1885–86 Aston Villa F.C. season

Early history of Aston Villa F.C. Aston Villa records and statistics Aston Villa 1885–86 President W. M. Ellis William McGregor FA Cup 2nd round 1884–85 1886–87 thumb|An early form of table ranking the leading clubs by goal average, Newcastle Daily Chronicle, 13 May 1886 The 1885–86 English football season was Aston Villa's 7th season in the Football Association Cup, the top-level football competition at the time. This year saw Villa's most modest Cup performance since their first effort to win the trophy, in 1880. Villa were beaten in the second round by Derby County. As late as 1901, in the warm weather months, Villa would forgo their heavier woollen club colours in favour of thin cotton red shirts .Aston Villa, Sports Argus, 14 September 1901 Following the professionalisation of football in 1885, the club decided that it needed a full-time paid manager. The following advert was placed in the Birmingham Daily Gazette newspaper in June 1886: 'Wanted: manager for Aston Villa Football Club, who will be required to devote his whole time under direction of the committee. Salary £100 per annum. Applications with reference must be made not later than June 23rd to Chairman of the Committee, Aston Villa Club House, 6 Witton Road, Aston’ Villa received 150 applicants for the role, but with his strong association with the club George Ramsay was the overwhelming choice of the membership. Thus on 26 June 1886, Villa appointed what has been described as the world's first football manager.Lerwill John The Aston Villa Chronicles 1874-1924 2009 Aston Villa Ltd 198 9780956286109 The position predates the modern role of a football manager, the advert used the title 'manager' but the club settled on the title of 'secretary'. Ramsay was responsible for the team, including controlling recruitment and transfers, supported by a specialist trainer, who from 1893 until 1915 was Joe Grierson. The team was selected by the committee each week, which consisted of such figures as William McGregor, Fred Rinder and, following their retirement, former club captains John Devey and Howard Spencer. Ramsay would hold his position at the club for a remarkable 42 years, in which time Villa won the Football League and FA Cup 6 times each, establishing themselves as the premier football club in England. Villa's style of play under Ramsay consisted of high speed dribbling, short passes and powerful shooting.Lerwill John Aston Villa - The First Superclub 2012 A & JL Solutions 37 978-0956983312 Denny Hodgetts signed for Villa in February 1886.Matthews Tony Who's Who of Aston Villa 2004 Mainstream Publishing 1-84018-821-9 148 There were debuts for Charlie Hobson, Wally Jones, Jack Burton and Richmond Davis. FA Cup details 1885–86 FA Cup 1st Round Aston Villa 5–0 https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/25 Walsall Town W 🟩 https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/25 2nd Round Aston Villa 0–2 https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/26 Derby County L 🟥 The victory over Aston Villa, who were established was one of the major forces in the English game at the time, was arguably one of the most important in the Derby's history as it attracted better opposition in friendlies and made Derby a prominent enough club to be one of the 12 founder members of The Football League when it was formed in 1888. Birmingham Cup Birmingham Senior Cup Friendlies 5 September 1885 Aston Villa 1–2 Blackburn Olympic L Wellington Road Aston Villa Football Club, Birmingham Evening Mail, 29 August 1885, p2 12 September 1885 West Bromwich Albion Aston Villa 26 September 1885 Blackburn Rovers Aston Villa 3 October 1885 Aston Villa Wolverhampton Wanderers Wellington Road 10 October 1885 Aston Villa Derby County Wellington Road 17 October 1885 Aston Villa Bolton Wanderers Wellington Road 24 October 1885 Nottingham Forest Aston Villa 26 October 1885 Sheffield Wednesday Aston Villa 31 October 1885 Aston Villa Oxford University L Wellington Road It was a bad day all round for Villa vice-president William McGregor; he lost his watch when his pocket was picked in the match-day crush on the Perry Barr tram.Table Talk, Birmingham Evening Mail, 7 November 1885, p2 7 November 1885 Aston Villa Gloucester County Wellington Road 14 November 1885 Blackburn Olympic Aston Villa 21 November 1885 Aston Villa Queens Park Wellington Road 23 November 1885 Oxford University Aston Villa 28 November 1885 Aston Villa West Bromwich Albion Wellington Road 14 December 1885 Aston Villa 3–2 Cambridge University W Wellington Road 2,000 spectators Aston Villa v Cambridge University, Reynolds's Newspaper, 20 December 1885, p6 19 December 1885 Aston Villa 1–3 Blackburn Rovers L Wellington Road The original 5 December fixture was postponed due to a Rovers cup-tie.Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers, The Lichfield Mercury 25 December 1885, p8 26 December 1885 Aston Villa 13–0 Acton W Wellington Road Football, The Courier and Argus, 29 December 1885, p6 5,000 attendance Football, Sheffield and Rotherham Independent, 28 December 1885, p4 1 January 1886 Queens Park Aston Villa 9 January 1886 Aston Villa Accrington Wellington Road 23 January 1886 Wolverhampton Wanderers Aston Villa 30 January 1886 Aston Villa Battlefield Wellington Road 6 February 1886 West Bromwich Albion Aston Villa 8 February 1886 Aston Villa Edinburgh University Wellington Road 20 February 1886 Aston Villa Nottingham Forest Wellington Road 27 February 1886 Aston Villa Sheffield Wednesday Wellington Road 6 March 1886 Derby County Aston Villa 27 March 1886 Accrington Aston Villa References Category:Aston Villa F.C. seasons Aston Villa F.C. season