1959–60 Aston Villa F.C. season

Aston Villa
1959–60 season
Chairman	Chris Buckley
Manager	Joe Mercer
Stadium	Villa Park
Second Division	1st
FA Cup	Semi-finals
	← 1958–59 1960–61 →

The 1959–60 English football season was Aston Villa's 61st season in The Football League. Villa played in the Second Division. They earned an immediate return to the First Division as Second Division champions, and were joined in promotion by runners-up Cardiff City.

Players

Bobby Thomson transferred to Aston Villa, newly relegated to the Second Division, in 1959 for a fee of £8,000. Here, he made an immediate impact, scoring 22 goals in his first season, which made him the club's top scorer and helped them win the 1959–60 Second Division championship.

Deakin signed for the club as a 15-year-old. He became a regular in the side during the 1960–61 season and collected a League Cup winners' tankard at the start of the following season. He broke his ankle during the 1964–65 season, but recovered to skipper the side for the 1966–67 season. Deakin also played for the England under 23 team.

Harry Burrows was born in Haydock and attracted the attention of Aston Villa whilst playing for Wigan Boys. but turned his attentions on becoming an apprentice with the National Coal Board (NCB). Villa manager Joe Mercer persuaded Burrows to sign part-time in March 1958. He played and scored in the final of the inaugural League Cup in 1961 as Villa beat Rotherham United 3–2. Burrows won an England U23 cap against Greece and finished as Villa's top goalscorer in 1961–62 and 1962–63.

There were debuts for Alan Deakin (231), Harry Burrows (147), Jimmy MacEwan (143), Bobby Thomson (140), Mike Tindall (120), John Neal (96), Jimmy Adam (24), Terry Morrall (8), Kevin Keelan (5), Norman Ashe (5) and Brian Handley (3).

Second Division

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GAv	Pts	Qualification or relegation
1	Aston Villa (C, P)	42	25	9	8	89	43	2.070	59	Promotion to the First Division
2	Cardiff City (P)	42	23	12	7	90	62	1.452	58	Promotion to the First Division
3	Liverpool	42	20	10	12	90	66	1.364	50
4	Sheffield United	42	19	12	11	68	51	1.333	50
5	Middlesbrough	42	19	10	13	90	64	1.406	48

Source: ^{[citation needed]}
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Note	Scorers
22 Aug 1959	Brighton	A	2–1	—	Jimmy MacEwan 23', Jackie Sewell 86'
26 Aug 1959	Sunderland	A	0–1	—	—
29 Aug 1959	Swansea	H	1–0	—	Peter McParland 7'
31 Aug 1959	Sunderland	H	3–0	—	Gerry Hitchens 13', 40', Bobby Thomson 60'
5 Sep 1959	Bristol Rovers	A	1–1	—	Gerry Hitchens 10'
9 Sep 1959	Portsmouth	A	2–1	—	Gerry Hitchens 6', Bobby Thomson 38'
12 Sep 1959	Ipswich Town	H	3–1	—	Peter McParland 3', 43', Ron Wylie 16'
14 Sep 1959	Portsmouth	H	5–2	—	Bobby Thomson 2', Peter McParland 21', 90', Jimmy MacEwan 28', 62'
19 Sep 1959	Huddersfield Town	A	1–0	—	Peter McParland 70'
26 Sep 1959	Leyton Orient	H	1–0	—	Gerry Hitchens 67'
30 Sep 1959	Stoke City	A	3–3	—	Own goal 65', Peter McParland 67', 74'
3 Oct 1959	Lincoln City	A	0–0	—	—
10 Oct 1959	Sheffield United	A	1–1	—	Gerry Hitchens 70'
17 Oct 1959	Middlesbrough	H	1–0	—	Stan Lynn 66'
24 Oct 1959	Derby County	A	2–2	—	Peter McParland 75', 77'
31 Oct 1959	Plymouth Argyle	H	2–0	—	Jimmy MacEwan 9', Peter McParland 17'
7 Nov 1959	Liverpool	A	1–2	—	Peter McParland 58'
14 Nov 1959	Charlton Athletic	H	11–1	—	Gerry Hitchens 2', 29', 40', 46', 60', Bobby Thomson 26', 65', Ron Wylie 63', Jimmy MacEwan 69', Peter McParland 72', 86'
21 Nov 1959	Bristol City	A	5–0	—	Gerry Hitchens 41', 43', 86', Ron Wylie 55', Peter McParland 87'
28 Nov 1959	Scunthorpe United	H	5–0	—	Peter McParland 28', 34', Gerry Hitchens 43', 62', Bobby Thomson 79'
5 Dec 1959	Rotherham United	A	1–2	—	Jimmy Adam 35'
12 Dec 1959	Cardiff City	H	2–0	—	Jimmy Adam 77', Gerry Hitchens 89'
19 Dec 1959	Brighton	H	3–1	—	Peter McParland 57', 67', Gerry Hitchens 77'
26 Dec 1959	Hull City	A	1–0	—	Peter McParland 61'
28 Dec 1959	Hull City	H	1–1	—	Stan Lynn 65' (pen)
2 Jan 1960	Swansea	A	3–1	—	Bobby Thomson 17', 55', Gerry Hitchens 89'
16 Jan 1960	Bristol Rovers	H	4–1	—	Bobby Thomson 40', 75', Jimmy Adam 54', Vic Crowe 86'
23 Jan 1960	Ipswich Town	A	1–2	—	Jimmy Dugdale 85'
6 Feb 1960	Huddersfield Town	H	4–0	—	Bobby Thomson 29', 36', 55', Gerry Hitchens 75'
13 Feb 1960	Leyton Orient	A	0–0	—	—
27 Feb 1960	Sheffield United	H	1–3	—	Bobby Thomson 63'
1 Mar 1960	Lincoln City	H	1–1	—	Bobby Thomson 80'
5 Mar 1960	Middlesbrough	A	1–0	—	Gerry Hitchens 14'
15 Mar 1960	Derby County	H	3–2	—	Stan Lynn 13' (pen), Peter McParland 46', Vic Crowe 66'
19 Mar 1960	Scunthorpe United	A	2–1	—	Gerry Hitchens 44', 53'
30 Mar 1960	Liverpool	H	4–4	—	Peter McParland 66', Bobby Thomson 72', 85', Stan Lynn 75' (pen)
2 Apr 1960	Charlton Athletic	A	0–2	—	—
9 Apr 1960	Bristol City	H	2–1	—	Stan Lynn 48' (pen), 87' (pen)
16 Apr 1960	Cardiff City	A	0–1	—	—
18 Apr 1960	Stoke City	H	2–1	—	Stan Lynn 60' (pen), Bobby Thomson 68'
23 Apr 1960	Rotherham United	H	3–0	—	Bobby Thomson 47', 89', Ron Wylie 70'
30 Apr 1960	Plymouth Argyle	A	0–3	—	—

FA Cup

Third round

The 44 First and Second Division clubs entered the competition at this stage. The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 9 January 1960. Eight matches were drawn and went to replays, with the Rotherham United–Arsenal match requiring a second replay. Watford's win over Birmingham City was the first in the Cup by a club from the new Fourth Division over First Division opponents.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Date
10	Aston Villa	2–1	Leeds United	9 January 1960

Fourth round

The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 30 January 1960. Six matches were drawn and went to replays, which were all played in the following midweek match. For the second round in a row, Rotherham United were taken to a second replay, this time by Brighton & Hove Albion. Peterborough United celebrated their final season in non-league football by reaching this stage and being the last team from the qualifying rounds left in the competition.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Date
12	Chelsea	1–2	Aston Villa	30 January 1960

Fifth round

The matches were scheduled for Saturday, 20 February 1960. One match went to a replay in the following mid-week fixture.

Tie no	Home team	Score	Away team	Date
8	Port Vale	1–2	Aston Villa	20 February 1960

Sixth round

The draw for the semi-finals was made on Monday, 22 February 1960. All the original matches were played on Saturday, 12 March 1960.

12 March 1960

15:00 GMT

Aston Villa	2–0	Preston North End
Hitchens McParland

Villa Park, Birmingham

Attendance: 69,732

Referee: K. Howley (Middlesbrough)

Semi-finals

The draw for the semi-finals was made on Monday, 14 March 1960. Both matches were played on Saturday, 26 March 1960.

26 March 1960

15:00 GMT

Aston Villa	0–1	Wolverhampton Wanderers
		Deeley

The Hawthorns, West Bromwich

Attendance: 55,596

Referee: A. Jobling (Lancashire)

References

↑ "Thomson, Robert". Aston Villa Player Database. Jörn Mårtensson. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
↑ Purkiss, Mike; Sands, Nigel (1990). Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–1989. The Breedon Books Publishing Company. p. 71. ISBN 0907969542.
1 2 3 4 Stoke City 101 Golden Greats. Desert Islands Books. 2002. ISBN 1-874287554.
↑ "Aston Villa's Seasons". AVFC History.
1 2 3 4 https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/aston-villa/matches/league/1959-60

This article about an English association football club season is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by adding missing information.

[AVPD-1] "Thomson, Robert". Aston Villa Player Database. Jörn Mårtensson. Retrieved 9 October 2010.

[ReferenceA-2] Purkiss, Mike; Sands, Nigel (1990). Crystal Palace: A Complete Record 1905–1989. The Breedon Books Publishing Company. p. 71. ISBN 0907969542.

[101_greats-3] 1 2 3 4 Stoke City 101 Golden Greats. Desert Islands Books. 2002. ISBN 1-874287554.

[4] "Aston Villa's Seasons". AVFC History.

[avfc5960-5] 1 2 3 4 https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/aston-villa/matches/league/1959-60

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