RETRO ASTON VILLA

Here it is, my latest Retro Football collage ...

ASTON VILLA

This proud Midlands club, with a huge history and tradition, having been going since 1874.
And it didn't take them long to accumulate stacks of trophies, winning 6 League titles and 5 F.A. Cups before the First World War.

They've since preceded to win 5 League Cups and a further 2 F.A.Cups, before perhaps their finest achievements happened in the early 80s.
In 1981 they clinched the League Championship, their first for 71 years, pipping rivals Ipswich, in an extraordinary Liverpool-free Championship race. Sensationally, the next season they beat Bayern Munich to win the golden prize of the European Cup.

So I hope Villa fans will enjoy this tribute to the Midlands' most successful club!

Keep an eye out for these bits:

Captain Johnny Dixon lifting the F.A. Cup in 1957, after a Peter McParland double beat Man Utd 2-1.

Bit of a mystery this card! It looks like a classic Godfrey Phillips Pinnace Card from the early 1920s. But after a bit of research online I can't seem to find it. It must date from around 1924, as it mentions they were Cup Finalists in 1923/24. Could be a rare one then?! 

This was a very lucky find at a recent vintage fair. An Aston Villa autograph book with signatures of several Championship winning Villa players dating from the 1981/82 season. Some of them went on to win the European Cup later that season!

Fantastic Panini sticker of a fresh-faced Platty from Football 89. He would go on to have a stellar Italia 90 just a year later.

This 1977 programme didn't make it into the collage, but I just love the cover. It has a bold and slightly incongruous Art Deco font for the title, with a natty logo tucked into the letter O, and a fantastic cover photo. 

The editor thought better of having another boring photo of a player or action shot, and brilliantly decided to have an ordinary match day scene. Just some average punters checking their tickets as they wait to squeeze through the turnstiles. 
And I love it!! 

This match against QPR, scheduled for 19th February 1977, was actually postponed. Strangely they had to replay QPR in a League Cup Semi-Final clash on the 22nd, on their ultimately successful replay-ridden League Cup run. Eventually it was played on 20th May, ending in a 1-1 draw, hopefully they kept the same cover!!

Keep an eye out for the next instalment of my Midlands club collages, as I've now finished Villa's rivals West Brom and Birmingham!