Aston Villa FC

The glory days for Aston Villa were in the early 1980's when the West Midlands side scooped the top-flight championship, European Cup and European Super Cup. However, Villa have picked up some silverware in recent years, winning the League Cup in both 1994 and 1996 and being pipped to Premier League title glory by Manchester United in 1993. Aston Villa have established themselves as a strong Premiership side, finishing eleventh in 2006/07 under the leadership of Martin O'Neill.

John Gregory enjoyed a successful spell as Villa manager between 1998 and 2002 and the club never finished below the top half under his guidance. He also led them to the UEFA Cup quarter-finals in 1998 - one of the clubs outstanding achievements of recent years - and FA Cup Final in 2000, where they lost to Chelsea.

Swedish international Ofel Mellberg and experienced Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen remain the backbone to Villa's defence. Young midfielder Steven Davis impressed during his first season as a senior at Villa Park and was rewarded with the Player of the Year award in 2006. Although he failed to recapture the same form in the 2006/07 season he remains one of a few exciting emerging talents at Aston Villa.

After a long period at the top, Doug Ellis handed over the reigns as chairman to American billionaire Randy Lerner, providing stability over the clubs future. Aston Villa currently play at Villa Park, which has a capacity of 42,584.