1983–84 Aston Villa F.C. season

Aston Villa
1983–84 season
Chairman	Doug Ellis
Stadium	Villa Park
First Division	10th
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Semi-finals
UEFA Cup	Second round
Top goalscorer	League: ; Peter Withe (16 goals); All: ; Peter With (20 goals)

The 1983–84 English football season was Aston Villa's 5th season in Europe and 85th season in the Football League. Villa competed in the Football League First Division.

Graham Turner left Shrewsbury after six seasons to take charge of Aston Villa in the summer of 1984.

There were debut appearances for Paul Birch (173), Tony Dorigo (111), Steve McMahon (75), Paul Rideout (54), Mervyn Day (30), Dean Glover (28), Paul Kerr (24), and Steve Foster (15).^[1] The pitch has been repaired following a Duran Duran concert in the summer at Villa Park.

First Division

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
8	Tottenham Hotspur	42	17	10	15	64	65	−1	61	Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round^[a]
9	West Ham United	42	17	9	16	60	55	+5	60
10	Aston Villa	42	17	9	16	59	61	−2	60
11	Watford	42	16	9	17	68	77	−9	57
12	Ipswich Town	42	15	8	19	55	57	−2	53

Source: World Football
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored
Notes:

^ Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup as the 1983–84 UEFA Cup winners.

Matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Note	Scorers
27 Aug 1983	West Bromwich Albion	H	4–3	The Football League season commences. A seven-goal thriller at Villa Park sees Villa beat local rivals West Bromwich Albion 4–3.^[2] Steve McMahon becomes the 621st Villa player.^[3]	Allan Evans 17', Mark Walters 36', Gary Shaw 41', Brendan Ormsby 66' ^[4]
29 Aug 1983	Sunderland	H	1–0	Notts County, West Ham United, Villa and Arsenal all win their first two matches of the First Division season to lead the table at the end of August.^[5]	Mark Walters 73'
3 Sep 1983	Queens Park Rangers	A	1–2	—	Peter Withe 90'
7 Sep 1983	Nottingham Forest	A	2–2	—	Peter Withe 17', Gary Shaw 69'
10 Sep 1983	Norwich City	H	1–0	—	Dennis Mortimer 12'
17 Sep 1983	Liverpool	A	1–2	—	Colin Gibson 84'
24 Sep 1983	Southampton	H	1–0	Southampton's title challenge is hit with a 1–0 defeat away to Aston Villa, who go sixth in the table.^[6]	Peter Withe 25'
1 Oct 1983	Luton Town	A	0–1	—	—
15 Oct 1983	Birmingham City	H	1–0	In the first Second City derby of the season Villa beat Blues 1-0 at home in front of a crowd of 39,318.	Peter Withe 29'
23 Oct 1983	Wolves	A	1–1	The only league action of the day sees Villa draw 1–1 at home to local rivals Wolves.^[7]	Peter Withe 32' ^[8]
29 Oct 1983	Arsenal	H	2–6	Tony Woodcock scores five goals in Arsenal's 6–2 away win over Aston Villa^[9]	Tony Morley 37', Allan Evans 65' (pen)
5 Nov 1983	Manchester United	A	2–1	Peter Withe scores twice as Aston Villa inflict a 2–1 defeat on Manchester United at Old Trafford, meaning that Liverpool can return to the top of the table if they win their game tomorrow.^[10]	Peter Withe 34', 62'
12 Nov 1983	Stoke City	H	1–1	—	Peter Withe 54'
19 Nov 1983	Leicester City	H	3–1	—	Peter Withe 21', Paul Rideout 34', Steve McMahon 70'
26 Nov 1983	Notts County	A	2–5	Notts County boost their bid to keep clear of the relegation zone with a 5–2 win over Aston Villa.^[11]	Dennis Mortimer 53', Allan Evans 90' (pen)
3 Dec 1983	West Ham United	H	1–0	West Ham United are beaten 1–0 by Aston Villa at Villa Park.^[12]	Paul Rideout 78'
10 Dec 1983	Everton	A	1–1	—	Paul Rideout 60'
17 Dec 1983	Ipswich Town	H	4–0	Liverpool return to the top of the First Division with a 5–0 home win over Notts County. Aston Villa keep up the pressure on the leading pack with a 4–0 home win over Ipswich Town. Caretaker manager Don Howe begins his spell in charge of Arsenal with a 3–1 home win over Watford. Coventry City miss the chance to close the gap on the leaders with a goalless draw at Norwich. QPR go fourth with a 2–0 home win over Everton.^[13]	Own goal 3', Paul Rideout 56', Steve McMahon 68', Allan Evans 76' (pen)
26 Dec 1983	Watford	A	2–3	—	Alan Curbishley 70', Mark Walters 79'
27 Dec 1983	Tottenham Hotspur	H	0–0	—	—
31 Dec 1983	Queens Park Rangers	H	2–1	—	Allan Evans 69' (pen), Steve McMahon 80'
2 Jan 1984	Southampton	A	2–2	—	Steve McMahon, Gary Shaw
14 Jan 1984	West Bromwich Albion	A	1–3	—	Gary Shaw 46'
20 Jan 1984	Liverpool	H	1–3	Ian Rush scores a hat-trick in Liverpool's 3–1 away win over Aston Villa in the First Division, increasing their lead at the top to five points, although their nearest challengers Manchester United can cut the gap to two points if they win at the weekend.^[14]	Dennis Mortimer 16'
4 Feb 1984	Luton Town	H	0–0	—	—
11 Feb 1984	Norwich City	A	1–3	—	Gary Shaw 90'
18 Feb 1984	Arsenal	A	1–1	In the First Division, Arsenal draw 1–1 with Aston Villa at Highbury.^[15]	Allan Evans (pen)
25 Feb 1984	Wolves	H	4–0	Wolves are now 13 points adrift of safety after losing 4–0 to local rivals Aston Villa in the First Division at Villa Park.^[16]	Peter Withe (2), Paul Birch, Mark Walters
3 Mar 1984	Manchester United	H	0–3	The Merseyside derby at Goodison Park ends in a 1–1 draw, allowing Manchester United to cut Liverpool's lead to two points by beating Aston Villa 3–0 at Villa Park.^[17]	—
10 Mar 1984	Stoke City	A	0–1	—	—
13 Mar 1984	Coventry City	A	3–3	Midweek action in the First Division includes a six-goal thriller at Highfield Road, where local rivals Coventry City and Aston Villa draw 3–3.^[18]	Allan Evans (pen), Peter Withe, Paul Rideout
17 Mar 1984	Nottingham Forest	H	1–0	Nottingham Forest's title challenge is fading as they go down 1–0 at Aston Villa, as is West Ham's following a 4–1 defeat to Leicester City at Filbert Street.^[19]	Steve McMahon 82'
24 Mar 1984	Sunderland	A	1–0	—	Mark Walters 43'
31 Mar 1984	Birmingham City	A	1–2	—	Peter Withe 29'
7 Apr 1984	Coventry City	H	2–0	—	Brendan Ormsby 34', Paul Birch 46'
14 Apr 1984	Leicester City	A	0–2	—	—
18 Apr 1984	Tottenham Hotspur	A	1–2	Tottenham Hotspur remain in the hunt for another top-five finish by beating Aston Villa 2–1.^[20]	Mark Walters 33'
21 Apr 1984	Watford	H	2–1	—	Dennis Mortimer 2', Steve Foster 59'
28 Apr 1984	Notts County	H	3–1	—	Mark Walters (2), Peter Withe
5 May 1984	West Ham United	A	1–0	—	Dennis Mortimer 19'
7 May 1984	Everton	H	0–2	—	—
12 May 1984	Ipswich Town	A	1–2	—	Peter Withe 29'

Source: avfchistory.co.uk

FA Cup

League Cup

30 Nov 1983: In the League Cup, there is a local derby at The Hawthorns, where Aston Villa beat West Bromwich Albion 2–1.^[21]

Semi-final

15 February 1984 (1984-02-15) 1st leg	Everton	2–0	Aston Villa	Walton, Liverpool
	Sheedy 28' Richardson 82'	Report		Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 40,006

15 Feb 1984: Everton beat Aston Villa 2–0 in the League Cup semi-final first leg.^[22]

22 February 1984 (1984-02-22) 2nd leg	Aston Villa	1–0 (2–1 agg.)	Everton	Aston, Birmingham
	P. Rideout 62'	Report		Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 42,426

22 Feb 1984: Despite losing 1–0 to Aston Villa in the semi-final second leg, Everton are through to the League Cup final, securing them their first cup final for seven years.^[23]

UEFA Cup

First round

14 September 1983 1st leg	Vitória S.C.	1–0	Aston Villa	Estádio D. Afonso Henriques, Guimarães
18:00	Gregório Freixo 82' (pen.)	Report		Attendance: 28,750 Referee: Joël Quiniou (France)

28 Sep 1983: All four English entrants in the UEFA Cup – Watford, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa – progress to the second round.^[24]

28 September 1983 2nd leg	Aston Villa	5–0 (5–1 agg.)	Vitória S.C.	Villa Park, Birmingham
20:45	Withe 2', 48', 89' Ormsby 56' Gibson 74'	Report		Attendance: 23,732 Referee: Werner Föckler (West Germany)

Second round

19 October 1983 (1983-10-19) 1st leg	Spartak Moscow	2–2	Aston Villa	Central Dynamo Stadium, Moscow
17:00	Gavrilov 52', 89' (pen.)	Report	Gibson 47' Walters 68'	Attendance: 50,400 Referee: Roger Schoeters (Belgium)

2 November 1983 2nd leg	Aston Villa	1–2 (3–4 agg.)	Spartak Moscow	Villa Park, Birmingham
20:30	Withe 2'	Report	Cherenkov 46', 89'	Attendance: 29,511 Referee: Egbert Mulder (Netherlands)

2 Nov 1983: Tottenham eliminate Dutch side Feyenoord 6–2 on aggregate in the second round of the UEFA Cup. Watford eliminate Levski Sofia from the competition and Nottingham Forest oust PSV Eindhoven, but Aston Villa are edged out 4–3 on aggregate by Spartak Moscow.^[25]

References

^ "Aston Villa's Seasons". AVFC History.
^ "1983-08-27".
^ https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/steve-mcmahon
^ AVFC History – 1983–84 League Matches
^ Smailes, Gordon (2000). The Breedon Book of Football Records. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 152. ISBN 1859832148.
^ "1983-09-24".
^ "1983-10-23".
^ https://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/3800
^ "1983-10-29".
^ "1983-11-05".
^ "1983-11-26".
^ "1983-12-03".
^ "1983-12-17".
^ "1984-01-20".
^ "1984-02-18".
^ "1984-02-25".
^ "1984-03-03".
^ "1984-03-13".
^ "1984-03-17".
^ "1984-04-18".
^ "1983-11-30".
^ "1984-02-15".
^ "1984-02-22".
^ "1983-09-28".
^ "1983-11-02".

[table_note_res_UC1RC0.54735442742116-2] Tottenham Hotspur qualified for the UEFA Cup as the 1983–84 UEFA Cup winners.

[1] "Aston Villa's Seasons". AVFC History.

[3] "1983-08-27".

[4] ttps://www.avfchistory.co.uk/player/steve-mcmahon

[avfc1984-5] AVFC History – 1983–84 League Matches

[smailes-6] Smailes, Gordon (2000). The Breedon Book of Football Records. Derby: Breedon Books. p. 152. ISBN 1859832148.

[7] "1983-09-24".

[8] "1983-10-23".

[9] ttps://www.avfchistory.co.uk/game/3800

[10] "1983-10-29".

[11] "1983-11-05".

[12] "1983-11-26".

[13] "1983-12-03".

[14] "1983-12-17".

[15] "1984-01-20".

[16] "1984-02-18".

[17] "1984-02-25".

[18] "1984-03-03".

[19] "1984-03-13".

[20] "1984-03-17".

[21] "1984-04-18".

[22] "1983-11-30".

[23] "1984-02-15".

[24] "1984-02-22".

[25] "1983-09-28".

[26] "1983-11-02".

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Aston Villa F.C. seasons
1870s	1870–71 1871–72 1872–73 1873–74 1874–75 1875–76 1876–77 1877–78 1878–79 1879–80
1880s	1880–81 1881–82 1882–83 1883–84 1884–85 1885–86 1886–87 1887–88 1888–89 1889–90
1890s	1890–91 1891–92 1892–93 1893–94 1894–95 1895–96 1896–97 1897–98 1898–99 1899–1900
1900s	1900–01 1901–02 1902–03 1903–04 1904–05 1905–06 1906–07 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10
1910s	1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20
1920s	1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30
1930s	1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40
1940s	1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50
1950s	1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60
1960s	1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70
1970s	1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80
1980s	1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90
1990s	1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000
2000s	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10
2010s	2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20
2020s	2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26