Aston Villa are among an elite half dozen founding members of the Premier League who have not been relegated since it was inaugurated in 1992-93, but they will have to put on an extraordinary display in the next 16 matches if they are to maintain this status.
Villa’s motto is “prepared”, but it looks like they could well be making preparations for life in the Championship.
Ten points below 17th-placed Swansea City and with just two victories from 22 league games, Villa appear to be well and truly stuffed, unless manager Remi Garde can pull off a French miracle.
After a disastrous Christmas which saw defeats at the hands of Norwich and Sunderland, there are signs of improvement. In their last two league games they have beaten Crystal Palace and drawn with high-flying Leicester. Then, a hard-earned FA Cup replay win over League Two’s Wycombe Wanderers might just give them that much needed confidence that has been so clearly lacking. Four games without defeat has to be encouraging.
It is hard to imagine that this struggling club were once regarded as part of the Football League’s “aristocracy” , possessing the fifth-highest haul of major trophies, admittedly most of them acquired a long, long time ago.
Villa have won seven top flight league titles and seven FA Cup trophies along with five League Cup triumphs. However, with the exception of the League Cup, most of this silverware was collected in the distant past.
Their last FA Cup triumph was back in 1957 when they beat Manchester United’s “Busby Babes” 2-1 at Wembley. The match was marred by an injury to United goalkeeper Ray Wood after just six minutes, following a jarring collision with Villa winger Peter McParland, who was fortunate not to be sent off. With no substitutes allowed, Jackie Blanchflower had to take over in goal. The Sunday Times called it “a hollow victory”.
Tragically, six of the United side that day were to perish in the Munich air disaster the following year.
Villa’s last league title was in the old Division 1 in 1980-81 when they were managed by Ron Saunders. It was Villa’s first title in 71 years. It seems incredible now, but Villa used only 14 different players the entire season. These days it is common to use 14 in just one match.
The following year saw the club’s biggest success when they won the European Cup, defeating mighty Bayern Munich 1-0 thanks to a goal from Peter Withe (who later had a successful spell as manager of Thailand). It was a great achievement for the new Villa manager Tony Barton after Saunders had left abruptly.
It hadn’t looked good for Villa when goalkeeper Jimmy Rimmer was injured in the eighth minute, but replacement Nigel Spink, who had only played one first team game, played a blinder as Villa hung on for an unexpected victory against their illustrious opponents.
Villa have enjoyed considerable success in the League Cup, including an impressive 3-1 win at Wembley over Manchester United in 1994. Alarmingly, a 3-0 final victory over Leeds United in 1996 was their last piece of silverware.
Despite their struggles, it is hard to ignore the club’s impressive history.
When he became manager in 1998, John Gregory commented: “There’s an aura about this club, a sense of history and tradition. Even the name is beautifully symmetrical.”
Gregory experienced a reasonably successful spell at Villa. Gareth Southgate, team captain, was full of praise for the gaffer. “He handled the pressure brilliantly during our poor spell, except when he smashed the physio’s bag across Goodison Park.”
Southgate was also also impressed by his teammates’ reading habits after he joined Villa from Crystal Palace in 1995. “Three or four of the Villa lads buy the quality papers. At Palace it was always eight Suns, four Mirrors.”
One name that will always be associated with Aston Villa is Doug Ellis, the controversial chairman from 1967-75 and then 1982-2006. Many fans note that it was during “Deadly Doug’s” absence that Villa were at their most successful in the modern era.
Ellis had problems with fans and managers alike. After being fired as Villa boss in 1970, Tommy Docherty commented: “The chairman said he was right behind me. I told him I would rather have him in front of me where I could see him.’’
In 1994, when Ron Atkinson was manager, Ellis announced: “I believe Big Ron to be one of the top managers in the country.” Three weeks later he fired him.
In 2000, Gregory felt emboldened enough to suggest Ellis was “stuck in a time warp”.
The embattled chairman regularly defended himself, commenting in 2000: “This is my life. I kick every ball and sign every cheque.” In the same year, under increasing pressure to resign he said: “Aston Villa is the reason I get up every day and the day I am not mentally able to hold my own… is when I call it a day.”
That day was to come in 2006, much to the relief of many fans, following the departure of manager David O’Leary. During his time, Ellis hired and fired 13 managers.
Things have not changed in that respect and since Martin O’ Neil resigned in 2011, Gerard Houllier, Alex Mcleish, Paul Lambert and Tim Sherwood have all come and gone.
Garde is the latest to try his hand at Villa Park and his immediate task is a victory away to West Brom in today’s local derby. It won’t be pretty, but could be quite a scrap.