On his arrival at Villa Park, he was welcomed by George Edwards, who would be moved to the right-wing to accommodate the signing of Ford. Edwards described Ford as "just the penetrating type of leader Villa needs". He made his debut for his new club on 18 January in a 2–0 win over Arsenal and settled well, scoring nine times in nine games during the second half of the season including a goal on his home debut at Villa Park, a 1–1 draw with Blackpool. He would go on to finish as the club's top scorer in the following three seasons, once scoring four times during a 5–1 victory over local rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers on 27 December 1948.