1984–85 Aston Villa F.C. season
The 1984–85 English football season was Aston Villa's 86th season in the Football League. Graham Turner left Shrewsbury after six seasons to take charge of Aston Villa in the summer of 1984.
There were debuts for Tony Daley, David Norton, Darren Bradley, Kevin Poole and Didier Six.
13 April 1985: FA Cup holders Everton reach the final by beating Luton 2–1 at Villa Park.
First Division
League table
Matches
| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Note | Scorers |
| 25 August 1984 | Coventry City | H | 1–0 | Des Bremner 53' | |
| 27 August 1984 | Stoke City | A | 3–1 | Newcastle United and Villa both have two wins from their opening two matches but Stoke City and Everton are still looking for their first point. Paul Walsh scores after 14 seconds of his home debut for Liverpool, a 3–0 win over West Ham United. | Mark Walters 14', 41'; Peter Withe 88' |
| 1 September 1984 | Newcastle United | A | 0–3 | Newcastle beat Aston Villa 3–0 to top the league with the First Division's only 100% record after three games. Crowd trouble interrupts the match between Coventry City and Leicester City at Highfield Road. Peter Davenport scores a hat-trick as Nottingham Forest beat Sunderland 3–1 and Derby County's Kevin Wilson also scores three in his side's 3–2 win over Bolton Wanderers. Earlier in the week, Wilson scored four in a Milk Cup tie against Hartlepool United. | — |
| 5 September 1984 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–5 | Nottingham Forest go top after a Trevor Christie hat-trick helps them to a resounding 5–0 win at Aston Villa. | — |
| 8 September 1984 | Chelsea | H | 4–2 | — | Peter Withe 6', 27'; Steve Foster 35'; Paul Rideout 69' |
| 15 September 1984 | Watford | A | 3–3 | — | Steve Foster 45'; Peter Withe 57'; Steve McMahon 77' |
| 22 September 1984 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–1 | — | — |
| 29 September 1984 | Ipswich Town | A | 0–3 | — | — |
| 6 October 1984 | Manchester United | H | 3–0 | Arsenal are back on top of the table – a Charlie Nicholas penalty gives them victory over Everton while Tottenham lose 1–0 at Southampton. Liverpool's woes continue as West Bromwich Albion hold them to a goalless draw at Anfield. The last unbeaten record in Division One goes as Manchester United lose 3–0 at Aston Villa. On-loan French winger Didier Six stars on his Villa debut. With Oxford losing 1–0 at Manchester City – their first defeat away from home since February – Portsmouth are now the only side yet to be beaten in the league this season. | Peter Withe 20'; Allan Evans 25'; Paul Rideout 55' |
| 13 October 1984 | Everton | A | 1–2 | — | Peter Withe 44' |
| 20 October 1984 | Norwich City | H | 2–2 | — | Peter Withe 17', 69' |
| 27 October 1984 | Leicester City | A | 0–5 | In-form Everton thrash Manchester United 5–0, United's biggest margin of defeat since losing 6–0 at Ipswich in March 1980. Leaders Arsenal are beaten 3–1 at West Ham. Tottenham nail Stoke to the bottom of the First Division with a 4–0 win at White Hart Lane. Leicester striker Gary Lineker scores a hat-trick in his side's 5–0 win over Aston Villa. | — |
| 3 November 1984 | West Ham United | H | 0–0 | — | — |
| 10 November 1984 | Arsenal | A | 1–1 | Everton stay top with a 1–0 win over West Ham at Upton Park. Manchester United and Tottenham also win away but Arsenal are held at home by Aston Villa. In the Third Division, Hull City come from 4–1 down to win 5–4 at Orient. | Paul Birch 9' |
| 17 November 1984 | Southampton | H | 2–2 | — | Peter Withe 26'; Didier Six 44' |
| 24 November 1984 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 0–2 | — | — |
| 1 December 1984 | Sunderland | H | 1–0 | — | Paul Rideout 84' |
| 8 December 1984 | Luton Town | A | 0–1 | — | — |
| 15 December 1984 | Liverpool | H | 0–0 | — | — |
| 22 December 1984 | Newcastle United | H | 4–0 | — | Allan Evans 35' ; Paul Rideout 38', 62', 85' |
| 26 December 1984 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 1–1 | — | Paul Rideout 41' |
| 29 December 1984 | Nottingham Forest | A | 2–3 | — | Colin Gibson 17'; Paul Rideout 34' |
| 1 January 1985 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 3–1 | — | Colin Gibson 29'; Paul Birch 57'; Paul Rideout 60' |
| 19 January 1985 | Coventry City | A | 3–0 | Arctic conditions decimate today's fixture programme with only 10 matches played across the four divisions. Three survive in Division One – Liverpool beat Norwich 4–0 while Aston Villa win 3–0 at Coventry and Chelsea draw 1–1 with Arsenal. In the Second Division, Manchester City move into the top three by beating Wimbledon 3–0 and a Tommy Wright hat-trick helps Leeds to a 5–0 win over Notts County. | Mark Walters 32', 71'; Paul Rideout 65' |
| 2 February 1985 | Ipswich Town | H | 2–1 | — | Gordon Cowans 38'; Colin Gibson 80' |
| 23 February 1985 | West Ham United | A | 2–1 | — | Mark Walters 58'; Brendan Ormsby 74' |
| 2 March 1985 | Leicester City | H | 0–1 | — | — |
| 9 March 1985 | Norwich City | A | 2–2 | — | Allan Evans 58', 71' |
| 13 March 1985 | Arsenal | H | 0–0 | — | — |
| 16 March 1985 | Everton | H | 1–1 | — | Allan Evans 83' |
| 23 March 1985 | Manchester United | A | 0–4 | Osvaldo Ardiles marks his first appearance of the season with the opening goal in Tottenham's 5–1 win over Southampton. Everton beat Arsenal 2–0 to virtually extinguish the Gunners' waning championship hopes. Hat-tricks for Manchester United's Mark Hughes against Aston Villa and John Wark for Liverpool at West Bromwich Albion. In Division Two, Oxford move up to second with a 3–0 win over leaders Manchester City. | — |
| 27 March 1985 | Stoke City | H | 2–0 | — | Own goal 73'; Didier Six 85' |
| 30 March 1985 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 2–0 | Two goals by reserve midfielder Kevin Richardson give Everton a 2–1 win at Southampton which takes them three points clear of Tottenham, who lose 2–0 at home to Aston Villa. Manchester City's lead in Division Two is cut to two points after a 2–2 draw with bottom club Cardiff. Oxford, Birmingham and Blackburn all win while Portsmouth draw at Shrewsbury. | Paul Rideout 21'; Mark Walters 75' |
| 6 April 1985 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 3–0 | — | Paul Rideout 27'; Brendan Ormsby 74'; Allan Evans 77' |
| 8 April 1985 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 0–1 | — | — |
| 16 April 1985 | Chelsea | A | 1–3 | — | Mark Walters 80' |
| 20 April 1985 | Southampton | A | 0–2 | — | — |
| 24 April 1985 | Watford | H | 1–1 | — | Mark Walters 20' |
| 27 April 1985 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 5–2 | — | Paul Rideout 16', 38'; Peter Withe 41', 53'; Mark Walters 48' |
| 4 May 1985 | Sunderland | A | 4–0 | Many promotion and relegation issues remain undecided on the penultimate Saturday of the League season. In Division One, six of the bottom seven lose, the exception being Luton who beat Arsenal 3–1. Sunderland look doomed following a 4–0 home defeat by Aston Villa. Birmingham and Hull confirm their promotions while Darlington are poised to join Chesterfield, Bury and Blackpool in going up from Division Four. | Colin Gibson 21'; Mark Walters 34'; Steve McMahon 57'; Peter Withe 72' |
| 6 May 1985 | Luton Town | H | 0–1 | — | — |
| 11 May 1985 | Liverpool | A | 1–2 | — | Paul Birch 85' |
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