1978–79 Aston Villa F.C. season

The 1978–79 English football season was Aston Villa's 79th in the Football League and their fourth consecutive season in the top division. Manager, Ron Saunders had signed a six-year contract in the pre-season.[1]

Aston Villa
1978–79 season
ChairmanEngland Harry Kartz
ManagerEngland Ron Saunders
StadiumVilla Park
First Division8th
FA CupThird round
League CupFourth round
Second City Derby
35--28--24

Diary of the season

19 Aug 1978: The First Division season begins with a 1–0 home victory over Wolves.[2]

8 May 1979: Liverpool beat Aston Villa 3–0 at Anfield to clinch the First Division title.[3]

Villa won both games in the Second City derby.[4]

League table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
6 Ipswich Town 42 20 9 13 63 49 +14 49 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round
7 Arsenal 42 17 14 11 61 48 +13 48 Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round[lower-alpha 1]
8 Aston Villa 42 15 16 11 59 49 +10 46
9 Manchester United 42 15 15 12 60 63 −3 45
10 Coventry City 42 14 16 12 58 68 −10 44
Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:
  1. Arsenal qualified for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round as the 1978–79 FA Cup winners.

Squad

All Aston Villa players: 1979 Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
- GK England ENG Jimmy Rimmer
- DF England ENG John Gidman
- DF England ENG John Gregory
- DF Scotland SCO Allan Evans
- DF Scotland SCO Ken McNaught
- MF England ENG Dennis Mortimer
- FW Scotland SCO Tommy Craig
- FW England ENG Brian Little
- FW England ENG John Deehan
- MF England ENG Gordon Cowans
- MF England ENG Kenny Swain
- DF England ENG Gary Williams
- MF England ENG Gary Shelton
No. Pos. Nation Player
- MF Scotland SCO Alex Cropley
- FW Scotland SCO Andy Gray
- DF England ENG Colin Gibson
- MF England ENG Frank Carrodus
- DF England ENG Ivor Linton
- DF Scotland SCO Gordon Smith
- DF Wales WAL Leighton Phillips
- FW England ENG Gary Shaw
- MF Scotland SCO Willie Young
- DF England ENG Dave Evans
- DF England ENG Brendan Ormsby
- FW Scotland SCO Joe Ward
- MF England ENG Lee Jenkins

References
  1. Football, The Times, 11 August 1978
  2. Football, The Times, 21 August 1978 Issue 60385
  3. Smailes, Gordon (2000). The Breedon Book of Football Records. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 142. ISBN 1859832148.
  4. "All Aston Villa's Matches". AVFC History. Retrieved 6 August 2023.


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