It is said that they "met in 1874 under a gas-light in Heathfield Road"[3] to set about forming a new club. Aston Villa started to call Kennington Oval their home, and in 1887, Villa won their first FA Cup, against local rivals West Bromwich Albion, having already won their very first trophy, the Birmingham Senior Cup (1880). However, the Scottish draper and director of Aston Villa, William McGregor had become frustrated with watching his team in one-sided friendly matches and low attendances for all games but FA Cup ties. News; Info Club all transfers overview Arrivals 22/23 . Aston Villa F.C. No departures this season Details. | ... History. Aston Villa Football Club were formed in March 1874, by members of the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel in Handsworth which is now part of Birmingham. The club were soon playing the modern versi… Before the 1935–36 season, the team had been appointed by a committee and the team was coached by a "secretary" to the committee. Even though Villa won the inaugural League Cup in 1960, the club were to enter into a very unsuccessful period. [15] In the same season, Villa finished fourth and this helped to boost the coffers at the club. [8] The site was taken on a three-year lease at a rent of £7,10 shillings for the first year, rising to £15 and £20 in subsequent years. were formed in March 1874, by four members of the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel (known as early as 1867 as Aston Villa Wesleyan Chapel)[1][2] in Lozells. Aston Villa were one of the dozen teams that competed in the inaugural Football League in 1888. Just one year later in 1888, Villa was one of 12 teams to shape the inaugural football league. Twelve months earlier, their team had become league champions for the first time in 71 years and surely it couldn’t get any better than that? In December in an Eastern German camp, a German Guard regiment challenged British prisoners of war to a game of football; the guards were being defeated 27–0 when they stopped the game, only then learning these prisoners were Aston Villa's second team. [15] By the end of what was to be called Villa's golden era,[15] when the First World War began, the club had won the League Championship six times and the FA Cup five times. Aston Villa F.C. [5], The success of the previous season proved to be something of a false dawn though, with the team finishing 14th, seven points above relegation. [6][7], Club folklore has it that Aston Villa Football Club was formed by four players from the Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel cricket team. With poor spectator facilities and an uneven pitch, the Wellington Road ground was increasingly unsuitable,[13] and in 1897 Villa's financial secretary Frederick Rinder negotiated the purchase of their current home ground, the Aston Lower Grounds. Aston Villa's first match was against the local Aston Brook St Mary's Rugby team. One of his first actions was to introduce 19–year–old Peter McParland to the first team. [22], For an account of the club's history since 1961, see, History of Aston Villa F.C. The four founders of Aston Villa were Jack Hughes, Frederick Matthews, Walter Price and William Scattergood. By the outbreak of the Second World War, Aston Villa were back in the top-flight of English football. Ford would go on to score 60 times in his four seasons at Villa Park, before he was sold in the 1950–51 season to Sunderland for a then British record of £30,000 (£1,000,000 today). [5] This included the League and Cup Double in 1896–97, a feat which would not be repeated for more than 60 years. Football in England was becoming more competitive as more teams formed. Villa had a good start to the 1951–52 season when, after eight games, Villa were second behind Manchester United.

[15] This slump culminated in their relegation from the first tier of English football for the first time in their history in the 1935–36 season. Villa's first League game came on 8 September 1888, when they drew 1–1 Wolverhampton Wanderers as Tom Green scored the club's first League goal.

This page shows all ever transfers of the Aston Villa, including arrivals, departures and loans. Their first match was played against the local Aston Brook St Mary's Rugby team on Wilson Road, Aston. [9], The club won its first FA Cup in 1887, under the captaincy of another Scotsman, Archie Hunter. Peter McParland scored both goals in a 2–1 victory, in a record-equalling ninth FA Cup final. Long into the night, Villa supporters were still pinching themselves, barely able to believe what they had witnessed. Villa only spent one season in the Second Division, returning as Champions in 1960. Yet this success did not last and the complacency at Villa Park led to a slump in form. He had seen his first football match in Scotland at the age of eight and a couple of years after Aston Villa was formed he offered to help. His successor Joe Mercer was unable to prevent the club being relegated in 1959, for only the second time in its history.

Departures 22/23 . In November 1923, Villa's centre-half Tommy Ball was killed by his neighbour, thus becoming the only active Football League player to have been murdered. [19] Aston Villa went about rebuilding the team, under the guidance of former player Alex Massie for the remainder of the 1940s. Villa came ninth in their first season in the Second tier of English football but they were crowned Second Division Champions in 1937–38 under the guidance of Jimmy Hogan. Villa began the 20th century as champions but the gap that distinguished them from their competitors was diminishing. Villa Park  42.682 Seats, Current transfer record: The club's official history states that they chose football after witnessing an "impromptu game on a meadow off Heathfield Road". [15] The 1910–11 season was very close and the title was decided on the last day of the season when Villa lost to Liverpool and Manchester United beat Sunderland to take the title. The relegation coincided with the decision to appoint their first manager. It was at McGregor’s …

"[19] Under Houghton's stewardship, Villa won the 1957 FA Cup Final against Manchester United's celebrated Busby Babes. This was their best start of the last 19 years, and they eventually finished in sixth place.