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- Season Preview 20in20 - Aston Villa
Season Preview 20in20 - Aston Villa
18 of 20 - Villa/The Lions
nick lochner
August 09, 2023
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“Villa” “The Lions” “The Villains” |
Are you a Villa Fan? |
2022/23 Finish - 7th Place, Will play in Europa Conference
A medium/large club with a large fan base and a history of winning cups, just not since the early 1980s. The consistency has been there, Villa has been in the top league 43 of the last 47 years. Since returning to the PL in 2020, Villa took a big jump up finishing 7th last season, the highest finish since a 6th place finish in 2010. Steven Gerrard started as manager, but after losing 7 in the first 11 he was sacked and replaced by Unai Emery who turned things around quickly. Villa was definitely a buyer this transfer season spending over $100M, and they are going to need the talent and depth to handle Europa Conference play. If Emery does at Villa what he did at Villareal, you can expect Villa will challenge for a Europe Cup and top 5 finish in the PL.
The Club
Located in Aston, Birmingham (W Midlands) Villa Park, 43,000 capacity Rough estimates $225M Annual Revenue $85M Player Payroll  History on the Pitch
OwnershipVilla has had a string of American owners. In 2006, Randy Lerner of the Cleveland Browns bought Villa for $75M. In 2014 Lerner put the club up for sale for $225M and sold to Chinese businessman in 2016. The club ran into financial difficulties after relegation to The Championship. Additional investment was needed, and Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris and American Billionaire Wes Edens bought a 55% controlling share in 2018 and the remaining 45% in 2019. Wes Edens is also owner of the NBA franchise Milwaukee Bucks.  | Sponsorship
Biggest Rival - Birmingham City - The Secon City Derby
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The Culture
If you think of English soccer as cool old stadiums with passionate fans, great pubs, and major rivalries - that describes Aston Villa. It’s one of the original clubs started, with great history, many cups and titles, a great stadium and a passionate fan following. Great local rivals add to the passion and energy with the “Big 4 of the West Midlands” (West Brom, Wolverhampton, Birmingham City). An argument could be made for Villa to be the “best” PL club not in the Big 6. Villa have spent 109 consecutive seasons in the top 4 leagues, second to only Everton (120) and the two have matched up against each other more than any other two clubs. For current Villa fans frustration comes from a couple angles. The titles were over 40 years ago, the main rivals keep rotating in and out of the PL, and you The Lions seem to be fighting uphill against the Big 6 clubs.
The Rampant LionIts pretty self-explanatory where “The Villains” name came from, but how about “The Lions”? If you go to Villa Park - there are Lions everywhere and the crest has always been the Rampant Lion. The Rampant Lion is a symbol of Scotland and is on the flag known as the Royal Standard of Scotland. Two of the founding club members, William McGregor and George Ramsay, both from Scotland. They wanted to keep a connection to their heritage.  Royal Standard of Scotland Supporters You May Recognize
| SongAston Parish Church is near Villa Park, and on Saturday’s the bells would ring during weddings. “The bells are ringing for the claret and blue. Claret and blue. Claret and blue. The fans are singing for the claret and blue. Claret and blue. Claret and blue. Everybody is knowing, to the Villa they’re going. Where the Villa are showing. We’re the best in the land. Best in the land.”  Game Day Pub Guide |
Fan Sites
Official Twitter@AVFCOfficial High Follows on Twitter @villareport (92k) @Aston_Villains (22k) @theavfcfaithful (42k) @Holy_Trinity_AV (11k) @AstonVilla_view (11k) @The1874podcast (32k) |
The Team
The Gaffer
ODDS
| Roster NotesFull Roster click link Projected to finish 9th
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Villa Park
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