Aston Villa F.C.

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"Aston Villa" redirects here. For the French musical group, see Aston Villa (band).
Aston Villa
Image:Aston Villa.png
Full name Aston Villa Football Club
Nickname(s)The Villa, The Villans, The Lions
Founded 1874[1]
Ground Villa Park
Aston
Birmingham B6 6HE
England
(Capacity 42,640[2])
Chairman Image:Flag of the United States.svg Randy Lerner
Manager Image:Ulster banner.svg Martin O'Neill
League Premier League
2006–07 Premier League, 11th
Image:Kit left arm.png Image:Kit body.png Image:Kit right arm.png
Image:Kit shorts.png
Image:Kit socks.png
　
Home colours
Image:Kit left arm.png Image:Kit body.png Image:Kit right arm.png
Image:Kit shorts.png
Image:Kit socks.png
　
Away colours

Aston Villa Football Club (also known as The Villa and The Villans)[3] is an English professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, who currently play in the Premier League The club was founded in 1874 and have played at their current home ground, Villa Park, since 1897. Aston Villa were founding members of the Football League in 1888 and the Premier League in 1992.[4] The club was floated by the previous owner and chairman Doug Ellis, but in 2006 full control of the club was acquired by Randy Lerner.

They are one of the oldest and most successful football clubs in England, having won the First Division Championship seven times and the FA Cup seven times.[5] Villa are also one of only four English clubs to win the European Cup, which they did in 1982.[6] Aston Villa is the fourth most successful club in English football history, having won 21 major honours,[7] although most of these were won before the Second World War and the most recent was in 1996.

They have a long-standing and fierce rivalry with local rivals Birmingham City, although West Bromwich Albion is actually the closest professional football club. The Birmingham Derby, also known as the Second City Derby between Aston Villa and Birmingham City has been played since 1879.[8] The club's traditional kit colours are claret shirts with sky blue sleeves, white shorts and sky blue socks. Their traditional crest is of a rampant gold lion on a sky blue background with the club's motto 'Prepared' underneath; a modified version of this was adopted in 2007.[9]

Contents

[edit] History

For more details on this topic, see History of Aston Villa F.C. (1874-1961) and History of Aston Villa F.C. (1961-present).
To see more information on Villa's 1982 success see European Cup 1981-82
Image:AVilla1899.jpg
The Aston Villa team of the late 19th Century

Aston Villa Football Club were formed in March, 1874, by members of the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel in Aston which is now part of Birmingham. The four founders of Aston Villa were Jack Hughes, Frederick Matthews, Walter Price and William Scattergood.[10] Aston Villa's first match was against the local Aston Brook St Mary's Rugby team. As a condition of the match, the Villa side had to agree to play the first half under rugby rules and the second half under football rules.[11] Villa quickly became one of the best teams in the Midlands, winning their first honour, the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1880, under the captaincy of Scotsman George Ramsay.[12]

The club won its first FA Cup in 1887 with captain Archie Hunter becoming one of the game's first household names. Aston Villa were one of the dozen teams that competed in the inaugural Football League in 1888 with one of the club's directors, William McGregor being the league's founder. Aston Villa emerged as the most successful English club of the Victorian era, with numerous League titles and FA Cup wins.[13] In 1897, the year Villa won The Double, they moved into their present home, the Aston Lower Grounds.[14] The name of Villa Park came about through fan usage and no official declaration was made that listed the name as Villa Park.[14]

Aston Villa won their sixth FA Cup in 1920, soon after though the club began a slow decline that led to Villa, at the time one of the most famous and successful clubs in world football, being relegated in 1936 for the first time to the Second Division. This was largely due to a dismal defensive record though as they conceded 110 goals, 7 of them coming from Arsenal's Ted Drake in an infamous 1–7 defeat at Villa Park.[15] As with all English clubs, the Second World War brought about the loss of seven seasons, and several careers were brought to a premature end by the conflict.[16] Aston Villa went about rebuilding the team under the guidance of former player Alex Massie for the remainder of the 1940s. Aston Villa's first trophy for 37 years came in the 1956–57 season which saw them go on an unexpected FA Cup run that would culminate in them defeating the 'Busby Babes' of Manchester United in the final. The team were relegated though two seasons later, in 1958–59, and a complacency had set in at Villa Park. This was soon vanquished though as Villa returned to the top flight in 1960 as Second Division Champions and the following season Villa won the inaugural League Cup.[17]

Image:Mortimer.jpg
Aston Villa became only the 4th English club to win the European Cup in 1982.

The late 1960s saw a period of turmoil at the club with fan pressure leading to a takeover and managerial changes. This started with Villa being relegated for the third time, under manager Dick Taylor in 1967. The following season the fans called for the board to resign as Villa finished 16th in the Second Division. With mounting debts and Villa lying at the bottom of Division Two, the board sacked Cummings (the manager brought in to replace Taylor), and within weeks the entire board resigned due to overwhelming pressure from fans. After much speculation, control of the club was bought by London financier Pat Matthews who also brought in Doug Ellis as chairman. New ownership though could not prevent Villa being relegated to the Third Division for the first time at the end of the 1969–70 season. In the 1971–72 season they returned to the Second Division as Champions with a record 70 points. In 1973 Ron Saunders was appointed manager and by 1977 he had taken them back into the First Division and Europe.[18]

Villa were back amongst the elite and they continued to have much success under Saunders, winning the league in the 1980–81 season. To the surprise of commentators and fans, Saunders quit halfway through the 1981–82 season, after falling out with the chairman, with Villa in the quarter final of the European Cup. He was replaced by his softly-spoken assistant manager Tony Barton who guided them to 1–0 victory over Bayern Munich in the European Cup final in Rotterdam. Villa remain to this day one of only four English teams to have won the European Cup, along with Liverpool, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest.[19] This marked a pinnacle though and Villa declined for most of the 1980s culminating in relegation in 1987. This was followed by promotion the following year and second place in the football League in 1989.[20]

Villa were one of the founding members of the Premier League in 1992, and finished runners-up to Manchester United in the inaugural season. For the rest of the nineties though Villa went through three different managers and their league positions were inconsistent, although they did win two League Cups.[21] Villa reached the FA Cup final in 2000 (for the first time since 1957) but lost 1–0 to Chelsea in the last game to be played at the old Wembley Stadium.[5] Once again Villa's league position began to fluctuate under several different managers and things came to a head in the summer of 2006 when David O'Leary left under acrimonious circumstances.[22] Martin O'Neill soon arrived though to jubilant scenes. After 23 years as chairman and single biggest shareholder (approximately 38%), Doug Ellis finally decided to sell his stake in Aston Villa to Randy Lerner, the owner of NFL franchise the Cleveland Browns.[23] The arrival of a new owner and manager marked the start of a new period of optimism at Villa Park and sweeping changes occurred throughout the club including a new crest, a new kit sponsor and team changes in the summer of 2007.[24][25]

[edit] Club colours & crest

Image:Aston Villa FC.png
Old crest (2000–2007)
Image:Kit left arm.png Image:Kit body lightbluehalf.png Image:Kit right arm.png
Image:Kit shorts.png
Image:Kit socks.png
Villa's proposed kit of 1886[26]

The club colours are claret shirt with sky blue sleeves, white shorts with claret and blue trim, and sky blue socks with claret and white trim. They were the original wearers of these famous colours and other teams, notably West Ham, Burnley and Scunthorpe adopted the same colours. Villa's colours at the outset were generally comprised of plain shirts (white, grey or a shade of blue), with either white or black shorts. For a few years after that (1877–79) the team wore several different kits from all white, blue and black, red and blue to plain green. By 1880, black jerseys with a red lion embroidered on the chest were introduced by William McGregor. This remained the first choice strip for six years. On Monday, 8 November 1886, an entry in the club's official minute book states:

“ (i) Proposed and seconded that the colours be chocolate and sky blue shirts and that we order two dozen.

(ii) Proposed and seconded that Mr McGregor be requested to supply them at the lowest quotation.

”

The chocolate colour later became claret.[27]

Image:Aston Villa.png
Current crest (2007-)

Nobody is quite sure why claret and blue became the club's adopted colours. The main theory surrounding the colours suggests that with the Scottish influence of characters such as George Ramsay and William McGregor the kit was created from the combination of the maroon of Hearts and the blue of Rangers, with the Scottish lion rampant included in the badge.[27]

A new crest was revealed on 2 May 2007, for the 2007–08 season and beyond. The new crest includes a star to represent the European Cup win in 1982, and has a light blue background behind Villa's 'lion rampant'. The traditional motto "Prepared" remains in the crest, and the name Aston Villa has been shortened to AVFC, FC having been omitted from the previous crest. Randy Lerner had got fans to help with the design of the crest.[9] The three kits that carry the new crest were unveiled on 17 July, 2007, in The Mailbox, Birmingham.[28]

[edit] Stadium

Image:Villaparkfromtopofholte.jpg
Villa Park from the top of the Holte End
Main article: Villa Park
Aston Villa's current home venue is Villa Park, which is a UEFA 4-star rated stadium, having previously played at Aston Park (1874–1876) and Perry Barr (1876–1897). Villa Park is currently the largest football stadium in the midlands, and the eighth largest stadium in England. It has hosted 16 England internationals at senior level, the first in 1899, and the most recent in 2005. Thus it was the first English ground to stage international football in three different centuries.[29] Villa Park is the most used stadium in FA Cup semi-final history, having hosted 55 semi-finals. The Club have planning permission to extend the North Stand; This will involve the 'filling in' of the corners to either side of the North Stand. If and when completed, the capacity of Villa Park will be increased to approximately 51,000.
Image:Bodymoorheath.jpg
Aston Villa's new redeveloped Bodymoor Heath training facilities

The current training ground is located at Bodymoor Heath in north Warwickshire, the site for which was purchased by former Aston Villa Chairman Doug Ellis in the early 1970s from a local farmer. Although Bodymoor Heath was state-of-the-art in the 1970s, by the late 1990s the facilities had started to look dated. In November 2005, Ellis and Aston Villa plc announced a GB£13 million redevelopment of Bodymoor in 2 phases which, it is said, will bring the now antiquated facilities up to the standard of the best in the world. Unfortunately, work on Bodymoor was suspended by Ellis due to financial problems, and was left in an unfinished state until new owner Randy Lerner made it one of his priorities to make the site one of the best in world football. The new training ground was officially unveiled on 6 May, 2007, by current manager Martin O'Neill, current team captain Gareth Barry and 1982 European Cup winning team captain Dennis Mortimer, with the Aston Villa squad moving in for the 2007–08 season.[30]

[edit] Club ownership

The first shares in the club were issued towards the end of the 19th Century as a result of legislation that was intended to codify the growing numbers of professional teams and players in the Association Football leagues. FA teams were required to distribute shares to investors as a way of facilitating trading amongst the teams without implicating the FA itself. This trading continued for much of the 20th Century until Doug Ellis started buying up many of the shares in the 1960s. He was the chairman and substantial shareholder of "Aston Villa F.C." from 1968–1975 and the majority shareholder from 1982–2006. The club was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1996, and the share price fluctuated in the ten years after the flotation.[31] In 2006 it was announced that several consortia and individuals were considering bids for Aston Villa.[32]

On 14 August, 2006, it was confirmed that Randy Lerner had reached an agreement of GB£62.6 million with Aston Villa for a takeover of the club. A statement released on 25 August to the LSE announced that Lerner had secured 59.69% of Villa shares, making him the majority shareholder. He also appointed himself Chairman of the club.[33] In Ellis's last year in charge Villa lost GB£8.2m before tax, compared with a GB£3m profit the previous year, and income had fallen from GB£51.6m to GB£49m.[32] Randy Lerner took full control on 18 September as he had 89.69% of the share. On 19 September, 2006, Aston Villa plc executive Chairman Doug Ellis and his board resigned to be replaced with a new board headed by Lerner.[34]

[edit] Board Officials

Name Nationality Role
Randy LernerImage:Flag of the United States.svg United StatesChairman
Richard FitzGeraldImage:Flag of England.svg EnglandChief Executive
Charles KrulakImage:Flag of the United States.svg United StatesNon-Executive Director
Bob KainImage:Flag of the United States.svg United StatesNon-Executive Director
Michael MartinImage:Flag of the United States.svg United StatesNon-Executive Director

[edit] Supporters

See also: Birmingham derby

The new chief executive Richard FitzGerald has stated that the ethnicity of the supporters is currently 98% white. The new regime is aiming to improve the support from amongst ethnic minorities in the next few years. A number of organisations have been set up to support the local community including Aston Pride.[35] A Villa in the community programme has also been set up to encourage support amongst young people in the region.[36] The new owners have also initiated several surveys aimed at gaining the opinions of Villa fans and to involve them in the decision making process. Meetings also occur every three months where supporters are invited by ballot and are invited to ask questions to the Board.[37]

Like many English football clubs Aston Villa has had several hooligan firms associated with it: Villa Youth, Steamers, Villa Hardcore and the C-Crew, the latter being very active during the 1970s and 1980s. As can be seen across the whole of English football, the hooligan groups have now been marginalised.[38] In 2004 several Villa firms were involved in a fight with QPR fans outside Villa Park in which a steward died.[39] The main groupings of supporters can now be found in a number of domestic supporters' clubs. This includes the Official Aston Villa Supporters Club which also has many smaller regional and international sections.[40] There were several independent supporters clubs during the reign of Doug Ellis but most of these disbanded after his retirement.[41] The club's supporters also publish fanzines such as Heroes and Villains and Holtenders in the sky. The latter fanzine is named after a popular match day chant that is predominantly sung in the Holte End. The use of the abbreviation Itsotp (in the shirt, on the pitch) is believed to have originated on Aston Villa messageboards in relation to the transfer speculation that has become the norm during transfer windows.[42]

Aston Villa's arch-rivals are Birmingham City, with games between the two clubs known as the 'Second City Derby'.[43] Today, Villa also enjoy less heated local rivalries with West Bromwich Albion, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Coventry City. (These five clubs plus Walsall are collectively referred to in the West Midlands as the 'Big Six'.) Historically though, West Bromwich Albion have been one of Villa's greatest rivals, a view highlighted in a fan survey, conducted in 2003.[44] The two teams contested three FA Cup finals in the late 19th Century. Through the relegation of West Brom and Birmingham to the The Championship in the 2005–06 season in the 2006–07 Premiership season Villa were the only Midlands club in that League. The nearest opposing team Villa faced during that season was Sheffield United, who played 62 miles away in South Yorkshire.[45] For the 2007–08 season Villa will once again have a local derby after Birmingham were promoted on 29 April 2007.[46] There will also be an East Midlands versus West Midlands fixture against Derby County.[47]

[edit] In popular culture

Many television programmes have included references to Aston Villa over the past few decades. In the sitcom Porridge, the character Lennie Godber is a Villa supporter.[48] In the first episode of Yes Minister Jim Hacker MP says he needs to get off early to watch Aston Villa play. However, in a later episode, he launches a campaign to save his local team, the fictional "Aston Wanderers". During episodes of the Fast Show, Villa supporter Mark Williams is regularly pictured behaving antisocially while wearing a shirt of rival club, Birmingham City, so as to further damage their reputation. When filming began on Dad's Army, Villa fan, Ian Lavender was allowed to choose Frank Pike's scarf from an array in the BBC wardrobe, he chose a claret and blue one - Aston Villa's colours.[49]

Aston Villa has also featured on several occasions in prose. Joseph Gallivan's book "Oi, Ref" is about a referee who is a Villa fan who conspires to turn an FA Cup Semi-Final in his team's favour.[50] Stanley Woolley, a character in Derek Robinson's Booker shortlisted novel Goshawk Squadron is an Aston Villa fan and names a pre-war starting eleven Villa side. Together with The Oval, Villa Park is referenced by the poet Philip Larkin in his poem about the First World War, MCMXIV.[51] A French band has named itself Aston Villa after the football club.

[edit] Statistics

Main article: Aston Villa F.C. statistics

To date Aston Villa have spent 98 seasons in the top-flight, the only club to have spent longer in the top-flight is Everton with 105 seasons.[52] As a result, Aston Villa versus Everton is the most played fixture in English top-flight football. Aston Villa is one of an elite group of seven clubs that has played in every Premiership season, they are: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Everton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur. Aston Villa is sixth in the All-time FA Premier League table. Aston Villa is the fourth most successful club in English football history, having won 21 major honours.[7]

Aston Villa currently hold the record number of league goals scored by any team in the English top-flight; 128 goals were scored in the 1930–31 season.[53] Villa legend Archie Hunter became the first player to score in every round of the FA Cup in Villa's victorious 1887 campaign. Villa's longest unbeaten home run in the FA Cup spanned 13 years and 19 games, from 1888 to 1901.[54]

Aston Villa are one of four English teams that have won the European Champions Cup. The other three are Liverpool, Manchester United and Nottingham Forest. They did so on May 26 1982 in Rotterdam, beating Bayern Munich 1–0 thanks to Peter Withe's goal. Villa became the first club ever to beat Bayern Munich in a final.[55]

[edit] Club honours

Image:AstonVilla1896-97.jpg
The Aston Villa team of 1896–97 with the First Division Championship and the FA Cup.
Image:1895FACUP.JPG
The Aston Villa team of 1894–95 with the FA Cup.
Main article: Aston Villa F.C. statistics#Honours

Aston Villa have won European and domestic league honours. The club's last major honour was in 1996 when they won the League Cup. The youth team however won the FA Youth Cup in 2002.[56]

[edit] European

[edit] Domestic

League titles

Cups

[edit] Players

[edit] Current squad

As of 01 January 2007.[60][61]
No. Position Player
1 Image:Flag of Denmark.svg GK Thomas Sørensen
3 Image:Flag of the Netherlands.svg DF Wilfred Bouma
4 Image:Flag of Sweden.svg DF Olof Mellberg (vice-captain)
5 Image:Flag of Denmark.svg DF Martin Laursen
6 Image:Flag of England.svg MF Gareth Barry (captain)
7 Image:Flag of England.svg MF Ashley Young
8 Image:Flag of England.svg FW Luke Moore
9 Image:Flag of England.svg FW Marlon Harewood
10 Image:Flag of Norway.svg FW John Carew
11 Image:Flag of England.svg FW Gabriel Agbonlahor
13 Image:Flag of England.svg GK Stuart Taylor
15 Image:Flag of England.svg DF Curtis Davies (on loan from West Bromwich Albion)
No. Position Player
16 Image:Flag of England.svg DF Zat Knight
19 Image:Flag of Bulgaria.svg MF Stiliyan Petrov
20 Image:Flag of England.svg MF Nigel Reo-Coker
21 Image:Flag of England.svg DF Gary Cahill
22 Image:Flag of England.svg GK Scott Carson (on loan from Liverpool F.C.)
23 Image:Flag of the Czech Republic.svg MF Patrik Berger
26 Image:Flag of England.svg MF Craig Gardner
27 Image:Flag of England.svg MF Isaiah Osbourne
28 Image:Flag of Scotland.svg FW Shaun Maloney
29 Image:Flag of Ireland.svg DF Stephen O'Halloran
Image:Flag of Togo.svg MF Moustapha Salifou


[edit] Notable players

Main article: List of Aston Villa F.C. players

There have been many players that can be called notable throughout Aston Villa's history. These can be classified and recorded in several forms. The Hall of Fames and PFA players of the year are noted below. For all players with over 100 appearances for Aston Villa, see List of Aston Villa F.C. players and for those players that only played for Aston Villa see One-club man.

Several Aston Villa players have won the PFA Players' Player of the Year award. At the end of every English football season, the members of the Professional Footballers Association (PFA) vote on which of its members has played the best football in the previous year. In 1977 Andy Gray won the award. In 1990 it was awarded to David Platt, whilst Paul McGrath won it in 1993. Two Villa players have won the PFA Young Player of the Year which is awarded to players under the age of 23. In 1977 Andy Gray won the award and in 1981 Gary Shaw received it. Only one Villa player has been inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame, housed in the The National Football Museum in Preston, England. This was Danny Blanchflower who was inducted in 2003. Aston Villa though, have provided more England internationals than any other club, 66 to date.[62]

Aston Villa Hall of Fame

This was voted for by fans and to this date there has been one induction of 12 players in 2006.[63]

Football League 100 Legends

The Football League 100 Legends is a list of "100 legendary football players" produced by The Football League in 1998, to celebrate the 100th season of League football.

[edit] Management

[edit] Current management and coaching staff

As of 18 September 2007.[65]
Image:O'Neill, Martin.jpg
Aston Villa's manager Martin O'Neill, appointed in 2006.
Name Nationality Role
Martin O'NeillImage:Ulster banner.svg Northern IrelandManager
John RobertsonImage:Flag of Scotland.svg ScotlandAssistant Manager
Steve WalfordImage:Flag of England.svg EnglandFirst Team Coach
Kevin MacDonaldImage:Flag of Scotland.svg ScotlandReserve Team Coach
Seamus McDonaghImage:Flag of Ireland.svg IrelandGoalkeeping Coach
Gordon CowansImage:Flag of England.svg EnglandHead Youth Team Coach
Tony McAndrewImage:Flag of Scotland.svg ScotlandYouth Team Coach
Ian Storey-MooreImage:Flag of England.svg EnglandChief Scout
Alan SmithImage:Flag of England.svg EnglandPhysiotherapist
Stuart WalkerImage:Flag of England.svg EnglandPhysiotherapist

[edit] Notable managers

For more details on this topic, see List of Aston Villa managers.

The following managers have all won at least one trophy when in charge of Aston Villa:

Name Nationality Period Played Win Draw Lose Win%[66] Honours
From To
George Ramsay Image:Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland August 1884 May 1926 - - - - - 6 FA Cups, 6 Division One championships
Jimmy Hogan Image:Flag of England.svg England November 1936 September 1939 124 57 41 26 45.97 Division Two Champions
Eric Houghton Image:Flag of England.svg England September 1953 November 1958 250 88 97 65 35.2 FA Cup winner
Joe Mercer Image:Flag of England.svg England December 1958 July 1964 282 120 99 63 42.55 Division Two Champions, League Cup winner
Ron Saunders Image:Flag of England.svg England June 1974 February 1982 353 157 98 98 44.76 2 League Cups, Division One champions. Also in 2006 was inducted into the Aston Villa Hall of Fame.[67]
Tony Barton Image:Flag of England.svg England February 1982 June 1984 130 58 48 24 44.62 European Cup, European Super Cup
Jozef Venglos Image:Flag of Czechoslovakia.svg Czechoslovakia July 1990 May 1991 49 16 18 15 32.65 First manager not from Britain or Ireland to take charge of a top-flight club in England.[68]
Ron Atkinson Image:Flag of England.svg England July 1991 November 1994 178 77 56 45 43.25 League Cup winner
Brian Little Image:Flag of England.svg England November 1994 February 1998 164 68 51 45 41.46 League Cup winner. Also in 2006 was inducted into the Aston Villa Hall of Fame.[67]
John Gregory Image:Flag of England.svg England February 1998 January 2002 190 82 56 52 43.15 Intertoto Cup winner

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ "Aston Villa Football Club information", BBC. Retrieved on 2007-06-26. 
  2. ^ "Villa Park information", Internet Football Ground Guide. Retrieved on 2007-06-26. 
  3. ^ Information on Aston Villa. About.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-10.
  4. ^ "Villa History", AVFC.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-06-26. 
  5. ^ a b FA Cup history. Football Association (FA). Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
  6. ^ "European Cup Win", AVFC.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-06-26. 
  7. ^ a b All-time English League Table. Everton Supporters Website. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  8. ^ "Aston Villa V Birmingham City", Football Derbies. Retrieved on 2007-06-26. 
  9. ^ a b New Crest. AVFC (2007-05-02). Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  10. ^ Villa History 1874–1887. AVFC.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  11. ^ Aston Villa's history. Villa Fanzine. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  12. ^ George Ramsay entry in Villa Hall of Fame. AVFC. Retrieved on 2007-07-10.
  13. ^ Villa History 1888–1899. AVFC.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  14. ^ a b Villa Park History. Villa fans Almanac. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
  15. ^ "Arsenal Facts", Arsenal.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-02. 
  16. ^ Villa History 1900–1939. AVFC. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  17. ^ Villa History 1945–1967. AVFC.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  18. ^ Villa History 1967–1986. AVFC.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  19. ^ 1981–82 season European campaigns. UEFA. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
  20. ^ Villa History 1986–2006. AVFC.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  21. ^ League tables relating to Premiership at Soccerbase
  22. ^ "David O leary parts ways with Villa", BBC. Retrieved on 2007-07-02. 
  23. ^ "Lerner set to complete Villa deal", BBC Sport, 27-9-2006. Retrieved on 2007-02-03. 
  24. ^ "Villa secure new kit deal with Nike", ESPNsoccernet, 2007-02-07. Retrieved on 2007-02-27. 
  25. ^ New Crest. AVFC (2007-05-02). Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  26. ^ Villa Kit History. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  27. ^ a b Villa Kit History. Historical Kits.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  28. ^ Kit launch 2007. AVFC. Retrieved on 2007-07-17.
  29. ^ England international matches at Villa Park. FA. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  30. ^ "O'Neill "New Facilities are second to none"", AVFC. Retrieved on 2007-06-26. 
  31. ^ Financial history of Aston Villa. Fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-10.
  32. ^ a b End of Ellis era. BBC (2006-09-19). Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  33. ^ Editorial on Doug Ellis's Reign. David Conn, The Guardian (2006-08-23). Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  34. ^ Lerner takes over as Villa Chairman. yahoo (2006-09-19). Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  35. ^ Q + A with Chief Executive. Villa Trust (2007-04-10). Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  36. ^ Villa in the community. Aston Villa F.C. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  37. ^ Aston Villa Supporters Survey Website. Aston Villa F.C.. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  38. ^ Brown, Danny; Milo Brittle (2006). Villains: The Inside Story of Aston Villa's Hooligan Gangs. Milo Books. ISBN 978-1903854594. 
  39. ^ Wells, Tom. "Steward dies after clash between rival firms", icBirmingham, 2004. Retrieved on 2007-08-06. 
  40. ^ Official Supporter Associations. Aston Villa. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  41. ^ Conn, David (2006-08-23). Doug Ellis rolls away from his nice earner. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
  42. ^ Villa messageboard debating itsotp. Villatalk.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-02.
  43. ^ The Second City Derby. Footballderbies.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
  44. ^ Club rivalries uncovered (pdf). footballfancensus. Retrieved on 2007-08-08.
  45. ^ Is West Midlands Football in decline?. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
  46. ^ Birmingham and Sunderland promoted. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
  47. ^ Rams celebrate promotion. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-06-30.
  48. ^ Porridge episode 1: The last time he (Lennie Godber) prayed was for his parents to stay together, for him not to go to jail, and for Villa to win the FA Cup. The next day, his parents split, he was sent down, and Villa got knocked out."
  49. ^ Ian Lavender biography. tv.com. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
  50. ^ OiRef synopsis and book reviews. Amazon. Retrieved on 2007-07-04.
  51. ^ As if they were stretched outside The Oval or Villa Park, Philip Larkin, MCMXIV,
  52. ^ All time results between Aston Villa and Everton. Soccerbase. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  53. ^ Villa's record breaking goal tally of 128 top-flight goals in 1930/31. The Guardian. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  54. ^ Aston Villa - A Complete Record 1874–1988, David Goodyear and Tony Matthews (Breedon Books 1988) (p.168)
  55. ^ For more information and references see European Cup 1981-82
  56. ^ a b c AVFC club Honours. AVFC. Retrieved on 2007-07-08.
  57. ^ Up until 1992, the top division of English football was the Football League First Division; since then, it has been the Premier League.
  58. ^ Now known as the English Championship
  59. ^ Now know as English League one
  60. ^ First Team Squad. Aston Villa FC. Retrieved on 2007-12-23.
  61. ^ "Aston Villa complete Salifou move", BBC Sport, 2007-08-31. Retrieved on 2007-09-03. 
  62. ^ A list of every Villa player to play for England. England Football online. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  63. ^ Hall of Fame. Aston Villa F.C.. Retrieved on 2007-06-26.
  64. ^ Saunders was never a player for Aston Villa; he was the manager from 1974 to 1982.
  65. ^ WHO' WHO. Aston Villa FC. Retrieved on 2007-06-28.
  66. ^ Win% is rounded to two decimal places
  67. ^ a b The Aston Villa Hall of Fame was voted for by fans and to this date there has been one induction of 12 players in 2006.
  68. ^ "Venglos first foreign coach", BBC. Retrieved on 2007-06-27. 

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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