The History of Aston Villa Football Club is described in two separate articles:
History of Aston Villa F.C. (1874–1961) – This article covers the period from the club's formation in 1874 by four members of a cricket team, to the first League Cup win in 1961. This period includes the Golden Age of the late 19th century up to the First World War, during which time the club had won the League Championship six times and the FA Cup five times. The inter-war years were ones of mediocrity. After the Second World War the Villa side was rebuilt and by 1957 Villa were a Cup winning side once again with the club's seventh FA Cup win. Even though Villa won the inaugural League Cup in 1960, the club were to slide into a period of turmoil.
History of Aston Villa F.C. (1961–present) - The 1960s saw much change at Villa Park. With Villa languishing in the Second Division, fan pressure led to the resignation of the Board and the introduction of Doug Ellis as Villa Chairman. Soon after Villa were relegated to the Third Division. Ron Saunders took over in 1973 and this heralded the start of a period of success for Villa that would see Villa win the First Division and the 1982 European Cup Final under Tony Barton. For the rest of the 1980s Villa were lacklustre. In 1993 Villa finished 2nd in the inaugural season of the Premier League. In the nineties Villa won two League Cups but League finishes were inconsistent. 2006 was a year of change at Villa as Martin O'Neill was brought in and after 23 years as chairman and single biggest shareholder, Doug Ellis sold his stake in Aston Villa to Randy Lerner.
