Fussey failed to live up to his name and one or two incidents went unpunished as both teams tried to revive their fading fortunes. Something which Everton were more successful in doing when Vernon dove in.(56). Sparking a unusual flurry of activity between rival supporters amongst the 24,001.

Games at the Hawthorns are traditionally expected to be dour, pistols at dawn encounters. The idea that just 28,602 should see seven goals goes against the grain. But such is likely to be the case when two sides in need of a spark manage to light a Swan Vesta. Albion fielded a team not altogether indistinguishable from their normal Central League eleven. Which only emphasises the plight of the visitors. Two goals in a minute – an own goal by Crawford (22) and a shot by Tindall (23) ought really have been enough to set Villa on the road to victory. But frailties in defence rather than any great skill on the part of the Baggies led to Cram (43) Jackson (64) and Brown (69) putting the mockers on things. Had Wylie fallen over when pushed rather than staying on his referee Luty could not have failed to award a penalty but failed he did. A strike by Foggo (85) seemed to settle things but Hateley caused the early leavers to hesitate (87). 3-4.

A team that included Peters, Moore and Hurst must have felt confident of reaching the fourth round of the League Cup when West Ham United came to Villa Park in the third round on a Wednesday evening. Ten of the team which capitulated at The Hawthorns did the same again without the consolation of any goals to show to the few – 11,194. Perhaps it was the total lack of atmosphere which led to this dreary match which took on the aura of a light hearted friendly. Or perhaps it was that West Ham knew that they could and would win if they rose above walking pace. Bond (67) and Britt (75) finally proving the point.

The tie against the Hammers relieved us of the need to go to White Hart Lane – a fixture which then moved down the fixture list every week. But we could not prevent a visit from another London club. Arsenal. After five consecutive defeats it was not beyond the possibility that we could exceed the eleven of last season against a team which had only lost one game in their last nine. MacLeod (make a note to buy him) scored from an offside position that surely should not have been allowed to stand (39).

But then perhaps expecting an easy canter Arsenal got their tactics wrong and our one-man forward line, Hateley, punished them for their indiscretions to the amazement of 22,958 non-believers. The first a penalty when Ewing was tripped and Mr Holland made up for his earlier blemish (54). Then to the sound of a long-forgotten Villa roar. Opticians received a lot of callers on Monday morning from Villa fans who could not believe their eyes.

It might be thought that we travelled to Hillsborough leaving New Street 11.05 Sheffield Midland arrive 1.25 fare 15/- full of the joys of autumn. But this being Aston Villa and we should have known better. We had a new player, Dave Pountney formally of Shrewsbury Town deputed to play left-half, if such a position still existed. Otherwise last week became a distant memory as we performed as though this was going to be consecutive defeat number seven. 19,843 saw a Villa team play totally without conviction, cohesion or worse, pride. This abomination of a match deserved to end in a nil-nil but referee Parr had no alternative but to allow a score by Pearson (40) even though he had earlier found cause to reject a similar strike by Burrows.

More and more fans are preferring to go shopping on Saturdays than take the outer circle bus to Witton Square. Only 18,847. But then it was Bolton Wanderers, no longer the most attractive of visitors now that they were minus Nat Lofthouse. And six changes from the published programme confirmed that they too were in a state of flux. Bolton had every chance to relief their worries in the first half but lamentably failed to do so. But after a pep talk or something stronger we came out all guns blazing and when Hateley headed against the bar and the ball fell to Ewing (48). Then the records show that Burrows took over (53 & 76) but the reality is that it was Hateley who did the spade work.

Then the love-hate relationship with Craven Cottage continued preceded by a visit to the London Planetarium and Madame Tussauds to see another set of static dummies. The football excursion was advertised as being in conjunction with the International Building Exhibition at Olympia. Perhaps we should have gone there because if ever a team was in need of a rebuild it was to be found in Aston. As demonstrated by events by the Thames. Although but for Sleeuwenhoek being a cripple for most of the game it could be argued that we might have won.

Fulham had scored only one goal in their previous six games so a mere 15,060 had no reason expect a feast of football. With fans still shuffling back to their seats Cohen sent in a shot from the wing which Sims failed to gather properly but Cohen is given the credit (47). We were in injury time before it was called injury time, just when fans were waiting to be allowed to go home Key scored with Sims prostrate on the ground after another near save (90+).

Every season seemed to be a benefit season for somebody at Edgbaston. The tradition had spread to footballers, who despite the efforts of Johnny Haynes and comedian Tommy Trinder, chairman of Fulham, were not being sufficiently rewarded for their labours.

So it was that after much delay and rescheduling we finally get to see the much-publicised and long-awaited Birmingham v London for the benefit of Vic Crowe. The home side consisted of four Blues, four Villa and three Albion players. Five Chelsea, three West Ham, one Leyton Orient were augmented by Derek Kevan (Manchester City) and Allchurch (Cardiff City), friends of Vic. 9,000 defied wind and rain. Playing in claret and blue the home team did a perfect imitation of the hosts not least when Bonetti pulled off a brilliant save from a Lynn penalty. That London won 6-1 did nothing to reduce the Midlands–South divide when it came to football.

It is to be hoped he was not the victim of too much post-match celebrations but for whatever reasons Vic was absent at the weekend. Manchester United and a team well in with a shout of the crown. Having discarded the help from our neighbours 36,276 arrived fearful of what they had paid their money to see. But what they were about to see, apart from local boxer Johnny Prescott doing a lap of honour beforehand was a game for the ages. Another in the oft-talked about rivalry to match the famous 6-4 almost two decades since. Those who did not arrive to see the local boxing hero probably also missed seeing another local hero in the making. Hateley. 35 seconds was all it took. Shades of 1948 – George Edwards 15 seconds! Only this time United did not respond with five. Instead, prompted by captain MacEwan Deakin shot home (17) only to suffer for his audacity.

The opinion was not sought as to what Prescott thought of the brief contest which took place but Deakin was next seen lying prone on the ground. The crowd roared their displeasure and Denis Law was next seen trudging back to the dressing room ahead of having to face the wrath of the Football Association. Probably the most significant programme change before the start, apart from Sidebottom for Sims, had been the replacement of referee HG New by J E Carr. So to Mr Carr had proved the necessity to dismiss Law. Villa now began to enjoy themselves in a way not seen for many a day. We took advantage of a despondent United, down to ten, via Hateley (52) and Burrows (89). Pountney has settled in to the first division.

The great day has arrived. I have found a job in Birmingham and am about to leave Banbury behind. Little realising that leaving day was to prove a far more historic day than could ever have been imagined. It was the day that President Kennedy was assassinated.

We set off for Burnley by car across the moors knowing that the world had changed but not knowing quite how. But what had not changed was the ability of Aston Villa to infuriate those who were tempted to make such journeys, especially knowing that history is against any form of hope. Burnley welcomed back Lochhead although Sleeuwenhoek may have wished otherwise. 13,806 defied the rain and the mud and saw goals which fell to Robson (38) and Price (68). All were relieved to hear Mr Stokes blow the final whistle Only two draws to show for it from sixteen visitors to Turf Moor since I was born.