1992–93 Aston Villa F.C. season

Season summary

Aston Villa spent most of the season challenging for the title, and were top of the Premier League with six games left to play, but were eventually overhauled by manager Ron Atkinson's old club Manchester United, who sealed the title without kicking a ball when on 2 May 1993 Villa were surprisingly beaten 1-0 at home by an Oldham Athletic side who were in the process of pulling off a surprise escape from relegation. The club lost their last three games, allowing United to pull ten points clear at the end of the season.

The season began with three successive 1-1 draws, with striker Dalian Atkinson scoring in each of these games. They then lost 1-0 to Everton, meaning that victory did not come until their fifth league game, when they triumphed 2-0 at Sheffield United.

On 9 September, Villa paid a club record £2.5million for Liverpool striker Dean Saunders, who 10 days later scored twice against his former employers in a 4-2 win for Villa at home. This came during a 10-match unbeaten run which sent Villa to the top of the table. That unbeaten run ended on 28 November when they lost 3-2 at home to a Norwich City side who were emerging as title contenders after being among the pre-season relegation favourites. A 3-0 defeat at Coventry City on Boxing Day was followed by a five-match winning run which restored Villa's leadership of the league from the East Anglians.

On 14 March, Villa travelled to the league's new leaders Manchester United for what was billed by many as the title decider, and came away with a 1-1 draw. Before the month was out, Villa lost at Norwich, but it was not until a 3-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers towards the end of April that Villa's title challenge was really looking dead and buried.

Villa had to win their penultimate game of the season at home to Oldham Athletic to stand any chance of catching Manchester United in the title race. But their opponents also had to win that game to have any hope of avoiding relegation, and it was the unfashionable Greater Manchester side who came away victorious from Villa Park, handing the league title to Manchester United.

Kit

English apparel manufacturer Umbro remained Aston Villa's kit sponsors, and introduced a new kit for the season, featuring a blue circle around a lace-up collar. The club retained the previous season's away and third kits. A new crest, featuring a yellow lion rampant on a blue and maroon striped design, was introduced, although the away and third kits retained the old club crest. Mita Copiers remained the kit sponsors.

Final league table

Updated to games played on 11 May 1993.
Source: Soccerbase
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored
¹Arsenal qualified by winning the FA Cup.
(C) = Champion; (R) = Relegated; (P) = Promoted; (E) = Eliminated; (O) = Play-off winner; (A) = Advances to a further round.
Only applicable when the season is not finished:
(Q) = Qualified to the phase of tournament indicated; (TQ) = Qualified to tournament, but not yet to the particular phase indicated; (RQ) = Qualified to the relegation tournament indicated; (DQ) = Disqualified from tournament.

First-team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.