The 1986–87 English football season was Aston Villa's 88th season in the Football League. The 1986–87 Football League First Division season saw Aston Villa relegated. Manager, Graham Turner, was sacked on 14 September 1986, just over two years after his appointment, as Villa lost five of their first six matches. Billy McNeill, manager of Manchester City, quit that month to take charge of Villa. When Villa were relegated, after finishing bottom of the First Division in May 1987, McNeill stood down and was replaced by Graham Taylor. Manchester City were also relegated that season.
On 1 Aug 1986 Turner signed midfielder Neale Cooper from Aberdeen for £350,000. There were also debuts under Turner for Garry Thompson, Martin Keown, and under McNeil for Phil Robinson, Mark Burke, Bernie Gallacher and Stuart Ritchie.
23 Dec 1986 – Tottenham Hotspur sign midfielder Steve Hodge from Aston Villa for £650,000. 19 Feb 1987 – Billy McNeill boosts Aston Villa's battle against relegation by paying Everton £300,000 for striker Warren Aspinall.
On 8 May, relegated Aston Villa sacked Billy McNeill after eight months as manager. Two weeks later, Graham Taylor resigns after 10 years as Watford manager to succeed him. Villa begin rebuilding following relegation with the sale of defender Tony Dorigo to Chelsea for £450,000.
League
Matches
DateOpponentVenueResultNoteScorers 23 August 1986 Tottenham Hotspur H 0–3 — 26 August 1986 Wimbledon A 2–3 — Allan Evans (pen), Garry Thompson 30 August 1986 Queens Park Rangers A 0–1 The bottom two places in the league were occupied by Manchester United and Aston Villa, who are yet to gain a point this season. — 3 September 1986 Luton Town H 2–1 — Paul Kerr (45', 46') 6 September 1986 Oxford United H 1–2 — Simon Stainrod (pen) 13 September 1986 Nottingham Forest A 0–6 Bryan Robson made his first league appearance since April to help Manchester United record their first league win of the season at the fifth attempt as they beat Southampton 5–1 at Old Trafford and climb off the bottom of the First Division. Nottingham Forest go top with a 6–0 home win over Aston Villa. Aston Villa sack manager Graham Turner after just over two years at the helm. — 20 September 1986 Norwich City H 1–4 Newly promoted Norwich go second with a 4–1 win at Aston Villa. A nine-goal thriller at Leeds Road sees Huddersfield beat Oldham 5–4 in the Second Division. Simon Stainrod 27 September 1986 Liverpool A 3–3 Aston Villa's first league match under Billy McNeill ends in a 3–3 draw with Liverpool at Anfield after the hosts come from behind twice to equalise. Aston Villa still occupy bottom place and Manchester United are second from bottom with just four points so far this campaign. Steve Hodge, Garry Thompson, Allan Evans (pen) 4 October 1986 Coventry City A 1–0 — Garry Thompson 11 October 1986 Southampton H 3–1 — Paul Elliott (2), Allan Evans (pen) 18 October 1986 Watford A 2–4 — Mark Walters, Simon Stainrod 25 October 1986 Newcastle United H 2–0 As October ends, Manchester United and Aston Villa have both climbed out of the bottom two, ahead of Newcastle United, Manchester City and Chelsea. Steve Hodge (2) 1 November 1986 Leicester City H 2–0 — Simon Stainrod (2) 8 November 1986 Manchester City A 1–3 — Tony Daley 15 November 1986 Chelsea H 0–0 — — 22 November 1986 West Ham United A 1–1 — Garry Thompson 29 November 1986 Arsenal H 0–4 Arsenal remain top with a 4–0 away win over Aston Villa. — 6 December 1986 Sheffield Wednesday A 1–2 — Allan Evans (pen) 13 December 1986 Manchester United H 3–3 Villa come from 3–1 down in the final minutes to draw 3–3 with Manchester United in a First Division clash at Villa Park. Steve Hodge, Garry Thompson, Allan Evans (pen) 20 December 1986 Oxford United A 2–2 — Garry Thompson, Mark Walters 26 December 1986 Charlton Athletic H 2–0 — Paul Birch, Tony Daley 27 December 1986 Chelsea A 1–4 Chelsea halt their dismal form with a 4–1 home win over Aston Villa. Paul Elliott 1 January 1987 Everton A 0–3 Arsenal remain four points ahead at the top of the First Division with a 3–1 home win over Wimbledon, as Everton keep up the pressure with a 3–0 home win over Aston Villa. — 3 January 1987 Nottingham Forest H 0–0 — — 24 January 1987 Tottenham Hotspur A 0–3 Tottenham gain 3–0 home win over Aston Villa. Villa have slipped back into the relegation zone, joining Leicester City and Newcastle United. — 7 February 1987 Queens Park Rangers H 0–1 — — 14 February 1987 Luton Town A 1–2 — Allan Evans (pen) 21 February 1987 Liverpool H 2–2 Liverpool miss the chance to go level on points at the top of the First Division when they are held to a 2–2 draw at Aston Villa. Own goal, Paul Elliott 28 February 1987 Norwich City A 1–1 — — 4 March 1987 Wimbledon H 0–0 Aston Villa miss the chance to climb out of the bottom four after Wimbledon hold them to a goalless draw at Villa Park. — 7 March 1987 Newcastle United A 1–2 Newcastle stay bottom of the table but boost their survival hopes with a 2–1 home win over an Aston Villa side who are now second from bottom. — 21 March 1987 Southampton A 0–5 The latest relegation crunch thriller sees Southampton beat Aston Villa 5–0 at The Dell. — 25 March 1987 Watford H 1–1 Aston Villa drop two more points in their survival battle. Leicester climb out of the bottom four with a 4–1 home win over QPR. Newcastle remain bottom after drawing 1–1 at home to Tottenham. Steve Hunt 81' 28 March 1987 Coventry City H 1–0 Manchester City crash to the bottom of the table with a 4–0 defeat against Leicester City at Filbert Street, which is a major boost for the home side's survival hopes. Aston Villa boost their own survival bid with a 1–0 home win over Coventry City. Newcastle climb off the bottom of the table with a 2–0 home win over Southampton. — 4 April 1987 Manchester City H 0–0 First Division strugglers Aston Villa and Manchester City draw 0–0 at Villa Park. Newcastle's survival hopes are given a fresh boost as they beat Leicester City 2–0 at home. A seven-goal thriller at Selhurst Park sees Charlton beat Watford 4–3 to boost their survival bid. — 11 April 1987 Leicester City A 1–1 — Mark Walters 62' 18 Apr 1987 Everton H 0–1 Everton move closer to winning the First Division title with a 1–0 away win over Aston Villa, who are six points adrift of the relegation playoff place and seven points adrift of automatic survival with five games remaining. — 20 Apr 1987 Charlton A 0–3 A relegation crunch game at Selhurst Park sees Charlton boost their survival hopes by winning 3–0 against Aston Villa, whose survival hopes are left hanging by a thread. — 25 April 1987 West Ham United H 4–0 Comprehensive victories for the bottom two of Aston Villa and Manchester City keeps the survival hopes of both clubs alive. Steve Hunt, Warren Aspinall (2), Simon Stainrod 2 May 1987 Arsenal A 1–2 Aston Villa are left needing at least four points from their final two games after losing 2–1 to Arsenal at Highbury. Warren Aspinall 4 May 1987 Sheffield Wednesday H 1–2 Aston Villa's relegation is confirmed as they lose 2–1 at home to Sheffield Wednesday. Phil Robinson 9 May 1987 Manchester United A 1–3 — Paul Birch
Source: avfchistory.co.uk
FA Cup
Teams from the Football League First and Second Divisions entered in the Third round. Most of the third round of games in the FA Cup were played over the weekend 10–11 January 1987, however various matches and replays were played as late as 31 January. Holders Liverpool were eliminated by Luton Town. Caernarfon Town was again the lowest-ranked team in the round, while Caernarfon, Maidstone United and Telford United were the last non-league clubs left in the competition.
Tie noHome teamScoreAway teamDate4Aston Villa (1)2–2Chelsea (1)10 January 1987ReplayChelsea2–1Aston Villa21 January 1987
League Cup
Second round
First leg Home teamScoreAway teamDate Reading 1–1 Aston Villa 24 September 1986
Second leg Home teamScoreAway teamDateAgg Aston Villa 4–1 Reading 8 October 1986 5–2
Last 32 Home teamScoreAway teamDate Derby County 1–1 Aston Villa 29 October 1986
Replays Home teamScoreAway teamDate Aston Villa 2–1 Derby County 4 November 1986
Last 16
Home teamScoreAway teamDate Southampton 2–1 Aston Villa 18 November 1986
Deaths 2 Apr 1987 – Former Aston Villa and Wales midfielder Trevor Hockey dies of a heart attack at the age of 43 after collapsing during a charity football match in West Yorkshire.
References