1972–73 Aston Villa F.C. season

The 1972–73 English football season was Aston Villa's 73rd season in the Football League, this season playing in the Football League Second Division. Under manager Vic Crowe[1] Aston Villa won promotion in the previous season as champions with a record 70 points, and thus ended their two-year spell in the Third Division. By the end of the decade they would be firmly re-established as a First Division club.

Aston Villa
1972–73 season
ChairmanEngland Doug Ellis
ManagerWales Vic Crowe
StadiumVilla Park
Second Division3rd
FA CupThird round
League CupThird round

The 1972 FA Charity Shield was contested between Manchester City and Aston Villa with City winning 1–0,[2] following a penalty from striker Francis Lee.

Normally, the Charity Shield would have been contested by the First Division champions and FA Cup holders, who were Derby County and Leeds United respectively, but both declined the chance to play in the Charity Shield. Instead, Manchester City, who had finished in fourth place in the First Division; and Aston Villa, who finished as Third Division champions accepted the invitation to play. The match was played at Villa Park.

Second Division
Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Liverpool (C) 42 25 10 7 72 42 1.714 60 Qualification for the European Cup first round
2 Arsenal 42 23 11 8 57 43 1.326 57
3 Leeds United 42 21 11 10 71 45 1.578 53 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
4 Ipswich Town 42 17 14 11 55 45 1.222 48
5 Wolverhampton Wanderers 42 18 11 13 66 54 1.222 47
6 West Ham United 42 17 12 13 67 53 1.264 46 Qualification for the Watney Cup[lower-alpha 1]
7 Derby County 42 19 8 15 56 54 1.037 46
8 Tottenham Hotspur 42 16 13 13 58 48 1.208 45 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
9 Newcastle United 42 16 13 13 60 51 1.176 45
10 Birmingham City 42 15 12 15 53 54 0.981 42
11 Manchester City 42 15 11 16 57 60 0.950 41
12 Chelsea 42 13 14 15 49 51 0.961 40
13 Southampton 42 11 18 13 47 52 0.904 40
14 Sheffield United 42 15 10 17 51 59 0.864 40
15 Stoke City 42 14 10 18 61 56 1.089 38 Qualification for the Watney Cup[lower-alpha 1]
16 Leicester City 42 10 17 15 40 46 0.870 37
17 Everton 42 13 11 18 41 49 0.837 37
18 Manchester United 42 12 13 17 44 60 0.733 37
19 Coventry City 42 13 9 20 40 55 0.727 35
20 Norwich City 42 11 10 21 36 63 0.571 32
21 Crystal Palace (R) 42 9 12 21 41 58 0.707 30 Relegation to the Second Division
22 West Bromwich Albion (R) 42 9 10 23 38 62 0.613 28
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. West Ham United and Stoke City qualified for the Watney Cup as the two teams with the most goals that hadn't already qualified for a European competition.

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GAv Pts Qualification or relegation
1 Burnley (C, P) 42 24 14 4 72 35 2.057 62 Promotion to the First Division
2 Queens Park Rangers (P) 42 24 13 5 81 37 2.189 61
3 Aston Villa 42 18 14 10 51 47 1.085 50
4 Middlesbrough 42 17 13 12 46 43 1.070 47
5 Bristol City 42 17 12 13 63 51 1.235 46 Qualification for the Watney Cup
6 Sunderland 42 17 12 13 59 49 1.204 46 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[lower-alpha 1]
7 Blackpool 42 18 10 14 56 51 1.098 46
8 Oxford United 42 19 7 16 52 43 1.209 45
9 Fulham 42 16 12 14 58 49 1.184 44
10 Sheffield Wednesday 42 17 10 15 59 55 1.073 44
11 Millwall 42 16 10 16 55 47 1.170 42
12 Luton Town 42 15 11 16 44 53 0.830 41
13 Hull City 42 14 12 16 64 59 1.085 40 Qualification for the Watney Cup
14 Nottingham Forest 42 14 12 16 47 52 0.904 40
15 Orient 42 12 12 18 49 53 0.925 36
16 Swindon Town 42 10 16 16 46 60 0.767 36
17 Portsmouth 42 12 11 19 42 59 0.712 35
18 Carlisle United 42 11 12 19 50 52 0.962 34
19 Preston North End 42 11 12 19 37 64 0.578 34
20 Cardiff City 42 11 11 20 43 58 0.741 33 Qualification for the Cup Winners' Cup first round[lower-alpha 2]
21 Huddersfield Town (R) 42 8 17 17 36 56 0.643 33 Relegation to the Third Division
22 Brighton & Hove Albion (R) 42 8 13 21 46 83 0.554 29
Source:
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal average; 3) Goals scored
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (R) Relegated
Notes:
  1. Sunderland qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1972–73 FA Cup winners.
  2. Cardiff City qualified for the Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1972–73 Welsh Cup winners.

FA Charity Shield
Manchester City1–0Aston Villa
Lee Report
Manchester City
Aston Villa

Notes

    References
    1. Saunders chosen as Aston Villa's new manager, 5 June 1974, The Times, Issue: 59107
    2. "England – List of FA Charity/Community Shield Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 15 February 2012.


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