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Aston Villa Football Club are one of the oldest clubs in English football. Often regarded as a sleeping giant,

Recent form under Martin O’Neill gave fans hope that former glories can be recaptured. They will hope that Gerard Houlier can build on O’Neil’s legacy. You can watch Aston Villa live in the Premier League through our dedicated member’s area. Catch all the live online streaming action from Villa Park during the coming season right here on Live Sports Network.

2010/11

6th place in the Premier League is a position that many envy but given the progress of the past few years under Martin O’Neill, many Villa fans would have hoped for a little more and would have willingly swapped a UEFA Europa League place for a UEFA Champions League qualification spot. The eve-of-season departure of O’Neill citing potential differences with owner Randy Lerner did nothing to raise the mood at Villa Park.

Former Liverpool boss Gerard Houlier finally took the reins and he will look to guide Villa towards the promised land of UEFA Champions League football.

Apart from O’Neill, the major move involving a player was James Milner who left for Manchester City after protracted negotiations with Stephen Ireland moving the other way. Milner’s departure cost Villa a vital cog in midfield and they will look to Stewart Downing to fill the void. Marlon Harewood left on a free for newly-promoted Blackpool while Wilfred Bouma also departed without fee to PSV of the Eredivisie. Nicky Shorey signed for West Bromwich Albion for an undisclosed fee.

Keeper Brad Friedel remains a huge part in Villa’s challenge on the Premiership’s top four and will again be key to Villa’s ability to maintain the pressure on the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool for the ultimate prize of a Champions League place. Creating chances and scoring goals are two area’s in which Houlier should expect great things this coming season. Norwegian international John Carew continues to perform and alongside Emile Heskey who, if fit and on form, is one of the best strikers in the country. Gabriel Agbonlahor has established himself as one of the brightest prospects in the English games. Ashley Young is another to watch this year.

The club was formed by four men, Jack Hughes, Frederick Matthews, Walter Price and William Scattergood, who were the members of Villa Cross Wesleyan Chapel in Birmingham. The club's first major silverware came in 1880, when it won the Birmingham Senior Cup with George Ramsay as the captain, and seven years later won its first FA Cup title.

Aston Villa director William McGregor is often considered to be the founder of the Football League in 1888 and the club was among the original 12 teams that played in the inaugural Football League competition that year. Villa won five league titles and three FA Cup between 1894 to 1900. They moved to Aston Lower Grounds or Villa Park during that period, their home ground ever since.

The club saw both success and struggle in the following decades before winning the inaugural League Cup in 1961.

Villa won its first league title in 71 years under Ron Saunders in 1981. However Saunders resigned from his position the next year after clashing with chairman Doug Ellis and was replaced by assistant manager Tony Barton. It was Barton who led the club to its first and only European Cup in 1982 when they beat Bayern Munich 1-0 in the final.

Villa were runners-up in the first season of Premier League football and won the League Cup in 1994 and 1996, establishing themselves as a top flight club. They lost the 2000 FA Cup final to Chelsea but failed to make progress until the arrival of American investor, Randy Lerner, who bought the club a week after Martin O'Neill was appointed as the manager of the club.

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