On practice match day I attended Edgbaston in the morning for Warwickshire v Derbyshire before catching buses for Clarets 5 Light Blues 2. Where such was the change in the weather that I got soaked. Otherwise the most interesting thing about the match was the choice of goalkeepers. Sims for the clarets, Sidebottom for the blues.

Next Edgbaston for Warwickshire v Surrey for the morning session as we are within a shout
of winning the championship. Again arrive at Villa Park on a number five bus.

We are firstly treated to two home games, both against London teams. First to appear were West Ham United. GET THERE EARLY. In less than a minute with a header Dougan scored the first goal of the season anywhere. Not content with that, in less time then it takes to write about it MacEwan dribbled his way past a shell-shocked defence and it was 2-0 (3).

37,657 were in a state of unbelievable ecstasy. Leicester eight! But with whatever fancy plan they were now using West Ham recovered somewhat tentatively but it would have been no surprise had we added to our total. But if our opening goal had come early so too that in the second half when Thomson netted in barely twenty seconds. As we relaxed with Monday in mind Byrne stole a consolation which was no consolation (79) for them.

Monday evening meant cup holders Tottenham Hotspur. An excited 64,751 arrived early to see if after twenty two failed attempts we could finally lay the Tottenham bogey. That seemed unlikely when Medwin seized on a loose ball which Sims was trying to retrieve (25).

We began the second half by risking all and that came with sensational results. Dougan, after Brown had done an impression of Sims following a Burrows free kick (51) then the same combination and Villa Park was aglow. Dougan again (53). Nothing Robert Dennis Blanchflower could then do could defeat the demons of football. 2-1 Played two, won two.

Stoke City Reserves 2 Aston Villa Reserves 2.

I have now been offered a lift with Brian and Don but when travelling north it comes with the complication of only from and to Wolverhampton. Thus I set off from Snow Hill with Brian at 8.35 thence the three of us from Wolverhampton promptly at 9 am in the direction of Maine Road with a degree of confidence not normally felt when going to face Manchester City.

But we were bolstered by the fact that they had just been beaten 1-8 (eight) at the Molineux. Hence their programme changes. But the first half was all about offside. No better protagonist than Sleeuwenhoek. Poor fare for the 29,524. Having sized then up we were able to abandon the tactic and go on the offensive.

First Thomson beat Trautmann from close range (63) then Burrows from much further out with a shot Trautmann could only feel as it whizzed past him (70). Played three won three for the first time since the days of George Brown in 1932. The return journey in reverse meant beating the excursion train back to Birmingham.

Aston Villa Reserves 0 Stoke City Reserves 1.

Wednesday evening and could we defy history and beat Tottenham Hotspur again, this time on their own turf? A question which was more or less decided for the 55,650 when White shot them ahead (21) followed quickly by Greaves (22). And his goal ten minutes later had us fearing a deluge.

But we came out fighting and silenced the glory, glory hallelujah chanters with goals by Dougan (62) and Deakin (80). But just as we were on the verge of gaining a remarkable point Jones ruined any such thoughts (88). Having arrived in Euston on the 10.10 service train I had the joy of a lift home by car arriving back at just about the time I would have been leaving London.

Edgbaston again where we had the unedifying spectacle of Trevor Bailey at his dourest refusing to declare and so give Warwickshire a sporting chance of beating Essex and thus winning the County Championship that afternoon. Instead he finally set Warwickshire an ‘impossible’ target. This lead to the Warwickshire batters proceeding to throw their wickets away as if in protest and literally handing Essex an undeserved victory. “It was not my job to hand Warwickshire the championship” – T Bailey. Quite.

Hoping that we had recovered from events at White Hart Lane (and Edgbaston!) 35,003 arrived to greet visitors Blackpool again. Tindall for Deakin. Lee is now the first choice right-back. We camped out in the visitors’ half for a better part of the game but the only reward for all the domination came when MacEwan beat Armfield to the ball (17). A rare defensive slip enabled Horne to equalise – but was he offside (24)? A nil-nil which had ended 1-1.

Aston Villa Reserves 1 West Bromwich Albion Reserves 3.

Another midweek outing to London. This time Highbury but with the advantage of a car journey both ways and again arriving home before I would otherwise only just have been leaving Euston. Neal for the injured Lee and Sidebottom back in goal by choice. Arsenal fans were looking forward to seeing Di Stefano next week. Rather they got to see Bobby Thomson this week.

At 36,866 the attendance was below normal Highbury heights, because fortunately for us their team was not quite the fearsome Gunners of old. Thomson it was (7 & 25) who made up for the absence of Dougan. But we were then obliged to stand up to an incessant battering throughout the second half but the defence held firm apart from when Skirton headed home (57). Now third behind Everton and Wolves.

If asked which is the most depressing ground to go to Blackburn Rovers would garner a high number of votes. There or Burnley despite going by car across the moors as against a circumnavigation by train around Manchester. It may also have something to do with our singular lack of success in the wiles of remote Lancashire. This was no exception. Blackburn four was becoming the norm.

Seven minutes gone and Douglas catches Sidebottom unawares. Only to repeat the dose with more warning a while later (39) Burrows retaliated with a fierce kick from right on the line of the penalty area to make up for the fact that the referee had not awarded what should have been a penalty (42). All hopes of a revival were dismissed when Pickering ran through and shot (65) and 13,953 stayed around to see Lawther put an end to what at best can only be described as a dismal performance.

If football is about confidence then the 36,705 who turned up at Villa Park two nights later can only have had rather more confidence than the team had shown at Ewood Park. Perhaps historically Arsenal brought out the best in us. At least in the first half.

Thomson gets the credit for the first goal although a defender applied the last touch as he tried to clear.(10). There is no mistake about the second, Burrows ‘bursting’ the net (17). MacEwan ensured that everyone left the field to a standing ovation (42) even though Baker had initially silenced the original celebrations as he raced through straight from the restart with only one thing on his mind (43). Fearing that Baker might have started something we knuckled down to make sure that was all and we succeeded to ensure a rare double over the Arsenal.

The arrival of Derek Pace can mean only one thing – trouble. As far as we and Sheffield United were concerned they were a one-man army. It says much that 29,564 defied the heavy rain that did not nothing to enhance the standard of play. Or the fact that Crowe was injured and so ended his long sequence of appearances.

We had the unusual sight of a goalkeeper being involved in the coin toss. Sims, back in favour as he had been at Highbury had the honour as captain. But not a game he will recall fondly. He could only parry a shot which fell to Hartle giftwrapped (6). Then when harried by the terrier like Pace the ball fell to Hartle again with the same result (27). You can almost hear the restlessness in the Trinity Road stand. A frustration echoed on the field until Shaw deflected a header by Dougan beyond Hodgkinson (83) but that’s all folks. Now fifth.

West Bromwich Albion Reserves 1 Aston Villa Reserves 2.

We are now off to Nottingham Forest on the 11.25 excursion train from New Street which had set off from Walsall. A disappointment for rail enthusiasts in that it meant going via Tamworth rather than the direct line between Walsall and Burton on Trent. Forest were in third place and we had not won so much as a point at the blandly named City Ground since the days of Frank Broome in 1937.

This game did nothing but maintain the status quo. Made worse by the fact that after Forest had taken the lead through Addison (32) we had the rare sight of a Villa player being sent off. A fact which a few decades earlier would have led to the recalcitrant also being dismissed by the club as was Frank Moss senior leading to his ill-fated sojourn with Cardiff City. Now minus Dougan, for he was the offender.

Our chances of scoring diminished noticeably but not completely without hope. But hopes were seemingly destroyed by Vowden (57) in front of 32,424. Thoughts of a draw were revived when Wylie was tripped and Burrows converted from the spot (88). But we were still had hopes of a sensational comeback before they were destroyed almost in an instant by Le Flem (90). We had plenty of time to return to the station.

I still have the return half of my ticket to add to many others. Retaining the ticket as a souvenir was considered a challenge. Difficult on the outward journey but easier on the return. Because the footpath across New Street station was a public footpath the station had no ticket barriers or checkers. Instead trains approaching the station would stop at outlying stations such as Dudley Port, Vauxhall, Saltley and Kings Norton. There an army of ticket checkers would board the train and rush through in a well-rehearsed move. Woe betide anyone who did not have a ticket causing the train to be delayed.

Peterborough United returned to Villa Park again but with no thoughts of an overwhelming attendance as we set out to try to win the Football League trophy again having had a bye in round one. Only 17,392 this time. Ewing in place of an injured MacEwan otherwise we did not ‘blood’ any newcomers. After Dougsn (no automatic suspension) (5) and Ewing (7) Boro offered little resistance. Burrows (33) Dougan (42) Wylie (63) Dougan (83) completed the rout. Hudson’s goal (73) being of no consequence to anyone but Hudson.

League Champions Ipswich Town despite winning ten–nil in the European Cup in midweek were not the team they had been and 31,860 we were more than keen on our proving it. They did not have to wait long. Ninety seconds at most. Wylie with help from goalkeeper Bailey. One-way traffic became the order of the day until another fine move led to Thomson (18).

Crawford surprise strike (35) gave a distorted view as to how things were going and how they continued. Dougan (62) and Thomson (70) brought reality to the scoreboard before Crawford tapped home to make things look more respectable for Ipswich. 4-2.

West Bromwich Albion, tenth to our ninth arrived for what turned out to be a nineteenth century rematch. Seemingly with so little at stake it is difficult to account for why referee Powell had such a difficult time controlling things unless it was payback time and there was some hidden animosity at work. Fortunately none of the animosity stretched to the 43,583 who had arrived expecting to see a football match.

Baker foiled Millington with an angled shot which saw us take the lead (10) at which point things started to deteriorate. Burrows was needlessly tripped and got up to convert the resultant penalty himself (58). Quite how or why the two left wingers, Clark and Burrows came to be in close proximity to each other is difficult to explain any more was their sending-off together. Except for the fact that Mr Powell had seen more than enough and somebody had to pay. 2-0.

Everton, surprise league leaders, more so than Ipswich last season, came next. But as a consequence it was not a surprise when 53,035 made their way to Goodison Park. A resolute defence kept Everton at bay until Young was tripped and Sidebottom could only stand and stare as Vernon did what was expected of him (33). Then Everton became increasingly frustrated at their failure to add to their tally, Baker nipped in to shoot past West and we achieved a well merited point (77).

Next a massive disappointment for the 20,218 who arrived hoping to see the evergreen Stanley Matthews a year after he had re-joined his original club, Stoke City, in a third round League Cup encounter.

Early arrivals saw Thomson nod into an empty net (3) and when Ewing headed the goal of the season (20) there was little doubt as to the way things were going to go. That is until with fans frustrated by the absence of more goals Matthews scored. Not Matthews S but Matthews G (88). Fears of a last-minute disaster were put to bed when Clamp handled and Burrows converted (90+).

Lowly Leyton Orient arrived with victory in mind and for a long time it was not an impossibility. We were without the injured Dougan who had been due to play for Ireland against England in Belfast but when along anyway just to watch. Meanwhile for the 30,166 who came to watch his effective deputy, O’Neill, it was nothing but frustration as shot after shot failed to find its target except the one by Burrows, more centre than shot, deceived Robertson. 1-0.

Realising Sleeuwenhoek is now an automatic selection. Jimmy Dugdale joins Queens Park Rangers. Birmingham City were firmly embedded in last place accompanied by Manchester United when it came to boarding the inner circle 8 again. 42,228 arrive expecting to see great things But what they got to see mostly was the Blues practising for what they might expect to meet next season.

Dour and defensive. But it paid off for them even after O’Neill had reminded us of his debut goal (55). Then came two penalties in barely a minute. The first by Lynn in true Lynn style (59) the second by Burrows in true Burrows style (60). But the incidents continued apace and in an instance Leek heeded in a free-kick which was to have major consequences in that he collided with Sidebottom who came close to being stretchered off. Why referee Tirbuck allowed the goal to stand is known only to referee Tirebuck. Be that as it may the injury to Sidebottom may also have played its part when Leek shot home (73).

Moving on it is difficult to explain how a team in twenty-first place who had to play most of the game with only ten men came to win this game so convincingly.Such was the case with Fulham. Henderson had already given them the lead (8). Minutes before Dodgin left the arena.

A second goal by Brown, a breakaway of the kind that afflicted sides often seem to get (68). But with the home supporters amongst the 28,987 in a state of shock their outside-left, O’Connell, in attempting to help out his defence helped us instead by handling. Burrows from the spot (83) but former stalwart, Eddie Lowe, had the last laugh. 1-2.

Level on points (18) with Sheffield Wednesday we ventured to Hillsborough with a certain amount of apprehension. Trouble now seems to be following Villa around and although it ended nil-nil the game exploded into infamy in the sixty-fifth minute. To begin with Wednesday had been frustrated with our offside tactics masterminded by Sleeuwenhoek. Centre-forward Bronco Layne chose to give vent to his angst against MacEwan who was then seen leaving the field clutching his jaw. Whereupon Layne followed him down the tunnel having been duly dismissed for his misdemeanour.

At Hillsborough it was possible to hire cushions for a few pence to make viewing a tad more comfortable. Suddenly a solitary cushion was thrown onto the pitch. This was the signal for dozens more cushions to follow suit. With a pitch invasion more than a possibility calmness was eventually restored and the cushions removed.

Play continued quietly under a strange truce. But in his wisdom the referee blew for time after precisely ninety minutes. Not a second was added to make up for the lost six or seven minutes spent restoring order. Curiously I was probably the first of the 18,625 to leave the ground and was virtually the only passenger on a bus which sped back to Midland station in time to leap aboard the regular service train.

Next came another venture into the night but without the inconvenience of a journey when Preston North End arrived for a fourth round League Cup tie. They failed to offer the expected second division-style defensive wall. With MacEwan absent Fencott made his seasonal appearance. After two first-half goals, Burrows (14 pen) and Baker (23) they capitulated to O’Neill (53) Baker (60) and Burrows (65) whereupon at five–nil Dawson was allowed the freedom to tap one in (67). A feat which he repeated (77) but by then O’Neill (74) had made it six to the satisfaction of 16,704.

Just as night follows day Preston were followed by Burnley albeit cup followed by league. A near doubling of the attendance to 32,380 emphasising the difference between the two competitions.Third-placed Burnley were entertaining hopes of becoming first-placed Burnley. But what passed for excitement came in the opening twenty minutes after Sleeuwenhoek crossed the halfway line to set up Burrows (7). But when Sidebottom was marked absent without leave Connelly was left with the simple task of equalising (18).

When Aitken was also allowed to venture into opposition territory Dougan was on hand to head out of reach of Blacklaw (20). Under ceaseless pressure the defence held firm for a well-earned success. Not least full-back Fraser, a newcomer from Dumfermline.

Villa Park has been chosen to host World Cup games in 1966.

Manchester United were not where they might have expected to be (16th) when we ventured to Old Trafford. Me again on a normal service train – slightly dearer but more convenient. Only 37,747 which indicates that all was not as it should be with Newton Heath. Made worse from their viewpoint when Cantwell sliced the ball out of the reach of Gregg and we were up and running (5). That was until Fraser was adjudged to have handled the ball on the line and Quixall duly netted (25). Then Dougan demonstrated quite why United were where they were when heading home a centre from the left (54). But hopes of a famous victory were dashed in a thrice when Quixall dashed in to head home (57). At least we held out to achieve a famous draw.

Phil Woosnam has signed from West Ham United. So changing football at Villa Park forever. As demonstrated by the score on his debut. And Trotters excepted, 34,075 enjoyed every minute of it. The account was opened by a thunderbolt from Burrows (13) but without any hint at what was to come. But doubtless over tea, or whatever they drink at half-time these days Woosnam had obviously been deep in thought devising new tactics. MacEwan (61) Thomson (62) Dougan (72) MacEwan (77) completed a rout masterminded by our new wonder. Seemingly for Woosnam all that had changed was the badge on the shirt.

Two days later, another short journey into the night for the visit of cup holders Norwich City in round five. A case of the first winners v the second winners. The Canaries indicated that they did not intend relinquishing their trophy easily insofar as they took the lead through Bryceland (15). Woosnam had been rested after his initial sortie. Paving the way for others to stake a claim to get their place back. Thomson eventually breaking down another second division defence (39). The second half was all one-way traffic resulting in goals by Thomson (64) MacEwan (70) and Dougan (86). Only 14.862 could be bothered to attend.

The referee was our old adversary E Crawford of Doncaster who could find no imaginary fault to deny us our place in the semi-final. Birmingham City were also making progress in the competition and all the talk was of a second city final if the draw cooperated. We are drawn to play Sunderland. Blues will play Bury in both the FA Cup and the League Cup.

December 8th – my birthday and we have never won when we have played on my birthday. Could the spell be broken at Filbert Street? Again I took the normal service train instead of the excursion 13/4 67p as against 8/6 43p, but back earlier.

26,783 were witness to possibility the quickest own goal ever seen when Chalmers miskicked after barely twenty seconds. But Leicester City were not discouraged and very soon Gibson made amends (6). But inspired by Woosnam this ‘new’ Villa came back when MacEwan beat Banks to the ball and, unusually for him, headed home (18). When Burrows scored with another blockbuster (57) it seemed likely that the birthday jinx had been broken. But a cunning shot by Gibson (78) and a solo effort by Stringfellow (83) ruined the party, sort of.

FA Youth Cup 2nd round Northampton Town Youth 0 Aston Villa Youth 8.

West Ham United supporters welcome Woosnam back to Upton Park. As at Northampton I am back on the road again with Don and Brian. After heavy overnight rain mud was back in fashion making the new plastic-covered ball difficult for goalkeepers to handle. Bubbles were being blown by many of the 25,525 when Peters evaded the offside trap and rounded Sidebottom (43). It was our turn to burst the bubbles when Thomson got the better of a stubborn defence when he won a contest with Standen (65).We were saved from defeat only by Peters who shot wide from the spot after Aitken had handled. But we might have won had Woosnam shot more accurately.

The season was about to take a dramatic turn. The home game against Manchester City was abandoned owing to fog just after half-time with the visitors leading one-nil Dobing (23). It was little realised at the time but it was to prove a hugely significant decision by referee Roper.