RIP Tommy Cummings

Was a better player for Burnley than he was manager of AVFC, no doubt about that. He struggled at B6, like many managers who came before and after, but in fairness to him what chance did he really stand in those dark, dark days. In truth though, he just wasn't up to the task, despite being a qualified coach (not all that common in those days). I recall that when he arrived here from Mansfield Town, he had this three point plan, namely to restore the pride of a great club that had fallen not only by the wayside, but into a seemingly bottomless ravine, to restore harmony into the dressing room, and to introduce a tactical style that would produce a winning team. He failed on all counts. It was he who switched defender Lew Chatterley into an attacking role (Lew finished top goalscorer that season, think he netted twelve or so), but otherwise, during the summer of his arrival, Cummings made no new signings, completely disregarding the fact that the previous season we had been found very sadly lacking, a season that saw us relegated without so much as a mere whimper. It was obvious above all else that we badly needed new recruits, and by the time we lost our opening two games of the new campaign, it seemed as if Cummings had got the message. He brought in Tommy Mitchison from his former club, then just a few weeks later snapped up the Bee Gee's, Brian Godfrey and Brian Greenhalgh from PNE. The dressing room atmosphere though still remained 'unhealthy', with five or six players wanting out. He brought in Malcolm Musgrove as his assistant, but that failed to halt the slump. The Blues rolled us over 4-2 at Villa Park (in front of almost 50,000), and even after the arrival of John Dunn and the guitar playing Dick Edwards (better musician than footballer), the writing was very much on the cards. TC though did bring in Oscar and Hector Arce during the following summer, along with Mike Ferguson and Barrie Hole from Blackburn, but it was never going to be enough. In early November, Cummings and Musgrove were out. RIP TC.

Brian Godfrey was the LIONHEART of Aston Villa's subsequent revival. Thanks to TC for that, and he was clearly a legend in the claret and blue at Turf Moor and I know still talked about in those parts. Another sad loss.

RIP... another holteender in the sky.