Aston Villa

Aston Villa F.C. was founded in 1874 by 15 members [Report of The Sports Argus on a talk by co-founder Jack Hughes, 1899] of the Wesleyan Chapel at Villa Cross (known in 1867 under the name Aston Villa Wesleyan Chapel) in Lozells. Four of the founding members included Jack Hughes, Frederick Matthews, Walter Price and William Scattergood. The club was awarded the initial FA Cup in 1887. Aston Villa were one of the dozen teams who competed in the first Football League in 1888 with the chairman of the club who was then out William McGregor being the league's creator. Aston Villa emerged as the most successful English club during the Victorian period. At the time in Aston Villa's "Golden Age" at the beginning of the First World War, the club had been crowned the League Championship six times and the FA Cup five times.

Aston Villa won their sixth FA Cup in 1920. Through the war years, Villa were on a gradual decline, which would eventually lead to them being sent into the Second Division in 1936 for the first time in their history. They returned to the top tier of English football following the time in the Second World War. Like many clubs during the war, there was a lot of changes for Villa Park and remainder of the 1940s was spent rebuilding the team. In the year 1957 Villa was a Cup winning team once more after Villa's 7th FA Cup win. Although Villa took home the inaugural League Cup in 1960, the club was to go into a period of failure. The 1960s witnessed many changes in Villa Park. At the close of the 60s Villa was slipping into the Second Division and fan pressure caused an resignation from members of the Board and the appointment to replace Doug Ellis as Villa Chairman.

Aston Villa Football Club were founded in the month of March 1874 from members of the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel in Handsworth which is now part of Birmingham. The four founding members of Aston Villa were Jack Hughes, Frederick Matthews, Walter Price and William Scattergood, who were members of the chapel's cricket team searching for ways to keep active during the winter months. Because of the absence of football clubs in the area,, Aston Villa's opening game was played against their local Aston Brook St Mary's Rugby team. In order to play the game the Villa team had accept for the opening half in accordance with Rugby rules, and then the second half according to Association rules. The Villa were able to win their first match with a 1-0 score.

The fortunes of the young club changed when an untried Scotsman known as George Ramsay stumbled across the Villa players' game at Aston Park in 1876. Ramsay was to create the numbers, and the players were awed by his abilities They had never witnessed this kind of close-ball control before. After the match was over and the Villa players came over and offered him a place at the club. Very shortly after, he was made captain. Ramsay later said that the club's method of play as a 'dab at the player and a big kick to the ball'. The word spread about how great an athlete Ramsay was, and fans started turning on the man dubbed "Scotty". Ramsay was also in charge of training, which saw a dramatic improvement which was evident in the results. He introduced what was called"the "passing sport". It was the most popular game style in Scotland where in England the majority of teams played what was called"the "dribbling sport".

Villa established themselves as one of top team in the Midlands and they were the first to win their first award that was that of the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1880. Villa was able to lift the trophy nine times over the following 12 seasons.

In the wake of the professionisation of football in 1885 the club was able to decide that it required an employee who was paid full-time. The following advertisement was published within the Birmingham Daily Gazette newspaper in June 1886.

Want: Manager for Aston Villa Football Club, who must spend all of his time under the supervision by the committee. Salary: £100 per year. Application with reference to the position are due no after June 23rd, but by the chairman of Committee, Aston Villa Club House 6, Witton Road Aston

Villa had received applications from 150 people for the position, but due to his close ties with the club, George Ramsay was the overwhelming choice of the club's membership. On June 26, the year 1886 Aston Villa appointed what is described as the premier football coach. 

The subsequent season Aston Villa rose to national notoriety and won the first FA Cup in 1887 with captain Archie Hunter becoming one of the most famous players, and an early player who scored in each stage in the FA Cup. Aston Villa were one of the 12 teams who competed in the first Football League in 1888. One director of the club, William McGregor as the league's creator.

Despite Villa being the first to establish the league, in 1893 they had not yet won the championship. Villa Committee member Frederick Rinder was the initiator of the club's meeting on Barwick Street in February 1893 which saw the removal of the committee that was running that club in the moment. The committee was dissolved by all 14 members in 1893 and replaced by a five-member committee which was headed by Rinder after he delivered an ebullient speech praising the board's leniency towards ill discipline and drinking by players. On the field, coach George Ramsay was creating a team famous for its quick fast passing style of play that led to Villa achieve the league's first title 1893-94 The season following that , the club was awarded the first FA Cup in 1894-95. It was followed by back-to back League title wins during 1895 and 1896 and 1896-97..

Aston Villa emerged as the most successful English club in the Victorian period, winning more than 5 League titles as well as the three FA Cups by the end of Queen Victoria's reign in 1901.  Villa's captain in the time of Birmingham was John Devey. In 1897, when Villa took home The Double, they moved to their current home in Aston Lower Grounds. Aston Lower Grounds. Aston Villa supporters invented the term "Villa Park" however no official announcement declared the ground to be Villa Park.

The success continued throughout the Edwardian period and saw Villa winning the FA Cup for the fourth time in 1904-1905 and winning the club's sixth league title during the 1909-2010 season. Another FA Cup triumph was achieved in the final days of the First World War in 1913. The most prominent players of the time were Howard Spencer, Joe Bache and Harry Hampton.

In the month of January, 1920 Billy Walker scored twice in the day of his Villa debut in the 2 - 1 FA Cup first-round win over Queens Park Rangers; the club was victorious in the FA Cup for the sixth time in that season. Walker was able to become Villa's top player of during the 20th century, scoring an incredible 244 goals in 531 games and captaining Villa as well as England. George Ramsay retired in 1926 at the age of 70, and his successor Billy Smith was unable to keep up the success of Ramsay, and in the end, several other football clubs were catching up to Aston Villa, although the club was able to finish runners-up in League twice during Smith's direction with 128 goals during the 1930-31 season which remains the highest scoring record in the top flight to this current. The most impressive 49 league goals of that year were scored by centre forward Tom "Pongo" Waring along with 30 goals coming from the winger Eric Houghton.

Villa was a struggle during the 1935-36 season mostly due to their poor defense record. They scored 110 goals in 42 matches, seven of which came from arsenal's Ted Drake in an infamous 1-7 loss in Villa Park. The club signed seven new players and spent an astronomical sum at the time of P35,500 trying to keep their top-flight status without fail however, they were unable to purchase their way to safety. Aston Villa, at the time, one of the most popular and significant clubs in the world of football, was knocked out to the bottom of the table in the year 1936. It was the very first time it had the club's history.

After the club was relegated into the Second Division, the Villa board brought back club's former chairman Frederick Rinder, who was active in his critique of the board's "almost complete disregard for the reserve team and instead relied on paying huge costs for players already made". Rinder was of the opinion that this shift in the policy of scouting and the development of young players from home, caused a decrease in the club's style and culture of play. This along with an acceptance of the lack of discipline among the players contributed to Villa's demotion. The first step was for Rinder to go to Austria to recruit the eminent trainer Jimmy Hogan as manager. In just two years, Hogan had guided Villa back to the top of the heap with the Second Division champions.

Like many English teams, Villa lost seven seasons due to their involvement in Second World War, and the war brought a number of careers to an abrupt ending. It was rebuilt by the direction by former star player Alex Massie for the remainder of the 1940s.

The first time Aston Villa won a trophy in 37 years was in the 1956-57 seasons when an ex- Villa teammate, Eric Houghton led the club to a world record 7th FA Cup Final win, beating"Busby Babes" from Manchester United 2-1 with Northern Irish winger Peter McParland scoring both goals. The team was struggling in the league and were knocked out two years afterward, due in the main to their inability to adjust. Under the leadership under the manager Joe Mercer Villa returned to the top of the league in 1960 with the title of Second Division Champions with a young, talented side that was known as "Mercer's Minors'". The next season, Aston Villa became the first team to be awarded the Football League Cup with England center-forward Gerry Hitchens scoring an impressive 42 goals during 1960-61 .

Mercer's retirement at the end of 1964 from his club due to a stroke caused by stress was a sign of intense turmoil and depression. One of the most profitable clubs in England was unable to keep up with the rapid changes in the modern game. Three of the five directors were at least 70 years old. and the club was neglecting its scouting system as well as its coaching structure and its finances were in dire straits. The club ended up selling its star player Tony Hateley Chelsea for a sum of PS100,000 in October 1966. Without his goals. Villa were dropped three times in the club's history under the management of Dick Taylor in 1967.

The following season, supporters demanded that the board to step down because Villa was 17th overall in the second Division. With the debts growing and Villa in the lowest of Division Two The board dismissed Tommy Cummings (the manager brought in to replace Taylor) Then, within a short time, the entire board resigned due to massive pressure from supporters. After much debate, the Villa was taken over from London financial guru Pat Matthews, who brought in Doug Ellis as chairman. Doug Ellis's first manager was Tommy Docherty, who after his initial success was fired after 13 months as the manager with Villa at the bottom of the Second Division. The replacement was the an ex-club captain Vic Crowe, who could not stop Villa being dropped into the Third Division for the first time in the club's history at the close of the 1969-70 season.

The next season Villa stunned everyone when they reached in the 2001 League Cup Final, being defeated by two late Tottenham Hotspur goals. The 1971-72 season saw them went back to Second Division as champions with an average attendance of 40,000. They also had a record of 70 points.

After finishing 14th at the top of the Second Division, Crowe was replaced in August 1974 by Ron Saunders. The fitness enthusiast who's style of no-nonsense management proved to be effective, with Aston Villa being awarded the League Cup the following season and, at the conclusion of the season 1974-75, he'd brought Aston Villa back into the First Division and into Europe.

In the background are two men who are holding a huge cup. They are wearing clear scarves, a medal and claret in their necks. In the background are ten older players dressed in suits sporting scarves and medals hung on their necks.

Villa were once again among the elite, as Saunders continued to build an elite team. They won another League Cup in 1976-77, together with the formidable strike duo consisting of Brian Little and Andy Gray who became one of the few players to be awarded both the PFA Young Player of the Year award and PFA Player's Player of the Year during the same season.

Villa won their seventh top-flight league title during 1980-81 the season, with players like Gordon Cowans, Tony Morley and captain Dennis Mortimer leading the club to its first title in the top flight in the span of 71 years. Much to the delight of analysts and the fans, Ron Saunders quit halfway during the 1981-82 campaign, following a disagreement with the chairman Villa being in the quarterfinals in the European Cup. Saunders became replaced by the softer-spoken Assistant Manager Tony Barton who guided the club to a 1-0 win against Bayern Munich in the European Cup final in Rotterdam due to the goal of Peter Withe goal. The next season, Villa were named European Super Cup winners, defeating Barcelona 3-1 an aggregate. It was a defining moment, however and Villa's fortunes plummeted throughout the 1980s due to the financial mismanagement of Saunders The team was shattered and relegated in 1987, only five years after becoming European champions. But, Villa bounced back quickly and was promoted in the following season with Graham Taylor and a runners-up spot in the top flight in the 1989-90 campaign.

Villa were among the first participants in the Premier League in 1992, becoming one of the three clubs that were first members both of the Football League in 1888 and the Premier League, along with Blackburn Rovers and Everton. Villa was runners-up in the Premier League to Manchester United in the inaugural season under the charismatic coach Ron Atkinson. The team won the League Cup in 1994, defeating Manchester United 3-1 in the final however the team was struggling in the league. Atkinson got replaced the former Villa forward Brian Little in November 1994. Little created a youthful team that included players such as Gareth Southgate, Ian Taylor and Dwight Yorke, leading the team to its sixth League Cup triumph in 1996 winning Leeds United 3-0 at Wembley.

Villa was 4th in league that year and was fifth after, but after the decline in form, Doug Ellis sacked Brian Little and was replaced by the other former Villa teammate John Gregory in February 1998. Gregory was able to achieve four top-eight finishing leagues and helped the club reach the FA Cup final in 2000 but was unable to put together the team that could compete to be a contender for Champions League places. The frustration he felt over the absence of investing in the team led him to publically accusing the Chairman Doug Ellis of being "stuck in a time lag" Their relationship remained uneasy until Gregory quit in January 2002. Ellis named Graham Taylor for a second period in February 2002, however, a 16th-place performance in the league lead to his replacement by David O'Leary in June 2003. After a sixth-place performance in his first campaign, Villa slid backwards to the 16th and 10th spots under O'Leary. This culminated with his departure at the end of summer.

After serving for 23 years as chairman, and the largest shareholder (approximately 38 percent), Doug Ellis finally took the decision to dispose of his share within Aston Villa due to ill-health. After much speculation , it was announced that the club would be purchased from American investor Randy Lerner, owner of NFL franchise the Cleveland Browns. The brand new owners in Lerner and the manager Martin O'Neill marked the start of a period with optimism for Villa Park and sweeping changes took place throughout the club.

These included the new badge, the modern facilities located at the Bodymoor Heath Training Ground and substantial investment in the squad during 2007. First Cup final in the Lerner era took place in the year 2010 when Villa were defeated by a score of 2-1 during the League Cup Final. Five days prior to the start of the 2010-11 campaign, O'Neill quit as manager, despite three consecutive sixth-place results, following his frustration over the lack of investment in the team after the departure of top player Gareth Barry, James Milner and Ashley Young. The successor Gerard Houllier stepped down due to illness in September of 2011. He was substituted with Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish, despite the protests by fans against his selection. McLeish's contract was canceled at the close this season when Villa was ranked 16th and was then substituted with Paul Lambert.

When the team was in January 2012, they revealed the deficit of PS53.9 million. Lerner offered the club for sale just three months later. With Lerner still in charge, but unable to invest following the market crash of 2008, the team was not competitive for a number of seasons which culminated in the 2014-15 campaign, in which Lambert was dismissed in February 2015 following the team scored only 12 goals in its first 25 league games, which was the lowest level in Premier League history. Tim Sherwood succeeded him, and helped the club stay away from relegation and also led team to win the FA Cup Final.

However, the club had to sell two of its top stars Christian Benteke and captain Fabian Delph during the transfer window in the summer and could not replace them adequately. Villa had a difficult time in the 2015-16 campaign, and Sherwood was fired after six consecutive losses. Sherwood was replaced with Remi Garde the French manager who had none Premier League experience. The manager left after just five months of Villa being at the lowest of the table. his tenure included a pathetic record of 19 games without a win. Villa was dropped at the close of the season. This ended their 29-year run in the top division.

In June of 2016, Chinese businessman Tony Xia purchased the club for £76 million. Former Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo was appointed as the new manager of the club however, he was dismissed after only 12 games after an inexperienced beginning in the new season. The manager was later replaced the former Birmingham director Steve Bruce. Bruce managed the team finishing fourth during the season of 17/18 however, they lost the final of 2018's EFL Championship play-off Final to Fulham.

In the aftermath of not being promoted into the Premier League in the 2017-18 season the club owner Tony Xia sought additional outside funding for the club. On the 20th of July, 2018, it was revealed by the NSWE group which is an Egyptian company owned by Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris, and The American billionaire Wes Edens were to invest in the club's football team. They purchased a 55 percent part of the team, and Sawiris was appointed the position as chairman of the club.

In October, Bruce was sacked after having only won once during the span of nine games. Bruce got replaced Brentford manager and former Villa supporter Dean Smith, with former captain John Terry and Richard O'Kelly as his assistants. Under Smith the results and performances were improved as the team finished 5th and making the playoffs once more, helped by a club record 10 game winning streak. They made it to their 2019 EFL Championship play-off Final and beat Derby County 2-1 to gain an entry back into the Premier League after a three-year absence.

The day before Villa's Premier League return, Recon Group's shareholding in the club was sold to NSWE and NSWE, which meant Xia was no longer a involvement in the club. In Villa's first season to the Premier League the team battled to be relegated for the majority of the time, but managed to stay out of it with an impressive 17th place finish, and stayed in the top spot until the last day of. The second season that Villa was back to the Premier League, Smith oversaw the team's 11th place finish, but was not able to convince the captain and star player Jack Grealish to remain at the club, when Manchester City's record-breaking £100 million offer activated the release provision. After a disappointing start to the 2021-22 campaign that saw seven losses in the club's first eleven games Dean Smith was dismissed.

Aston Villa appointed former England captain Steven Gerrard as their head coach on November 11, 2021.

The club colors include a claret t-shirt with sky blue sleeves white shorts, with blue and claret trim as well as sky blue socks that have white and claret trim. They were the first wearers of blue and claret. The colors used by Villa from the start typically consisted of simple tops (white or grey or a blue shade) and black or white shorts. In the years following the season (1877-79) Villa's team was wearing various kits ranging from black, white with blue and red, as well as plain green. In 1880, black jerseys featuring the Scottish Lion Rampant embroidered on the chest were introduced by Villa's Scottish captains William McGregor and George Ramsay. The first choice strip for the next six years. On Monday, November 8, 1886, a record into the official minutes book says:

(i) The proposal was seconded that the colors be sky blue and chocolate shirts , and that we purchase two dozen. (ii) Seconded and proposed that Mr. McGregor be asked to supply them at the lowest cost.

The chocolate color was later transformed into claret. It is not clear what the significance of blue and claret is. the colours of the club. Other football clubs also have adopted their unique colours, such as West Ham United, Burnley, Scunthorpe United and Turkish club Trabzonspor. Crystal Palace also played in the colors of Villa until the 1970s.

The new badge was announced in May 2007 to mark next season 2007-08 and even beyond. The badge has an emblem of that 1982 European Cup win in 1982 and features an ethereal blue background that is framed by Villa's "lion rampant". The old motto "Prepared" is still on the badge. The Aston Villa name Aston Villa has been shortened to AVFC, FC having been removed from the badge previously. The lion now has a unified look instead of the fragmented lions in the past. Randy Lerner petitioned fans to contribute to designing the badge.

On April 6, 2016 the club made it clear that it was going to use an entirely new badge for the 2016-17 season following a consultation with fans for suggestions. The lion on the new badge features claws added to it, as well as"Prepared" was removed "Prepared" has been removed in order to make the badge larger. of the lion as well as the club initials on the badge.

The Aston Villa kit was manufactured by local producers until 1974 in which Umbro was the first kit maker to feature its logo printed on the Villa shirt. Since then, the kit has been manufactured by a number of different suppliers including Le Coq Sportif, Reebok, title="Nike, Inc.">Nike and Kappa. The first shirt of Aston Villa's sponsors were Davenports Breweries in the 1982-83 season. Since then, the shirts have featured the logos of a variety of national and local companies such as AST Computers and Rover.

Aston Villa forwent commercial kit sponsorship during the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons, instead advertising for the charitable Acorns Children's Hospice which was the first partnership that was of this type within Premier League history. The partnership continued through 2010 when a commercial partner replaced Acorns and The hospice turning into the club's official Charitable Partner. In 2014-2015 the Acorns name was reinstated on Aston Villa's away and home shirts, but only on children's shirts , confirming Aston Villa's support for the charity for children. A shirt sleeve sponsorship was implemented in the very first instance during the 2019-20 season. The shirt's logo was BR88 being featured. The manufacturer of the kit in 2020-21 will be Kappa with the car sales website Cazoo to be the sponsor on the shirt, and the gambling firm LT as the shirt sponsor

Aston Villa's home stadium has been named Villa Park; the team was previously based in Aston Park (1874-1876) and Wellington Road (1876-1897). Villa Park is the largest football stadium in the English Midlands, and the eighth-largest football stadium in England. It has been the venue for the 16 England internationals at the senior level, with the first being in 1899 as well as the latest one in 2005. It was also the first English ground to play international football over three centuries. Villa Park is the most frequented venue during FA Cup semi-final history, hosting 55 semi-finals. In 2022 the club announced plans to build The North Stand and part of the Trinity Road stand, which will have a capacity of more than 50,000.

The present training facility is situated in Bodymoor Heath near Kingsbury in north Warwickshire the location for that was purchased by the chairman of the previous club Doug Ellis in the early 1970s from an agriculturalist in the area. While Bodymoor Heath was state-of-the-art in the 1970s, by late 1990s , the facility become outdated. Then, in November of 2005 Ellis and Aston Villa plc announced the state-of-the-art PS13 million renovation of Bodymoor in two stages. The new training field was officially opened on May 6, 2007 by the then director Martin O'Neill, then team captain Gareth Barry and 1982 European Cup winning Captain Dennis Mortimer, with the Aston Villa squad moving in for the 2007-08 season.

On August 6, 2014 on the 6th of August 2014, Villa Park would appear in the FIFA video game of FIFA 15 and the rest of the Premier League stadiums also fully licensed starting from the game.

The first shares of the club were released at the close during the 18th century, as an outcome of legislation designed to establish the ever-growing number of players, professional and teams participating in the Association Football leagues. FA clubs were mandated to allocate shares to investors as a means to facilitate trade between teams without involving the FA in the process. The trading continued throughout the course of the 20th century before Ellis began buying up large amounts parts of these shares during the late 1960s. He was chairman and the largest shareowner in "Aston Villa F.C." from 1968 to 1975 , and was the major shareholder between 1982 until in 2006. The club was floated in the London Stock Exchange (LSE) in 1996. The shares traded fluctuated over the 10 years following the launch. In 2006, it was reported that various consortia as well as individuals were considering bids to buy Aston Villa.

On August 14, the year 2006 was revealed the fact that Randy Lerner, then owner of the National Football League's Cleveland Browns, had reached an agreement of PS62.6 million with Aston Villa for a takeover of the team. Lerner was in full control of the club on the 18th of September, 2006 after the resignation of Ellis the board of directors replaced with a brand new board by Lerner on September 19, 2006. [69Lerner took over the club on 19 September 2006. Lerner was appointed as the club's Chairman, together with Charles Krulak as a non-executive director, and Ellis was awarded the honorary title that of chairman emeritus. Lerner offered the club for auction in May 2014 and estimated the price at approximately PS200 million.

On the 18th of May, Randy Lerner agreed the sale of Aston Villa to Recon Group which is controlled by Chinese businessman Xia Jiantong. The sale was concluded on June 14, 2016, for an estimated PS76 million following the approval from the Football League, with the club being incorporated into Recon's Sport, Leisure and Tourism division. Recon Group were selected to be the new owners of Aston Villa following a selection process conducted by the club.

In the aftermath of not being promoted in the Premier League in the 2017-18 season, speculation of financial problems at the club began to grow. The club's owner Tony Xia to seek additional funding. On the 20th of July, 2018, it was revealed that NSWE group was an Egyptian company owned by Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris, and his fellow American billionaire Wes Edens were to invest in the club's football team. They bought a majority 55 percent part of the team, and Sawiris assumed the position as chairman of the club. On August 9, 2019 just before the Villa's Premier League return, documents from Companies House revealed that Recon Group's minority stake in the club was sold as well as it was discovered that Dr. Tony Xia had no longer held any stake within the team.

Aston Villa have a large number of fans and receive supporters from all over the Midlands and beyond, and have supporters' clubs throughout the globe. The former Villa Chief Executive Richard Fitzgerald has stated that the majority of supporters is at present 98 percent white. When the Randy Lerner administration was in charge at Villa Park, they aimed to boost participation of ethnic minorities. Numerous organizations were set up to assist communities in the area, like Aston Pride. An Villa in the Community programme was also established to boost support among the youngsters in the area. The new owners have created a variety of surveys aimed at gathering the opinions of Villa supporters and to include them in the decision-making process. The meetings are also held every three months when supporters are invited to vote and invited to submit any questions for the Board. The club in 2011 backed an initiative by supporters to have an official anthem that would boost the mood of Villa Park. The tune "The Bells Ring" will be played prior to games.

As do the majority of English soccer clubs Aston Villa has had numerous hooligan companies as part of it. They include Villa Youth, Steamers, Villa Hardcore and the C-Crew which was extremely active in the 1970s and the 1980s. It is apparent that throughout English football the hooligan clubs are now largely ignored. In 2004, a few Villa companies had to be involved in an dispute with QPR supporters outside Villa Park in which a Steward was killed. The most prominent groups of supporters can be found in a variety of international and domestic supporters clubs. The most notable is Aston Villa Supporters Club, which is the Official Aston Villa Supporters Club with a number of smaller sections in the international and regional arenas. There were a number of supporters' clubs that were independent during the time of Doug Ellis but most of them disbanded following his retirement. The supporters group My Old Man Said formed to advocate for Villa fans' right to rights directly as a result of Villa supporters' opposition to the club's decision to appoint Alex McLeish. The club's supporters also produce fan magazines like Heroes and Villains and The Holy Trinity.

Aston Villa's adversaries include Birmingham City, with games between the two clubs being referred to by the name of Second City Derby. In the past, West Bromwich Albion have been regarded as Villa's most formidable rivals, as shown by a survey of fans that was conducted in 2003. The two teams competed in 3 FA Cup finals in the late 19th century. Villa also have less heated rivalries within the local community together with Wolverhampton Wanderers and Coventry City. Due to the relegation from West Brom and Birmingham City into the Football League Championship, in the 2005-06 season, prior to the start of the 2006-07 Premiership Season, Villa were the only Midlands club to be in the League. The closest team Villa was facing during that time is Sheffield United, who played at 62 miles (100 kilometers) from South Yorkshire. In the 2010-11 season West Bromwich Albion were promoted and joined Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers as well as Birmingham City in the Premier League. This was the first time that all four of the "West Midlands' Big Four" clubs were part of the Premier League at the same time, and it was the first time they have been in the top league following the season 1983-1984. Birmingham were dropped at the conclusion of the 2010-11 season and the season ended.

The rivalry rekindled in the 2016-17 season when Aston Villa suffered relegation from the Premier League. It was then added to West Brom for the 2018/19 season, but it was stopped after Villa were promoted into in the Premier League.

In the season 2020-21, Aston Villa had spent more than 107 seasons in the top division in English football. The only club that has been in the top league is Everton with 118 seasons. This makes Aston Villa versus Everton the most watched game during English soccer's top division. Aston Villa were relegated from the top in English football in the year 2016 playing throughout each Premier League season since its creation in 1992-93. However, they were reinstated in the 2018-19 season. They rank ninth on the all-time FA Premier League table, and are the fifth highest number of major awards (20) attained by the English club.

Aston Villa currently hold the record for the most goal-scoring league matches by any side within the English top flight. They scored 128 goals during the 1930-31 season, which is one higher than Arsenal who took the league title this season for the first time, and with Villa runners-up. Villa forward Archie Hunter became the first player to score in each game of the FA Cup in Villa's victorious 1887 championship. Villa's longest run of unbeaten home play of the FA Cup spanned 13 years and 19 games, which ran from 1888 to.

Aston Villa are one of five English teams that be the winners of the European Cup. They did so on 26 May 1982 in Rotterdam, beating Bayern Munich 1-0 thanks to Peter Withe's goal.

Aston Villa have won European and domestic league awards. The club's most recent English honor was won in 1996 when they took home the League Cup, and most recently, they took home the 2001 Intertoto Cup.

League Titles

• First Division / Premier League: 7

Champions:[*] 1893–94, 1895–96, 1896–97, 1898–99, 1899–1900, 1909–10, 1980–81

• Second Division / First Division / Championship: 2

Champions:[*] 1937–38, 1959–60
Play-off Winners: 2018–19[104]

• Third Division / Second Division / League One:[103] 1

Champions: [*] 1971–72

Cups

• FA Cup: 7

Winners: 1886–87, 1894–95, 1896–97, 1904–05, 1912–13, 1919–20, 1956–57

• League Cup / EFL Cup: 5

Winners: 1960–61, 1974–75, 1976–77, 1993–94, 1995–96

• FA Charity Shield / FA Community Shield: 1

Winners: 1981

[*]  Prior to 1992 the highest division of English football was known as the Football League First Division. It was then that the Premier League took over from the First Division as the top division in the English football league system following its establishment in. It was the First Division then became the second third tier in English football, while the Second Division became the third level and the cycle continues. It is now the First Division is now known as the Football League Championship, while the Second Division is now known as Football League One.

• European Cup / UEFA Champions League: 1

Winners: 1981–82

• European Super Cup / UEFA Super Cup: 1 

Winners: 1982

• Intertoto Cup: 1

Winners: 2001[A]

 

[A] In 2001, Aston Villa were one of three co-winners in the Intertoto Cup with Paris Saint-Germain and Troyes AC. Aston Villa also won all its 2007 Intertoto Cup rounds to be named joint-winners and move on into in the UEFA Cup, the format was altered in 2006 to give an Intertoto Trophy to the side which was fastest through the UEFA Cup, which was S.C. Braga.

There have been numerous players who are significant throughout the history of Aston villa. They can be classified and documented in a variety of formats. They are the Halls of Fame and PFA Players of the Year are shown below. In 2020, Aston Villa are only surpassed by Tottenham Hotspur (78), for having the highest number of England internationals, having the 74 Villa players making their debut in England This record is held jointly by Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. Liverpool. [108][109The record is held by Liverpool. Aston Villa have had several players who were only one-clubmen which included the club's inaugural Hall of Fame inductee Billy Walker. In 1998, to commemorate the centennial of League football, The Football League released a list of The Football League 100 Legends that comprised "100 famous footballers." There were seven players on the list who played, or were able to play with Villa: Danny Blanchflower, Trevor Ford, Archie Hunter, Sam Hardy, Paul McGrath, Peter Schmeichel and Clem Stephenson.

Three Aston Villa players have won the PFA Players' Player of the Award of the Year. In 1977, Andy Gray won the award. In 1990 , it was presented to David Platt, whilst Paul McGrath was awarded the award in 1993. It is the PFA Young Player of the Year award which is awarded to those who are younger than 23 has been presented to 4 players of Aston Villa: Andy Gray in 1977; Gary Shaw in 1981; Ashley Young in 2009 and James Milner in 2010. In 2010, the National Football Museum in Preston, Lancashire administers the English Football Hall of Fame which has a Villa team with four Villa players and two managers. The 1982 team was inducted into the Hall of Fame in October 2011. Joe Mercer was inducted into the Hall of Fame for his management career which included the time he worked with Aston Villa. Graham Taylor was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2010 as a Football Foundation Community Champion. There are only Villa players to be in the Hall of Fame are Clem Stephenson, Danny Blanchflower, Peter Schmeichel and Paul McGrath.

In 2006, the club announced the establishment of the "Aston Villa Hall of Fame." It was decided by fans . The first induction ceremony saw the names of 12 former managers, players and directors inducted. Former captain of the club Stiliyan Petrov was included on the list in May of 2013.

• England Gordon Cowans
• England Eric Houghton
• England Brian Little
• England Dennis Mortimer
• Bulgaria Stiliyan Petrov
• England Ron Saunders[C]
• England Peter Withe
• Republic of Ireland Paul McGrath
• Northern Ireland Peter McParland
• Scotland Charlie Aitken
• Scotland William McGregor
• Scotland George Ramsay
• England Billy Walker

Aston Villa Non-playing staff

Aston Villa were the subject along with Sunderland in one of the first football artworks in the world and possibly the first when , in 1895, The painter Thomas M. M. Hemy painted a scene of a match between the Sunderland teams at their then home ground Newcastle Road.

Numerous television shows have featured references in the name of Aston Villa over the past several years. The sitcom Porridge The protagonist Lennie Godber is an Aston Villa fan. The filming started with Dad's Army, Villa fan Ian Lavender was allowed to select the scarf of Frank Pike from a variety of scarves in the BBC wardrobe. He picked the blue and claret one which is the colors of Aston Villa. In the sitcom Gavin & Stacey, Nessa from The BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey has been introduced to be an Aston Villa fan in an episode that aired in December of 2009.

In the film of 1952, The Card, the main character Denry Machin (Alec Guinness) is elected a town councillor. He purchases the rights to the locally-born Aston Villa player 'Callear' who is known as the "greatest center-forward player in England" for the local club that is struggling.

Villa are also mentioned in several times in prose. Stanley Woolley, a character in Derek Robinson's Booker shortlisted novel Goshawk Squadron is an Aston Villa fan, and has an early-war eleven Villa team. Along with The Oval, Villa Park is mentioned by the poem Philip Larkin in his poem about the First World War, MCMXIV. Aston Villa are also mentioned in the play by Harold Pinter The Dumb Waiter.

The most notable Aston Villa supporters Aston Villa include Prince William Former prime minister David Cameron, musician Ozzy Osbourne as well as the actor Tom Hanks, and golfer Justin Rose.