Are ASTON VILLA a BIG CLUB?

Aston Villa have to be a big football club. Formed in 1874, Aston Villa are one of the founders of the Football League and can claim big club status through their titles, support and longevity. But just how big are they?

Aston Villa play at Villa Park,   which for many years hosted FA Cup  Semi-Finals. But are they a big club? Subscribe now to see how they  compare with other big football clubs Aston Villa are a club who always  seem to be around and are one of  

The founders of the Football  League. But how big are they? Villa are in the top 6 in terms of major trophy  winners and are not far behind those in front   of them. They are 9th in terms of the best  attendances in the league since its inception.  

If we put these numbers on a graph  and compare them to other clubs in   the current Premier league, we see Villa  amongst a cluster of other big clubs. Villa Have Won it All Aston Villa have won 7 English league titles,  making them the 6th most successful in this  

Regard. Their 7 FA Cups was for a long  time a record, but they now sit 5 places   behind the record holders, and 5 League  Cups, makes them 4th most successful for   that cup. This range of titles gives them  a good balance between domestic trophies,  

Even though the bulk of these were from a long  time ago. Whilst they have not always challenged   for European silverware, they are one of 6  English sides to have lifted the European Cup. Villa Park is a legendary stadium  and has proper supporters!

In the earliest days of the Football League,  there was not much difference between teams’   attendances, but things quickly picked up for  Aston Villa during their dominance of English   football. However, they strangely peaked in 1901  when they were actually struggling in the league 

Since the first world war, Villa demonstrated  their size with constant strong attendances.   They even had an increase during their  struggles and when in the second division.  From the 50s there was a steady fall in terms  of support for Villa, but they managed to get  

Average top-flight attendances even  when they were in the third division  It appears that improvement rather than outright  success increased attendances during their   difficulties in the 1970s, which was maintained  during their glories at the start of the 80s.   Promotion in 1989 saw recovery in attendances  for a strong Villa side going into the 90s. 

Overall Villa have hovered around the  top-flight average in the modern era   and this may well be down to not challenging  for the title. Villa Park would have to grow,   and for that they would need sustained success. 82 just tops it all off

There can be no doubt as to Villa’s greatest  match: triumph over serial bottlers Bayern   Munich in the 1982 European Cup final. The game  saw heroics from goalkeeper Nigel Spink, who came   on due to injury to in the 9th minute in only his  second appearance and remained first choice for 10  

Seasons. This was also the last of 6 consecutive  wins for English clubs in the competition. Villa have had some of the best players Aston Villa’s glory days were at  the end of the nineteenth century,   so we do not know enough about that legendary  team. But we can select later legends to make  

A best eleven. Billy Walker remains top-scorer  from his time in the 1920s and played alongside   Tom “Pongo” Waring. Villa also boast the first  full-back to score a league hattrick in Stan   Lynn and left-back from the 70s Charlie Aitken.  Not surprisingly, we have selected six players  

From Villa’s championship winning side from  1981 who also went on to lift the European Cup   in 1982. Finally, still popular at Villa Park  is legendary defender Paul McGrath. McGrath,   is the only player from more recent  times who would fit into this side. Villa are the original  champions and have ruled Europe

Aston Villa had one of the best starts in  English football history, winning the FA Cup   before the league had even started. By the  beginning of the 20th century they had won   5 league titles and 3 FA Cups. But moving on a  few years often came runners up in the league. 

In the inter-war years they won the  FA Cup and finished runners up twice,   but suffered their first relegation in  1936. They quickly recovered but this   is a period in which they went  for 27 years without a trophy. 

From the late fifties Villa had a roller-coaster  ride of it: two cups either side of relegation   and promotion, followed by a fall all  the way down to the third division.  Too big to stay there for too long, they  won the league cup whilst still in the  

Second division. When back in the first division  they won another league cup and showed amazing   powers of recovery to win the league in  81 followed by the European Cup in 82.  This remarkable success was not sustained in  the eighties but after promotion again Villa  

Came second twice and won trophies in the  90s. They have mostly been present in the   Premier league ever since, but have not  been close to challenging for the title. Aston Villa are amongst a group of trailblazing  clubs who made league football what it is today. 

From the outset Aston Villa stamped their  authority on the domestic game but most   of this record is over 100 years old. They have not consistently challenged   in Europe but becoming European  Champions made them renowned forever.  Support over the ages has been strong  enough though they are no longer able  

To match the biggest crowds in England. As so much of their success is historic,   we may not be able to reflect on a lot of  their big games in the past, but they have   certainly left their mark on the modern game. They have always had players to compete  

Against any English side, but perhaps are  lacking in depth of world class stars.  What is clear is that when they have struggled,  they have always found ways to make a come-back   and at times with flare. And it is this that  makes them one of England’s Big Football Clubs.

Whilst Villa are famous outside of Birmingham,   are Birmingham City more loved  than Villa in the city itself? Please comment below, like and subscribe to Big   Football Clubs to watch videos  as they are released each week.