Charlie Aitken (footballer, born 1942)
 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Charles Alexander Aitken | ||
| Date of birth | 1 May 1942 | ||
| Place of birth | Edinburgh, Scotland | ||
| Position(s) | Left back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Gorebridge Juniors | |||
| Edinburgh Thistle | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1959–1976 | Aston Villa | 561 | (14) |
| 1976–1977 | New York Cosmos | 24 | (0) |
| Total | 585 | (14) | |
| National team | |||
| 1961–1962[1] | Scotland U23 | 3 | (0) |
| 1962[2] | SFA trial v SFL | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only | |||
Charles Alexander Aitken (born 5 January 1942 in Edinburgh, Scotland) is a Scottish former footballer.
Aitken is the all-time record appearance holder at English club Aston Villa. He played for Villa from August 1959 until May 1976, a period of 17 seasons. He came to Villa to accompany his friend Wilson Briggs, also a left back, to a trial. They were both taken on, but Briggs ended up playing just two games in his career. Aitken was a member of the 1975 League Cup winning team, having been a runner-up in 1971. He spent the last two seasons of his professional career in the NASL with the New York Cosmos, playing alongside the greats of Pelé and Franz Beckenbauer.
Aston Villa Honours[]
Football League Second Division
- Runners-up: 1974–75
Football League Third Division
- Champions: 1971–72
Football League Cup
- Runners-up: 1972
Aston Villa Career Statistics[]
| Club performance | League | Cup | League Cup | Continental | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| England | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1960–61 | Aston Villa | First Division | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 1 | 0 |
| 1961–62 | 35 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | – | – | 42 | 0 | ||
| 1962–63 | 42 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | – | 53 | 0 | ||
| 1963–64 | 34 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 37 | 1 | ||
| 1964–65 | 42 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 53 | 3 | ||
| 1965–66 | 42 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | – | 48 | 1 | ||
| 1966–67 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 42 | 0 | ||
| 1967–68 | Second Division | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 35 | 0 | |
| 1968–69 | 42 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 47 | 0 | ||
| 1969–70 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 34 | 0 | ||
| 1970–71 | Third Division | 44 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 0 | – | – | 55 | 1 | |
| 1971–72 | 43 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – | – | 50 | 4 | ||
| 1972–73 | Second Division | 33 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 38 | 1 | |
| 1973–74 | 38 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 43 | 2 | ||
| 1974–75 | 42 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 10 | 1 | – | – | 55 | 2 | ||
| 1975–76 | First Division | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 1 | |
| Career total | 561 | 14 | 35 | 1 | 61 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 659 | 16 | ||
References[]
- ^ Scotland U23 player Aitken, Charlie, FitbaStats
- ^ Ronnie McDevitt (2016). Scotland in the 60s: The Definitive Account of the Scottish National Football Side During the 1960s. Pitch Publishing. ISBN 9781785312458.
External links[]
- 1942 births
- Living people
- Aston Villa F.C. players
- Expatriate soccer players in the United States
- Association football defenders
- New York Cosmos players
- North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players
- Footballers from Edinburgh
- Scottish expatriate footballers
- Scottish expatriate sportspeople in the United States
- Scottish footballers
- English Football League players
- Scotland under-23 international footballers