Dick Taylor's Villa bounce back from successive defeats to make it twelve wins, two draws and twenty one defeats in thirty five division one matches this season. At the same point in 1963-64, under former manager Joe Mercer, Villa had lost fifteen and won nine before going on to finish 19th, two places above relegation. In consequence, with seven games left to play, Dick Taylor needed to continue to win if Villa were not going to fall to relegation at the end of his first season.