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101-701: Recent restructuring of the English football league system has placed the two divisions, known as the Premier Division and Division One (each a maximum of twenty-two clubs) at the ninth and tenth tiers overall, known as Step 5 and Step 6 of the National League System . The champion club get promoted to a Step 4 league, which in practice will almost certainly be the Southern League Division One South. Below

202-448: A Scottish Lion Rampant embroidered on the chest were introduced by Villa's Scottish leaders William McGregor and George Ramsay . 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

303-635: A big kick at the ball'. Ramsay was influenced by the Scottish club, Queen's Park , who pioneered what became known as 'combination football' in his native Glasgow , the intricate passing game he introduced was a revolutionary move for an English club in the late 1870s. Villa began to establish themselves as one of the best teams in the Midlands, winning their first honour, the Birmingham Senior Cup in 1880 . The club would go on to lift

404-545: A condition of the match, the Villa side had to agree to play the first half under Rugby rules and the second half under Association rules. Villa won their first game 1–0. The infant club's fortunes changed forever when a young Scotsman called George Ramsay stumbled across the Villa players' practice match in Aston Park in 1876. He was asked to make up the numbers, and they were amazed by his skills; they had never seen such

505-415: A decline in the club's culture and style of play, which alongside a tolerance of ill-discipline in the players led to Villa's relegation. Rinder's first act was to travel to Austria to recruit the progressive coach Jimmy Hogan as manager. Within two seasons, Hogan had guided Villa back to the top flight as Second Division champions playing attractive free-flowing football. Hogan outlined his philosophy: "I am

606-419: A dismal defensive record: they conceded 110 goals in 42 games, 7 of them coming from Arsenal's Ted Drake in an infamous 1–7 defeat at Villa Park. The club made seven signings and spent a staggering sum for the time of £35,500 trying to retain top-flight status at all costs, but were unable to buy their way out of trouble. Aston Villa, at the time one of the most famous and successful clubs in world football,

707-403: A display of close ball control before. When the game was over, the Villa players surrounded him and invited him to join the club and become their captain. Word spread about how fine a player Ramsay was, spectators began turning up to watch the little man nicknamed ‘Scotty’. He also took charge of training, Ramsay later described the newly formed club's approach to the game as 'a dash at the man and

808-646: A given district, and may be little more than derbies, such as the Gloucestershire Cup , which originally included all teams in Gloucestershire , but then came to be contested as a Bristol derby . Level one in the pyramid, the top division of English football, is run by the Premier League (which gives its name to the competition in that division), the winners of which are regarded as the champions of England. Levels two to four are run by

909-611: A hierarchical format with promotion and relegation between leagues at different levels, allowing even the smallest club the theoretical possibility of ultimately rising to the very top of the system, the Premier League . Below that are levels 2–4 organised by the English Football League , then the National League System from levels 5–10 administered by the FA , and thereafter Regional feeder leagues run by relevant county FAs on an ad hoc basis. It also often happens that

1010-557: A large financial incentive to sign. He was sold for £85,000 in summer of 1961, his replacement, Derek Dougan was not a success and Villa slid backwards. Mercer's forced retirement from the club in July 1964, following a stress-induced stroke, signalled a period of deep turmoil and malaise. The most successful club in England had failed to keep pace with changes in the modern game; three of the five-man board of directors were over 70 years old,

1111-531: A league in the English men's football league system. The pyramid for women's football in England runs separately into ten tiers. There are no official definitions of any level below 11 for men or below 10 for women. Any references to the structure at lower levels should not be regarded as definitive. Some England-based men's clubs play outside the English football league system . The world's first association football league, named simply The Football League ,

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1212-428: A mainstay of the Villa team throughout the rollercoaster of relegations and subsequent revival was fan-favourite Charlie Aitkin , who made 659 appearances at left back for the club between 1959 and 1976, making him Villa's all-time record appearance holder. Aston Villa were back among the elite as Saunders continued to mould a winning team, finishing 4th in the league and winning a further League Cup in 1976–77 , with

1313-522: A nation-wide division (also called the National League ) (level 5) of 24 clubs, and is the lowest level with a single nationwide league. This division, like the four above, is a full-time professional competition, although some promoted clubs retain part-time status. There are two divisions at level 6, covering the north ( National League North ) and south ( National League South ), with 24 clubs each. Some of these clubs are full-time professional and

1414-412: A new badge for the following season. The new badge's usage was later clarified to be exclusive to on-field kits and training wear by club president of business operations, Chris Heck, with the existing badge continuing to be utilized as the primary in all other channels. In May 2024, the club reverted to a shield-shaped badge. Tables of kit suppliers and shirt sponsors appear below: Aston Villa's kit

1515-567: A pinnacle though and Villa's fortunes declined sharply for most of the 1980s. Doug Ellis returned as chairman and majority shareholder in November 1982. The club was saddled with significant debts and questions had been raised by the police regarding fraudulent financial activity surrounding the building of the North Stand at Villa Park from 1980 to 1982. The cost of the work was £1.3 million. An internal investigation found that £700,000 of

1616-458: A pyramid of leagues, bound together by the principle of promotion and relegation . A certain number of the most successful clubs in each league can rise to a higher league, whilst those that finish the season at the bottom of their league can be sent down a level. In addition to sporting performance, promotion is usually contingent on meeting criteria set by the higher league, especially concerning appropriate facilities and finances. In theory, it

1717-515: A successful partnership with the lightning-fast winger Charlie Athersmith and marshalling Villa's defence was the tough-tackling Scotsman James Cowan , who had an unrivalled sense of timing and anticipation. In 1897 , the year Villa won The Double , they moved into their present home, the Aston Lower Grounds. Supporters coined the name "Villa Park"; no official declaration listed the ground as Villa Park . Success continued into

1818-485: A teacher and lover of constructive football with every pass, every kick, every movement an object." He used to tell his players that "football was like a Viennese waltz , a rhapsody. one-two-three, one-two-three, pass-move-pass, pass-move-pass.". Unfortunately, the Second World War ended Hogan's project to restore Aston Villa to the top of the English game. Like all English clubs, Villa lost seven seasons to

1919-464: A three-year absence. On the eve of Villa's Premier League return, Recon Group 's minority share ownership was bought out by NSWE, meaning Xia no longer had any stake in the club. Villa's first season back in the Premier League saw a significant overhaul of the squad, with 12 players signed during the summer transfer window. The team battled relegation for most of the season, but stayed up on

2020-699: A view to improving the club's youth development and coaching facilities. Following a 14th-place finish in the Second Division, Crowe was replaced in August 1974 by Ron Saunders . He was a fitness fanatic, whose brand of no-nonsense man-management proved effective, with the club winning the League Cup the following season and, by the end of season 1974–75, he had taken Aston Villa back into the First Division and into Europe. One player who had been

2121-676: Is a professional football club based in Aston , Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League , the top tier of English football . The team have played at their home ground, Villa Park , since 1897 . Aston Villa are one of the oldest and most successful clubs in England, having won the Football League First Division seven times, the FA Cup seven times, the League Cup five times, and

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2222-408: Is possible for a lowly local amateur club to achieve annual promotions and within a few years rise to the pinnacle of the English game and become champions of the Premier League . While this may be unlikely in practice (at the very least, in the short run), there certainly is significant movement within the pyramid. The top five levels contain one division each and are nationwide in scope. Below this,

2323-501: The 2007–08 season and beyond. The new badge 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 badge, and the name Aston Villa has been shortened to AVFC, FC having been omitted from the previous badge. The lion is now unified as opposed to fragmented lions of the past. Randy Lerner petitioned fans to help with

2424-590: The 2014–15 season , when Lambert was sacked in February 2015 after the team managed just 12 goals in the first 25 league games, the lowest in Premier League history. Tim Sherwood succeeded him, and steered the club away from relegation while also leading them to the 2015 FA Cup Final . However, the club sold two of its star players Christian Benteke and captain Fabian Delph in the summer transfer window and did not adequately replace them. Villa struggled in

2525-600: The Edwardian era , with Villa lifting the FA Cup for the fourth time in 1904–05 , and a sixth league title in 1909–10 . A further FA Cup triumph was achieved on the eve of the First World War in 1913, with the club narrowly missing out on winning a second Double , finishing runners-up in the league. Star-players during this era included Howard Spencer , the cultured defender who captained both Villa and England, and

2626-582: The English Football League . Together, these four divisions make up what is known as "league football". The leagues below level four are classed as "non-League football", meaning they are outside the EFL. The leagues at levels five to ten comprise the National League System (NLS), and come under the direct jurisdiction of the Football Association. The top level (level 5) of the NLS is known as "step 1",

2727-635: The Europa Conference League in his first season. In the 2023–24 season, Emery led the club to the Conference League semi-finals , and a 4th-place finish in the league, securing participation in the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1982–83. The club colours are a claret shirt with sky blue sleeves, white shorts with claret and blue trim, and sky blue socks with claret and white trim. They were

2828-470: The European Cup and European Super Cup once. Aston Villa has been a leading English club since the 1880s, when they were pioneers of the modern passing game. This short, quick combination passing style was introduced by Scotsman George Ramsay , who was appointed as the world's first professional football manager in 1886. The club was influential in the sport's move to professionalism in 1885, and it

2929-607: The National League System and come under the jurisdiction of The Football Association . In May 2014 The FA announced provisional plans for a new division between the English Football League and the National League which would include "B" teams of higher-level clubs. They later reneged on the plan to include Premier League "B" teams in the new division and shortly thereafter scrapped the idea altogether. The English football league system does not include

3030-451: The 2015–16 season, and Sherwood was sacked following six consecutive defeats. He was replaced by Rémi Garde , who left after just five months with Villa lying bottom of the table; his reign included a club-record 19 game winless run. The club was relegated at the end of the season, ending their 29-year stay in the top flight. In June 2016, Chinese businessman Tony Xia bought the club for £76 million. Former Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo

3131-459: The Committee, Aston Villa Club House, 6 Witton Road, Aston’ Villa received 150 applicants for the role, but with his strong association with the club George Ramsay was the overwhelming choice of the membership. Thus on 26 June 1886, Aston Villa appointed what has been described as the world's first professional football manager. The following season Aston Villa rose to national prominence, as

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3232-499: The English Football League are all full-time professional clubs. Before the establishment of the Premier League in 1992, the Football League, as it was called then, included all 92 clubs, in four divisions. Clubs outside the Football League were referred to as non-League clubs, and this naming continues for clubs below the four professional divisions. The top tier of non-League football is the National League . It contains

3333-425: The Midlands and north of England: Accrington , Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley , Derby County , Everton , Notts County , Preston North End, Stoke , West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers. Despite Villa founding the league, by 1893 they had yet to win it. Villa Committee Member Frederick Rinder was the instigator of a club meeting at Barwick Street in February 1893 that removed

3434-825: The Midlands), Southern Football League South (which covers south and southwest of England, with one club from South Wales ) and the Isthmian League (which includes clubs from the south-east of England as well as Guernsey from the Channel Islands ). All of the leagues have Premier Divisions of 22 teams (level 7). Below these, and split by region, the Southern Football Leagues has two parallel divisions of 20 teams (level 8). The Isthmian League and Northern Premier League each have three parallel level 8 divisions of 20 teams each. Level 9 contains

3535-433: The Premier Division of a Regional Feeder League (Step 7 or Level 11) has its constitution given to it by the FA. They have to accept it or appeal but cannot reject it at an annual general meeting. The exact number of clubs varies from year to year as clubs join and leave leagues, merge, or fold altogether, but an estimated average of 15 clubs per division implies that more than 7,000 teams of nearly 5,300 clubs are members of

3636-546: The Second World War, and that conflict brought several careers to a premature end. Bumper crowds flocked to Villa Park following the war, 76,588 people attended the FA Cup quarter-final between Villa and Derby County in March 1946, which is the all-time record attendance at Villa Park. The team was rebuilt under the guidance of former player Alex Massie for the remainder of the 1940s. Star players of this era included

3737-647: The Southern League. On four occasions, member clubs have lifted the FA Vase , Tiverton Town twice, Taunton Town once and most recently Truro City , who beat A.F.C. Totton in 2007 at the first final to be held at the new Wembley Stadium before a competition record crowd of 27,754. Truro City were the only one of the three to win the FA Vase while in Division One, while none are current members of

3838-566: The Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel in Handsworth : which is now part of Birmingham . The four founders of Aston Villa were Jack Hughes, Frederick Matthews, Walter Price and William Scattergood, who were members of the chapel's cricket team looking for a way to stay fit during the winter months. Due to the lack of local football teams Aston Villa's first match was against the local Aston Brook St Mary's Rugby team. As

3939-680: The Western League Premier Division. The league was formed in 1892 as the Bristol & District League , and became the Western League in 1895. Another Bristol & District League was later formed, which remains active at a much lower level than the Western League. In the years before World War II , many teams played in both the Southern and Western Leagues; the Western League was considered as secondary to

4040-778: The Western League are four local leagues covering smaller areas, the Gloucestershire County League , the Somerset County League , the Dorset Premier League and the Wiltshire League . The South West Peninsula League Premier Divisions East and West are also feeders to the Western League but due to having Step 6 status (the same level as the Western League Division One), they feed directly into

4141-600: The Western League, as all three have since progressed to the Southern League . English football league system The English football league system , also known as the football pyramid , is a series of interconnected leagues for men's association football clubs in England , with five teams from Wales , one from Guernsey , one from Jersey and one from the Isle of Man also competing. The system has

Western Football League - Misplaced Pages Continue

4242-399: The age of 71, his replacement Billy Smith was unable to continue Ramsay's success, in reality several other football clubs had caught up with Aston Villa, most notably Arsenal , who the club finished runners-up to in the league in 1930–31 and 1932–33 . Despite missing out on the league title, Villa Park crowds were entertained by attacking football, the 128 goals scored in 1930–31, remains

4343-415: The all-time top-flight record to the present day. A remarkable 49 of the league goals that season were scored by centre-forward Tom 'Pongo' Waring , with another 30 goals from winger Eric Houghton . The club appointed Jimmy McMullan as manager in 1934, however, the move proved disastrous, resulting in Villa's first ever relegation in 1935–36 after 48 years in the top flight. Villa struggled largely due to

4444-429: The amateur version of the game often called Sunday league football . These leagues are independent entities with no promotion or relegation involving the football pyramid. However, some Sunday league clubs have been known to join pyramid leagues if they desire to progress higher. There are also some Saturday leagues which are not officially part of the pyramid, although teams frequently leave these for pyramid leagues. At

4545-502: The board at the lack of funds available to him to strengthen the team and fell out with the chairman Ron Bendall over the terms of his contract. He was replaced by his softly-spoken assistant manager Tony Barton who guided the club to a 1–0 victory over Bayern Munich in the European Cup final in Rotterdam courtesy of a Peter Withe goal in the 67th minute. Ten minutes into the final, Villa's first choice goalkeeper, Jimmy Rimmer ,

4646-538: The board, as the other directors sided with Saunders. He was ousted as chairman in 1975 to make way for Sir William Dugdale . He remained on the board until 1979, when he left the club after a protracted power struggle with majority shareholder Ron Bendall . With Ellis gone, Saunders became all-powerful as manager. Villa achieved a seventh top-flight league title in 1980–81 , with players such as Gordon Cowans , Tony Morley and captain Dennis Mortimer leading

4747-471: The club had neglected its scouting network and coaching structure and the club's finances were in a parlous state. This led to the club selling its top striker Tony Hateley to Chelsea for £100,000 in October 1966, without his goals Villa were relegated for the third time in its history, under manager Dick Taylor in 1967. The board even sold the club's training ground outside Villa Park for housing, leaving

4848-498: The club to a then record seventh FA Cup Final win, defeating the 'Busby Babes' of Manchester United 2–1 with Northern Irish winger Peter McParland scoring both goals. The team continued to struggle for consistency in the league though, which led to Eric Houghton being sacked in December 1958. His replacement Joe Mercer could not prevent the club being relegated for only the second time in their history in 1958-59 . However, under

4949-483: The club to its first top-flight title in 71 years. Remarkably, they did so using just 14 players, with seven players being ever-presents. Villa's Birmingham-born forward Gary Shaw was named 1980-1981 PFA Young Player of the Year . To the surprise of commentators and fans, Ron Saunders quit halfway through the 1981–82 season, with Villa in the quarter final of the European Cup. Saunders had expressed his exasperation with

5050-468: The club was bought by London financier Pat Matthews, who brought in Doug Ellis as chairman in December 1968. Ellis later recalled that "you could write your name in the dust, window frames were rotting, the smell of failure and imminent financial ruin hung in the air"; one of their first acts was to raise £205,835 in a share issue which cleared the club's debts. Doug Ellis's first managerial appointment

5151-436: The club's lack of youth development, recruitment and training methods. When Danny Blanchflower put in a transfer request in 1954 he said that "the club had grown fat and lazy on its old traditions and the decay was eating at the once solid foundations". Despite narrowly avoiding relegation the season before, Aston Villa's first trophy for 37 years came in the 1956–57 season when another former Villa player, Eric Houghton led

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5252-527: The club's opening 11 games, Dean Smith was dismissed. Aston Villa appointed former Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard as head coach on 11 November 2021. After a poor start to the 2022–23 season, in which Villa won just twice and scored only seven goals in their opening 11 games, Gerrard was sacked in October 2022, and replaced by four-time Europa League -winning Spanish manager Unai Emery . He led Villa to 7th place and qualification for

5353-507: The committee of his own club, Aston Villa, as well as to those of Blackburn Rovers , Bolton Wanderers , Preston North End and West Bromwich Albion , suggesting the creation of a league competition that would provide a number of guaranteed fixtures for its member clubs each season. Following two meetings between representatives of the leading clubs, the world's first Football League season began in September 1888 with 12 member clubs from

5454-421: The committee running the club at the time. All fourteen committee members resigned and were replaced by a committee of five led by Rinder after he gave a rousing speech criticising the board's tolerance of ill discipline and players' drinking. On the pitch, manager George Ramsay was moulding a team that became renowned for its short, quick combination passing which saw Villa win its first league title in 1893–94 ;

5555-402: The design of the new badge. On 6 April 2016, the club confirmed that it would be using a new badge from the 2016–17 season after consulting fan groups for suggestions. The lion in the new badge has claws added to it, and the word "Prepared" was removed to increase the size of the lion and club initials in the badge. In November 2022, following a fan-led vote, the club announced it would adopt

5656-467: The final day with a 17th-place finish, staying up on the final day. In Villa's second season back in the Premier League, Smith oversaw an 11th-place finish, but was unable to persuade star player and captain Jack Grealish to remain at the club after Manchester City's British-record £100 million bid triggered his release clause. Following a poor start to the 2021–22 season, which saw seven losses in

5757-441: The final, with goals from Dalian Atkinson and Dean Saunders , but the team struggled for form in the league and Atkinson was replaced by former Villa striker Brian Little in November 1994. Little assembled a young side which included players as Gareth Southgate , Steve Staunton , Ian Taylor and Dwight Yorke , leading the club to a fifth League Cup triumph in 1996, beating Leeds United 3–0 at Wembley. Villa finished fourth in

5858-616: The finished 10th and 16th, leading to O'Leary leaving in the summer of 2006. After 23 years as chairman and single biggest shareholder (approximately 38%), Ellis sold his stake in Aston Villa due to ill-health at the age of 82. American businessman Randy Lerner , owner of NFL franchise the Cleveland Browns , completed his takeover in September 2006. The arrival of a new owner in Lerner and of manager Martin O'Neill marked

5959-418: The first Midlands team to win the FA Cup in 1887. Villa's captain, the powerful Scottish centre-forward Archie Hunter became one of the game's first household names, being the first player to score in every round of the FA Cup. 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. Following

6060-491: The formidable strike partnership of Brian Little and Andy Gray , who became the first player to win both the PFA Young Player of the Year and PFA Players' Player of the Year in the same season. The 1970s was an era of boardroom unrest at Villa Park. Ron Saunders had a strained relationship with Doug Ellis , resenting Doug's perceived interference in football matters. Over time Ellis became an isolated figure on

6161-491: The fourth English club to win the European Cup , in 1981–82 , followed by the European Super Cup in 1982 . Aston Villa were a founding member of the Premier League in 1992 , one of just three clubs to have been a founding member of both the Football League and the Premier League. The club regularly qualified for European football in the 1990s, but following a period in which the club struggled to compete with

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6262-439: The high levels of spending of the leading clubs, Doug Ellis sold his stake in the club to American billionaire Randy Lerner , whose ownership of the club ended with Villa's first and only relegation from the Premier League in season 2015–16. The club returned to the Premier League in 2019. During their history Villa has spent 111 seasons in the top-flight, the second highest of any club, and provided 78 England internationals, also

6363-505: The lack of investment in the team led to him publicly accusing Ellis of being "stuck a time warp"; their relationship remained strained until Gregory resigned in January 2002. Ellis appointed Graham Taylor for a second spell in February 2002, but a 16th-place finish in the league led to his replacement with David O'Leary in June 2003. After a sixth-place finish in his first season, Villa

6464-484: The league and took the club to an FA Cup final in 2000 with a side that included David James , Dion Dublin , Paul Merson and Gareth Barry but was unable to assemble a team capable of challenging for Champions League places. At the end of the season Villa's captain Gareth Southgate handed in a transfer request, claiming that "if I am to achieve in my career, it is time to move on." Gregory's frustration at

6565-510: The league that season, and fifth the season after. Following a dip in form, Doug Ellis sacked Little and replaced him with another former Villa player John Gregory in February 1998. One of his first matches in charge was the UEFA Cup quarter-final against Atlético Madrid , which Villa lost on away goals over two-legs. In the summer of 1998, Yorke was transferred to Manchester United for £12.6 million. Gregory managed four top-eight finishes in

6666-513: The league the club is in, and depends on the number of Level 9 clubs participating. For instance, the 2017–18 FA Cup saw 77 teams compete from level 10 out of the 338 in total at that level. Below level 11 the pyramid becomes regional and the cups become accordingly regional. Further down the pyramid is split on a county basis, counties having their own cups accordingly. This excludes some tournaments marked "Senior Cups", which often are competitions between teams representing top professional clubs in

6767-430: The levels have progressively more parallel leagues, with each covering progressively smaller geographic areas. Many leagues have more than one division. At the lower levels the existence of leagues becomes intermittent, although in some of the more densely populated areas there are leagues more than twenty layers below the Premier League. There are also leagues in various parts of the country which are not officially part of

6868-457: The lowest quotation. The chocolate colour later became claret. Nobody is quite sure why claret and blue became the club's adopted colours. Several other football teams adopted their distinctive colours including West Ham United , Burnley , Scunthorpe United and Turkish club Trabzonspor . Crystal Palace also played in Villa's colours until the 1970s. A new badge was revealed in May 2007, for

6969-428: The mid-1930s; the 1940s and 1950s were generally a period of mediocrity followed by a steep decline in the 1960s which culminated in a takeover of the club by Doug Ellis in 1968 and Villa's first and only relegation to the third tier of English football in 1969–70. Villa returned to the elite from the mid-1970s under manager Ron Saunders , who led the club to a seventh top-flight league title in 1980–81. They became only

7070-685: The next (level 6) as "step 2", and so on. Until 2020, level 11 divisions were designated as "step 7", but that year were re-designated as "Regional Feeder Leagues". After the 2023–24 season, four runners-up competed in the play-offs where an additional club was guaranteed promotion from each step 5 division, with the number of relegations from each of the eight level 8 divisions remained at two as each step 4 division increased its divisional size to 22 teams. The resulting 16 vacancies at step 5 were filled by relegating only one club per level 9 division, rather than two. Ahead of 2024–25, two promotions out of each step 5 division into its step 4 counterpart remained and

7171-1652: The number of clubs automatically relegated out of each step 5 division reverted to two, reflecting a long-term FA aim to "create consistency" at each step of the NLS pyramid. Level League(s) / division(s) 1 Premier League 20 clubs – 3 relegations 2 EFL Championship 24 clubs – 3 promotions, 3 relegations 3 EFL League One 24 clubs – 3 promotions, 4 relegations 4 EFL League Two 24 clubs – 4 promotions, 2 relegations 5 (Step 1) National League 24 clubs – 2 promotions, 4 relegations 6 (Step 2) National League North 24 clubs – 2 promotions, 4 relegations National League South 24 clubs – 2 promotions, 4 relegations 7 (Step 3) Northern Premier League Premier Division 22 clubs – 2 promotions, 4 relegations Southern League Premier Division Central 22 clubs – 2 promotions, 4 relegations Southern League Premier Division South 22 clubs – 2 promotions, 4 relegations Isthmian League Premier Division 22 clubs – 2 promotions, 4 relegations 8 (Step 4) Northern Premier League Division One East 22 clubs – 2p, 4r Northern Premier League Division One West 22 clubs – 2p, 4r Northern Premier League Division One Midlands 22 clubs – 2p, 4r Southern League Division One Central 21 clubs – 2p, 4r Southern League Division One South 22 clubs – 2p, 4r Isthmian League Division One South Central 22 clubs – 2p, 4r Isthmian League Division One North 22 clubs – 2p, 4r Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa )

7272-455: The offer to take over as England manager in 1990. Villa were one of the founding members of the Premier League in 1992, one of just three clubs to have been founding members of both the Football League in 1888 and the Premier League, along with Blackburn Rovers and Everton . Villa finished runners-up to Manchester United in the inaugural season under manager Ron Atkinson . His side lifted the League Cup in 1994, beating Manchester United 3–1 in

7373-554: The one-club man Harry Parkes , the Welsh centre forward Trevor Ford and inside-forward Johnny Dixon , however the club only achieved mid-table finishes throughout the forties and fifties, never finishing higher than 6th place in the league. The board came in for increasing criticism during this time, with the 1953 AGM described by the Sports Argus as "the longest and liveliest Villa meeting". Shareholders and supporters criticised

7474-471: The opening day of the 2010–11 season , O'Neill resigned as manager, despite three consecutive 6th-place finishes, due to frustration in the lack of investment in the squad, following the sale of star players Gareth Barry , James Milner and Ashley Young . His replacement Gérard Houllier stepped down due to ill-health in September 2011, to be replaced by Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish , despite fan protests against his appointment. McLeish's contract

7575-500: The original wearers of the claret and blue. Villa's colours at the outset were royal blue caps and stockings, royal blue and scarlet "striped" (in the context of the time, hooped) jerseys, and white knickerbockers, one of the club rules including a provision that "no member can take part in a match without wearing the above uniform". 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

7676-504: The others are semi-professional. Below level 6, some of the stronger clubs are semi-professional, but continuing down the tiers, soon all the clubs are amateur. Next down from the National League are four regional leagues, each associated with different geographical areas, although some overlap exists. They are the Northern Premier League (which covers the north of England), Southern Football League Central (which covers

7777-449: The professionalisation of football in 1885, clubs needed regular income to pay their players' wages. Frequently friendlies were cancelled due to opponents' FA Cup or county cup matches or clubs simply failed to honour a fixture in favour of a more lucrative match elsewhere. McGregor took action after seeing Villa matches cancelled, to the increasing frustration of the club's fans, on five consecutive Saturdays. In March 1888, he wrote to

7878-471: The prolific strike force of Joe Bache and Harry Hampton who between them scored 382 goals in claret and blue. In January 1920, Billy Walker scored twice on his Villa debut in a 2–1 FA Cup first-round win over QPR ; the club won the FA Cup for the sixth time that season and Walker went on to establish himself as Villa's star player of the 1920s, scoring a record 244 goals in 531 appearances, captaining Villa and England . George Ramsay retired in 1926, at

7979-474: The season after that the club won its second FA Cup in 1894-95 . This was followed by back-to-back League titles in 1895–96 and 1896–97 . Aston Villa emerged as the most successful English club of the Victorian era , winning no fewer than five League titles and three FA Cups by the end of Queen Victoria 's reign in 1901. Villa's captain during this era was Birmingham-born forward John Devey , who enjoyed

8080-500: The second highest of any club. Aston Villa is currently ranked 5th in the all-time English top flight table, since its creation in 1888 and is the seventh most successful club in English football by competitive honours. Villa have a fierce local rivalry with Birmingham City and the Second City derby between the teams has been played since 1879 . There is also a local rivalry with West Bromwich Albion , with matches between

8181-664: The sides known as the West Midlands derby . The club's traditional kit colours are claret shirts with sky blue sleeves, white shorts and sky blue socks. Their traditional club badge is of a rampant lion. The club is currently owned by V Sports , a company owned by the Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris , the American billionaire Wes Edens , and American investment company Atairos. Aston Villa Football Club are believed to have formed on 21 November 1874 , by members of

8282-551: The start of a new period of optimism at Villa Park and sweeping changes occurred throughout the club including a new badge, investment in state-of-the-art facilities at the Bodymoor Heath Training Ground and significant investment in the squad in the summer of 2007. The first Cup final of the Lerner era came in 2010 when Villa were beaten 2–1 in the League Cup Final . Just five days before

8383-507: The stewardship of Mercer, Villa returned to the top-flight in 1960 as Second Division Champions with a talented young side which became known as 'Mercer's Minors'. The following season Aston Villa became the first team to win the Football League Cup with England centre-forward Gerry Hitchens scoring an impressive 42 goals in 1960-61 . Hitchens' goals brought him to the attention of Italian club Inter Milan , who offered him

8484-422: The system as they do not have formal agreements with other leagues, but are recognised at various levels by county football associations. Clubs from these leagues may, if they feel they meet the appropriate standard of play and have suitable facilities, apply to join a league which does form part of the system. The six levels immediately below the Premier League and three-level English Football League are known as

8585-463: The team in the position of training on borrowed training pitches of local factory teams. 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 Tommy Cummings (the manager brought in to replace Taylor), and within weeks the entire board resigned under overwhelming pressure from fans. After much speculation, control of

8686-458: The top divisions of a large group of 16 sub-regional leagues. Each of these leagues has a different divisional setup, but they all have one thing in common: there are yet more leagues below them, each covering smaller and smaller geographical levels. Being members of a league at a particular level also affects eligibility for Cup, or single-elimination, competitions. In the case of the FA Cup, entrance from Level 10 clubs depends upon ranking within

8787-421: The top is the single division of the Premier League (level 1, which is often referred to as the "top flight"), containing 20 clubs. Below the Premier League is the English Football League (EFL) (formerly 'the Football League'), which is divided into three divisions of 24 clubs each: The Championship (level 2), League One (level 3), and League Two (level 4). The 20 clubs in the Premier League and 72 clubs in

8888-558: The trophy 9 times in the next 12 seasons. Following the professionalisation of football in 1885, the club decided that it needed a full-time paid manager. The following advert was placed in the Birmingham Daily Gazette newspaper in June 1886: 'Wanted: manager for Aston Villa Football Club, who will be required to devote his whole time under direction of the committee. Salary £100 per annum. Applications with reference must be made not later than June 23rd to Chairman of

8989-450: The two-legged semi-final to reach the 1971 League Cup Final , in which the team played well but were defeated by two late Tottenham Hotspur goals. There was a renewed sense of optimism at Villa Park as the club was promoted to the Second Division as champions with average attendances of 30,000 and a record 70 points in 1971–72 season . Off the pitch, the board purchased the new 20-acre Bodymoor Heath Training Ground in December 1971, with

9090-427: The £1.3 million worth of bills were unaccounted for. A later report by accountants Deloitte found that there were "serious breaches of recommended codes of practice and poor site supervision". Ellis immediately set about trying to reduce the club's overheads. He informed the players that they needed to take pay cuts and told the manager Tony Barton that there was a need to reduce the playing staff. Saunders' team

9191-426: Was a Villa director, William McGregor , who founded the world's first Football League in 1888 . George Ramsay's trophy haul of six League Championships and six FA Cups established Aston Villa as the most successful club in England, a position it held from the 1890s until the 1970s. Villa scored 128 goals in season 1930–31 , which remains the all-time top-flight record, however the club began its first decline in

9292-457: Was appointed as the club's new manager, but was sacked after just 12 games following a poor start to the season. He was replaced by former Birmingham manager Steve Bruce . Bruce led the team to finish fourth in the 2017–18 season, but lost in the 2018 EFL Championship play-off final to Fulham . Following failure to secure promotion to the Premier League , the club faced significant financial difficulties. Following rumours that administration

9393-450: Was broken up and not adequately replaced, culminating in the club being relegated in 1987, just five years after Villa had been crowned European champions. However, Villa bounced back quickly, achieving promotion the following year under Graham Taylor and a runners-up position in the top-flight in the 1989–90 season with a fine side that included Paul McGrath , Tony Daley and David Platt . Following this success, Graham Taylor accepted

9494-515: Was created in 1888 by Aston Villa 's club director William McGregor . It was dominated by those clubs who had supported professionalism. The twelve founding members were six from Lancashire ( Accrington , Blackburn Rovers , Burnley , Bolton Wanderers , Everton and Preston North End ) and six from the Midlands ( Aston Villa , Derby County , Notts County , Stoke , West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers ). The system consists of

9595-467: Was imminent, Xia looked to sell the club. On 20 July 2018 it was announced that the NSWE Group , a consortium consisting of Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris and the American billionaire Wes Edens , were to invest in the football club. They purchased a controlling 55% stake in the club, and Sawiris took over the role of club chairman, appointing Christian Purslow as CEO. In October 2018, Bruce

9696-459: Was injured and young substitute keeper Nigel Spink was called into action, having only made one previous appearance in the first team. Spink performed superbly, keeping a clean sheet, and helping Villa become only the fourth English club to lift the European Cup. The following season the defence of the European Cup ended in a quarter-final defeat to Juventus , but Villa won the European Super Cup , beating Barcelona 3–1 on aggregate. This marked

9797-450: Was produced by local manufacturers until 1974, when Umbro became the first kit supplier to have its logo on a Villa shirt. Aston Villa's first shirt sponsor was Davenports Breweries in the 1982–83 season. Aston Villa forwent commercial kit sponsorship for the 2008–09 and 2009–10 seasons; instead advertising the charity Acorns Children's Hospice , the first deal of its kind in Premier League history. The partnership continued until 2010 when

9898-543: Was relegated in 1936 for the first time in its history. Following relegation to the Second Division, the Villa board brought back the ageing former club chairman Fred Rinder , who said on his return "Villa have been a great club, are still a great club, and always will be a great club". He was vocal in his criticism of the board for its "almost total neglect of the reserve team, instead relying on paying big fees for ready made players". He believed that this change in policy from scouting and developing young homegrown talent led to

9999-399: Was sacked after winning only once in a nine match stretch. He was replaced by Brentford manager and boyhood Villa fan Dean Smith , who led the team to fifth place, and reaching the playoffs again—helped on by a club-record 10 league game winning streak. They reached the 2019 EFL Championship play-off final and defeated Derby County 2–1 to gain promotion back to the Premier League after

10100-417: Was terminated at the end of the 2011–12 season after Villa finished in 16th place, and he was replaced by Paul Lambert . In February 2012, the club announced a financial loss of £53.9 million, and Lerner put the club up for sale three months later. With Lerner still on board, but unwilling to spend following the stock market crash of 2008, the club was uncompetitive for several seasons, culminating in

10201-522: Was the outspoken Scottish manager Tommy Docherty , who after initial success, was sacked after 13 months in charge with the club at the foot of Second Division. His replacement was former club captain and reserve team manager Vic Crowe , who could not prevent Villa being relegated to the Third Division for the first time in its history at the end of the 1969–70 season. The following season Villa surprised everyone by beating Manchester United in

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