The 1988–89 English football season was Aston Villa's 90th season in the Football League. Villa competed in the Football League First Division having earned a promotion back to the First Division under their manager Graham Taylor. The team saw a slump in performances towards the end of the season, Aston Villa narrowly avoided relegation after a draw on the final day of the season. There were debuts for Chris Price (111), Derek Mountfield (90), Ian Olney (88), Ian Ormondroyd (56), Nigel Callaghan (26), Lee Butler (8) and Darrell Duffy (1).

The Birmingham City season saw three Second City derbies with Villa. 2nd Division Birmingham were soon to be relegated to the Third Division for the first time in the club's history. Villa would keep a clean sheet in all three matches, putting 13 goals past their local rivals. Drawn in the League Cup 2nd Round, Kevin Gage and Andy Gray would score in the 2–0 victory at St Andrews. In the return leg Villa won 5–0 with goals by Derek Mountfield, Kevin Gage (2), Ian Olney, and Tony Daley. In the 1988-89 Simod Cup 1st Round David Platt, Bernie Gallacher, Derek Mountfield, Alan McInally (2), and Allan Evans contributed to a 6–0 victory.

The start of the season saw Gordon Cowans rejoin Aston Villa in a £250,000 deal, following 3 years at Bari.Gordon Cowans: Career statistics. soccerbase. Retrieved 1 June 2013Pat Nevin: Career statistics. soccerbase. Retrieved 1 June 2013 Striker, Warren Aspinall, left in a £315,000 deal, as Portsmouth manager, Alan Ball, aimed for an immediate return to the First Division.Warren Aspinall: Career statistics. soccerbase. Retrieved 13 June 2013

2 October 1988: Aston Villa sold defender Neale Cooper to Rangers for £300,000.Neale Cooper: Career statistics. soccerbase. Retrieved 14 June 2013

24 December 1988: Aston Villa sold striker Garry Thompson to Watford for £325,000.Garry Thompson: Career statistics. soccerbase. Retrieved 1 June 2013

15 April 1989 – Everton beat Norwich City 1–0 in the FA Cup semi-finals at Villa Park. The other semi-final saw one of English football's greatest ever tragedies, with the death of 96 Liverpool supporters, during a match against Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough. First Division

Matches

DateOpponentVenueResultNoteScorers 27 August 1988 Millwall H 2–2 Millwall began their First Division career with a 2–2 draw against Aston Villa at Villa Park. Stuart Gray (pen), Alan McInallyData sourced from AVFC History – 1988–89 League Matches 3 September 1988 Arsenal A 3–2 — Alan McInally (2), Andy Gray 10 September 1988 Liverpool H 1–1 — Alan McInally 17 September 1988 West Ham A 2–2 — Alan McInally (2) 24 September 1988 Nottingham Forest H 1–1 — Kevin Gage 1 October 1988 Sheffield Wednesday A 0–1 — — 8 October 1988 Wimbledon H 0–1 — — 15 October 1988 Charlton A 2–2 — Alan McInally, David Platt 22 October 1988 Everton H 2–0 — Tony Daley, David Platt 29 October 1988 Tottenham H 2–1 — Own goal, Tony Daley 5 November 1988 Manchester United A 1–1 Manchester United drew with Aston Villa at home with a score of 1–1. This was the Manchester United's fifth draw of the season. Gordon Cowans 12 November 1988 Southampton A 1–3 After a 3–1 home win over Aston Villa, Southampton achieved their third win of the season. Tony Daley 19 November 1988 Derby County H 1–2 — Derek Mountfield 26 November 1988 Coventry City A 1–2 Coventry's 2–1 home win over local rivals, Aston Villa, saw them jump to fifth place in the table. Alan McInally 3 December 1988 Norwich City H 3–1 Norwich City remained at the top of the First Division despite a 3–1 defeat to Aston Villa. However, Arsenal sat just three points behind them, with two games still to play. Kevin Gage (2), David Platt 10 December 1988 Middlesbrough A 3–3 — Andy Gray, Alan McInally (2) 17 December 1988 Luton Town A 1–1 — Own goal 26 December 1988 QPR H 2–1 — Alan McInally (2) 31 December 1988 Arsenal H 0–3 After defeating Aston Villa 3–0, Arsenal replaced Norwich City at the top the First Division due to a higher goal difference. — 3 January 1989 Liverpool A 0–1 — — 14 January 1989 Newcastle H 3–1 — Andy Gray, Tony Daley, Alan McInally 21 January 1989 Nottingham Forest A 0–4 — — 4 February 1989 Sheffield Wednesday H 2–0 — Nigel Callaghan, David Platt 27 March 1989 QPR A 0–1 — — 1 April 1989 Luton Town H 2–1 — Tony Daley, Ian Olney 8 April 1989 Newcastle A 2–1 — Stuart Gray, David Platt 22 April 1989 Norwich City A 2–2 — Ian Olney, Alan McInally 29 April 1989 Middlesbrough H 1–1 — Stuart Gray 2 May 1989 Southampton H 1–2 — Stuart Gray 6 May 1989 Derby County A 1–2 — David Platt 13 May 1989 Coventry City H 1–1 Middlesbrough joined already relegated Newcastle United, after losing a relegation showdown 1–0 away to Sheffield Wednesday, whilst Luton Town beat Norwich City 1–0. The result ensured Wednesday's survival. West Ham United, however, had to win their last two games to stay up—at the expense of Aston Villa. David Platt

Source: avfchistory.co.uk

FA Cup

Teams from the Football League First and Second Divisions entered in the Third round in the FA Cup played over the weekend 7–8 January 1989. The round featured three clubs from the Football Conference at Step 5 of English football: Welling United, Sutton United and Kettering Town.

Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate6Crewe Alexandra (4)2–3Aston Villa (1)7 January 1989 Fourth round The fourth round of games were played over the weekend 28–29 January 1989. Sutton United and Kettering Town were again the lowest-ranked teams in the round, and they were also the last non-league clubs left in the competition.

Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate4Aston Villa0–1Wimbledon28 January 1989

League Cup

Second round

First leg Home teamScoreAway teamDate Birmingham City 0–2 Aston Villa 27 September 1988 Second leg Home teamScoreAway teamDateAgg Aston Villa 5–0 Birmingham City 12 October 1988 7–0

References