The underlying reason for Nicholl’s departure became apparent when it was discovered that Ron Saunders had for some time had eyes on Ken McNaught of Everton as replacement for Nicholl. Saunders was successful in that move during the summer, but McNaught’s arrival brought about problems rather than solutions. The issue was mainly down to a lack of understanding between McNaught and Phillips, whose styles were quite different, and it took quite some time to resolve that issue.

Further, Brian Little’s form faltered, and then—crucially—Alex Cropley (who had grown in stature since his arrival and was hugely popular) very seriously broke his leg in the December match against the Albion. It put him out of action for nearly a year.

There were other problems too. John Robson went down with a serious illness that could not be diagnosed early on, but which would cause him to retire from the game and cause his premature death 25 years later.

Then Andy Gray had a knee injury.

That Villa had gone from sixteenth to fourth in the League in the span of just one season had greatly raised the hopes of the fans, and that Villa had acquired four substantial signings in the summer perhaps further increased their expectations. McNaught had been signed at a then club record fee and keeper Jimmy Rimmer was another that excited anticipation; he would prove to be Villa’s best keeper since Nigel Sims.

On top of all that, Villa Park now possessed the new North Stand, leaving the Holte End as the only remaining piece of terracing in the ground.

The result of the anticipation (as is often the case) was mostly disappointment, though no-one could have predicted the disaster to Cropley, nor all the other misfortunes. It is said that Villa had 11 players on crutches at one point in the season.

The season was enlivened by a good run in the UEFA Cup, however, and a quarter-final appearance against the Johan Cruyff-inspired Barcelona. Villa didn’t get through, but they went down to the narrowest of margins after considerable drama. In the first leg at Villa Park, the Villa had come back from 0-2 down to 2-2 in the last few minutes and then, at the Nou Camp stadium, John Gidman was sent off in the first half. Though Little scored the opening goal, Barcelona just about turned the match around for them to win through, but the Villa had played exceptionally well.

Towards the end of the season, Saunders introduced a pre-season signing—a forward—into the centre-back position to accompany McNaught. His name was Allan Evans, and Villa then had a ‘purple’ period when they won five games in a row, scoring 16 goals against 2. The match following this run (the last of the season) was a defeat at Wolves, but, no matter, the Scottish combination of Evans and McNaught had arrived and that combination would help to make a significant difference to Villa’s fortunes over the next few years.
Eighth place in the League was Villa’s achievement at the end of the season, but despite a drop in League position, such was the quality of Villa’s play that record season ticket sales took place.
Before the start of the 1978-79 season, Sir William Dugdale stood down following a row concerning Ron Saunders’ long-term contract, and Harry Kartz took over.

The Villa came to an identical finish in the League, accompanied—as in 1977-78—with enforced changes and lack of scoring power. 1978-79 in fact uncovered the existence of a souring relationship between Ron Saunders and John Gidman, Gordon Smith and Andy Gray which saw them leave the club. Cropley was also discarded, and, soon into 1979-80, Deehan was also sold. In addition. Brian Little, though he saw substantial action over the next couple of seasons, lost his scoring propensities. He did not play for the first team again after 1979-80 and retired from the game due to injury. Still aged only 27, Brian Little was a remarkable talent—a real live wire with wonderful ball control and speed of thought; he was an artist. Andy Gray once commented that although he had played in the Scottish team with the brilliant Kenny Dalglish, he still felt that Little was the superior all-round player.

Despite the many comings and goings in the transfer market that season, 1979-80 saw results that took Villa to fifth place at one stage though the final League placing settled at seventh place.

In November, 1979, however, there had been a boardroom issue that resulted in Doug Ellis resigning as director and selling his shares. But Doug would be back.
1980 also saw the Villa youth team winning the Youth Cup for the second time. This time the outstanding names were Paul Birch, Mark Walters … and Brian McClair, who did not stay at Villa but ultimately went to Manchester United, and was a leading player of theirs for a few years.

The backbone of Rimmer, Evans, McNaught, Mortimer and Cowans were already in place, but with the switch of Kenny Swain from the wing to full-back and the development of Gibson, the full-back positions became settled … and with the promotion of the young and talented striker Gary Shaw and the acquisition of the tricky Tony Morley and the human dynamo Des Bremner, the jigsaw was nearly complete. The summer of 1980 saw the final piece installed for a challenge on the League Championship … striker Peter Withe.

© 2010 John Lerwill
Next week: Champions!