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Game #4017

Aston Villa

Saturday, 7 May 1988

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Drew

2nd (+1)

Last 5: 🟥 🟨 🟩 🟩 🟨

Division Two

Swindon Town

County Ground

Attendance: 10,959

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

Swindon Town

0-0

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Aston Villa

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Assist(s) | None

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

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MATCH TIMELINE

Saturday, 7 May 1988

HT Swindon Town 0-0 Aston Villa
FT Swindon Town 0-0 Aston Villa

Match Statistics

Not recorded

Goal ⚽, Assist 🔥, Goal Conceded 🥅, Injury 🚑, Booking 🟨, Sending off 🟥, Comment 🗒️, ❗ Villa Chance,❗❗Huge Villa Chance, 💥 Opposition action, 🎥 VAR, 🆘 Referee error, ❌ Missed pen, disallowed goal, player retires from field of play, 🟢 Debut, 🔴 Final appearance, 🕒 Half time, Full time, 🔁 Substitution

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

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ON THIS DAY

Saturday, 7 May 1988

  • Graham Taylor's 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Villa secure a 🟨 goal-less draw at the County Ground to earn promotion back to the top flight at the first attempt.

  • The Second Division Championship was however beyond them as a run of 🟥 one defeat in twenty five was followed by 🟥 six defeats in thirteen that let the title slip.

  • Having been first with four games to play and consistently top since January, Villa sneak through by the narrowest of margins.

  • Villa take second place level on points and goal difference with Boro but having scored more goals. 

  • Midfielder Warren Aspinall 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 20 makes his 🕒 50th & final appearance for Villa before moving on to recently relegated Portsmouth in August 1988 for a fee of £350,000. Aspinall played for Villa in 1986-87 and 1987-88 after joining from Everton in February 1987 for a fee of £350,000 and left with a record of 🟩 W20 🟨 D15 🟥 L15, ⚽ 16 Goals and 🔥 4 Assists at a rate of one goal involvement every 2.50 games he had played across his Villa career.

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

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DEBUT APPEARANCES

None

FINAL APPEARANCES

🔴 M Warren Aspinall | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 1987-88 🕒 50 | ✅ 45 🔁 (5) | ⚽ 16 | 🔥 4 | 🇺 4 | #640 |

Seasons | 🕒 Games | ✅ Starts (🔁 Subs) | ⚽ Goals | 🔥 Assists | 🇺 Unused | Player Number |

Aston Villa

European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1981-82

Swindon Town

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European Cup / Champions League: ❌
League Champions: ❌
FA Cup Winners: ❌
League Cup Winners: 🏆
Last Trophy: 1968-69

FIXTURE HISTORY

Swindon Town

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Previous 5 vs. Swindon: 🟩 🟩 🟥 🟨 🟩

Games 🕒, Won 🟩, Drew 🟨, Lost 🟥, Goals Scored ⚽, Goals Conceded 🥅

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

FIXTURE DETAILS

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Season | 1987-88 |
Matchday | #51 |
League Match | #44 |
Manager Game | #51 |
Saturday, 7 May 1988

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🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

MATCH SUMMARY

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Manager: Graham Taylor | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | Worksop, 1987-1990
Referee: Neil Midgley | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | Salford, 1977-1992
Kick off: 3.00pm
HT Score: 🟨 0-0
FT Result: 🟨 Drew
FT Score: 🟨 0-0
Last 5: 🟥 🟨 🟩 🟩 🟨

Scorers
Timeline
On This Day
Trophies
Fixture
Manager

MANAGERIAL RECORD

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Graham Taylor | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 1987-1990

🕒 51 | 🟩 | 26 🟨 | 12 🟥 13 | 1.76

Villa Career Form:

Top 6

Graham Taylor | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 1987-1990

Games 🕒, Won 🟩, Drew 🟨, Lost 🟥, Points per Game

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

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MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Neil Midgley | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | Salford, 1977-1992
Matches Officiated: 11
🟩 : 4
🟨 : 4
🟥 : 3
🆘 : 4
Previous 5: 🟩 🟩 🟥 🟩 🟩
Last Match: 🟩 1 November 1986, Villa 2-0 Leicester, Villa Park.
Cards: None

VAR PROFILE (from 2021)

CARDS

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None

CARDS

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None

Won 🟩, Drew 🟨, Lost 🟥, Notably poor performance 🆘, Cards 🟨 Booking, Cards 🟥 Sending off, Disallowed ❌ Goal disallowed, ⚽ Penalty for, 🥅 Penalty against, ❌ Penalty Disallowed

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

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TEAM NEWS

TEAM STATS

Paul Birch replaces Alan McInally.

Starting XI Average Age
| 26.04 |

Oldest Player |
CB Allan Evans | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 | 31.59 |

Youngest Player |
M Warren Aspinall | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 20.66 |

Referee

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

MANAGER

Graham Taylor | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 1987-1990

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Aston Villa

GK Nigel Spink | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
RB Kevin Gage | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CB Allan Evans | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 |
CB Steve Sims | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
LB Bernie Gallacher | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 |
M Warren Aspinall | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 | 🔴 |
M Paul Birch | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
M Stuart Gray | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
M Andy A Gray | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
M David Platt | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CF Garry Thompson | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |

MANAGER

Lou Macari | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 |

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Swindon Town

GK Fraser Digby | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
RB Dave Hockaday | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
D Tim Parkin | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CB Colin Calderwood | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 |
CB Jonathan Gittens | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
LB Phil King | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
M Kieran O'Regan | 🇮🇪 |
M Steve Foley | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
F Steve White | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CF Dave Bamber | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CF Jimmy Quinn | 🇬🇧 |

Line Ups

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

SUBSTITUTES

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No Substitutions Made

SUBSTITUTES

No Substitutions Made

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Substitutes

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES

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W Tony Daley | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
CF Alan McInally | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 |

UNUSED SUBSTITUTES

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W Bobby Barnes | 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 |
M Alan McLoughlin | 🇮🇪 |

Player Positions:

GK : Goalkeeper
CB, D, B : Centre Back, Defender, Back
FB, LB, RB, WH : Full Back, Left Back, Right Back, Wing Back, Wing Half


M, CH, LH, RH : Midfielder, Centre Half, Left Half, Right Half
W, OL, OR : Winger, Outside Left, Outside Right
F, IF, IL, IR : Forward, Inside Forward, Inside Left, Inside Right, Second Striker, False 9
CF : Centre Forward

Match Symbols:

⚽ | Goal
🔥 | Assist
🔁 | Substitution

🟨 | Booking

🟥 | Sending off

🆘 | Poor refereeing performance
🟢 : Debut 🔴 : Final Game

Squad Bios

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

SQUAD STATS

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1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇬🇧 : 11/11

Squad:
Home Nation 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇬🇧 : 13/13

SQUAD STATS

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1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇬🇧 : 10/11

Squad:
Home Nation 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🇬🇧 : 11/13

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

MATCHDAY SQUAD

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MATCHDAY SQUAD

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🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

UNAVAILABLE

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Not recorded

UNAVAILABLE

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Not Recorded

Unavailable

LEAGUE TABLE

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MATCHDAY PROGRAMME

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Tables & Programmes

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

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MATCH QUOTES

“I cannot really believe it. “The thought that we'll be back at Old Trafford next season makes me very happy. "We nearly blew It, didn't we? Then this happens. “ I wonder how they're feeling at Middlesbrough and Bradford. Terrible, I bet. "The pressure wasn't on us so much, here. We knew we were in the play-offs at least." Bernie Gallacher. “For me this is a bigger occasion than the European Cup final. “I wasn't quite one of the team then. just a lad called up for the second match of his life to win a medal’. “This one is very different. I'm one of the old hands now, an ever-present. “Success like this shows you football is full of surprises and in the end we got what we deserved. "The manager has done brilliantly. “We all know Villa could have gone straight out the bottom." Nigel Spink. “The boss has already made it clear he is going to have to buy during the summer. “He's right about that. "It was a difficult game out there. He told us it would be a scramble as soon as we saw the bumpy pitch in this wind. "We were not really aware of the other scores, except that as we went out at half-time he told us that at of the moment we were in the promotion place. “We followed our supporters' cheers but we couldn't tell which match it was about. “This has been a hard, hard season. much more difficult than winning the European Cup and on a par with the championship. “Think of it over a season four goals are the only difference.” Allan Evans. "I told you we were the best team In the league. "We should have won the title but it doesn't matter now. We're there." Andy Gray. "We just had to keep going without a real idea of what the position was." David Platt. "In my opinion, if we are going to compete with Liverpool and Manchester United next season for a top spot, I have got to be found £2million now.” “I think I am going to need all of my three-year contract to make them a top club. “But if we are going to get back into Europe we have got to decide how big we want this club to become.' "I have been told there is money available. "But I have obviously got to go out and buy better quality players if we are going to progress. Better players than we have here now. 'We are light years away from what I want the team to be - a really good all-round squad of top-liners. “At the end of my three years I want to be able to turn round and say 'Look, there's your squad’. "There will have been no point in my coming to Aston Villa unless there is going to be a big push or else I might as well have stayed at Watford." Graham Taylor. “Money will be made available to strengthen the side. But don't ask me how much." Herbert Ellis.
Quotes

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

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MATCH REPORTS

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. With thanks to Reach PLC. Digitised by Findmypast Newspaper Archive Limited. All rights reserved. Source: British Newspaper Archive (www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk)

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Reports

🟨 7 May 1988, Villa 0-0 Swindon, County Ground

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MATCH VIDEO

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