27 January 2011 - Surely The Loss Was Punishment Enough

On 27 January 2011, the Premier League fined Blackpool £25,000 for fielding a weakened team against Aston Villa earlier that season.

The match in question was played on 10 November. Blackpool, playing in their first top-flight season since 1971, had risen to 11th in the table after a win over West Brom and a draw with Everton over the previous week. With upcoming games against West Ham and Wolves, who occupied the table's last two spots, Blackpool manager Ian Holloway (pictured) made ten changes to his side for the Villa match, resting key players.

Holloway acknowledged that the line-up was not his strongest, but defended his decision, saying "We've got four games in twelve days and the lads I've played every week are struggling to keep up the level." Even with the changes, Blackpool nearly got a result, but fell 3-2 (they then got a win and a draw in their next two games).

Afterward, the Premier League accused Blackpool of deliberately fielding a weakened side in contravention of league rules. An offended Holloway threatened to resign in the league levied any fine against his team.

Nevertheless, on 27 January, the Premier League announced its decision to fine the club £25,000. Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston labeled the decision "unjust" and said they would appeal, but they ultimately decided against it. Holloway remained with the club, who finished the season in nineteenth and were relegated.

19 August 1995 - To Be Fair, He Never Claimed To Be A Psychic

On 19 August 1995, pundit Alan Hansen criticized Manchester United's season-opening loss to Aston Villa, stating "you can't win anything with kids." United proved him wrong, however, going on to win a league and FA Cup double.

United had ended the previous season without a trophy, the first time that had happened since 1989. And, before the start of the 1995-96 season, they sold three key players--Paul Ince, Mark Hughes, and Andrei Kanchelskis--without bringing in replacements, preferring instead to rely on rising young players like David Beckham, Paul Scholes, and Gary Neville, all of whom were just 20 years old when the new season started.

Playing before a crowd of 34,655 at Villa Park, the hosts jumped to a comfortable 3-0 lead with goals from Ian Taylor (14'), Mark Draper (27'), and Dwight Yorke (36') before Beckham scored a consolation goal in the 82nd minute to end the day 3-1 to Villa.

Speaking later on Match of the Day, Hansen made his now-famous pronouncement, adding that "the trick to winning the championship is having strength and depth, and they just haven't got it." But United followed that loss with a ten-game unbeaten streak that included eight wins and pushed them up to second in the table. By March, they claimed the top spot and held it for the remainder of the season, then won the FA Cup final over Liverpool.

7 August 1999 - What's Black, White, And Red All Over?

On 7 August 1999, Alan Shearer marked his 100th appearance for Newcastle by receiving the first red card of his career.

The striker joined Newcastle, his hometown club, in 1996 after five seasons at Southampton and four at Blackburn Rovers (with whom he won the Premier League in 1995) and had made 99 appearances for the club prior to the start of the 1999-2000 season. He had acquired the nickname "Mary Poppins" for his squeaky-clean public image, due in large part to the fact that he had never been sent off.

That changed in 1999. Newcastle were hosting Aston Villa in the season opener and the match remained scoreless deep into the second half. In the 70th minute, Shearer, who was already on a yellow card, battled Villa's Colin Calderwood for the ball, leaving the defender on the ground. Referee Uriah Rennie ruled that Shearer was guilty of "excessive use of the elbows" and showed the striker a second yellow, ejecting him from the match. Villa went on to win 0-1 with a 75th-minute goal from Julian Joachim.

Just over two years later, Shearer received a second red in a match against Charlton, but it was later rescinded.

21 July 1960 - Trevor Fords The North Sea

On 21 July 1960, striker Trevor Ford returned to Great Britain after serving a three-year ban related to an illegal payment scheme.

A Welsh international considered by many to be one of the greatest forwards of his era, Ford once set a British transfer record for his position when Sunderland paid £30,000 to sign him from Aston Villa in 1950. He justified the expense by scoring 67 times in 108 league appearances. After three and a half seasons, he moved to Cardiff for a club-record £29,500.

After retiring in 1956, he published his autobiography, I Lead the Attack, in which he claimed to have been involved in an illegal payment scheme while at Sunderland. The Football League pressed him for details and his refusal to provide any information led them to ban him from the league.

He came out of retirement in 1957, but had to go overseas due to the ban. He signed with PSV Eindhoven and stayed there until the Football League lifted the ban in 1960. Upon his return, he signed with Division Three side Newport County, though he made only eight appearances and scored only three goals before ending his league career after the season.

27 September 1879 - The Birth Of The Birmingham Derby

On 27 September 1879, Birmingham City hosted the first Birmingham derby, beating Aston Villa by the score of 1-0. Since then, Villa has gotten the better of their crosstown rivals, winning the greater share of the teams' 120 meetings.

For that first match, Birmingham were still going by their original name, Small Heath Alliance (pictured). The contest was played at their Muntz Street ground, which drew heavy criticism for Villa players as being "only suitable for pot-holing."

The first competitive match in the derby came in the FA Cup in 1887, with Villa taking a 2-1 victory. Out of their 120 total matches, 52 have gone to Villa and 38 to Birmingham City, with 31 draws. The derby's top scorer is Villa's Billy Walker, who found the net 11 times between 1919 and 1934. City's top scorer is Joe Bradford, with 8 goals from 1920 to 1935.

Several players have switched teams over the years, including a few who moved directly from one team to the other. The highest profile switch came in 1986, when Villa great Dennis Mortimer (who won the European Cup with Villa in 1982) joined Birmingham after a season at Brighton & Hove Albion.

Managers have also made the crosstown move, starting in 1982 when Villa manager Ron Saunders joined Birmingham. In 2011, manager Alex McLeish left Birmingham for Aston Villa after Birmingham were relegated from the Premier League. Villa were relegated in 2016 and the next-scheduled meeting is October 30 in the Championship.

21 July 1960 - Trevor Fords The North Sea

On 21 July 1960, striker Trevor Ford returned to Great Britain after serving a three-year ban related to an illegal payment scheme.

A Welsh international considered by many to be one of the greatest forwards of his era, Ford once set a British transfer record for his position when Sunderland paid £30,000 to sign him from Aston Villa in 1950. He justified the expense by scoring 67 times in 108 league appearances. After three and a half seasons, he moved to Cardiff for a club-record £29,500.

After retiring in 1956, he published his autobiography, I Lead the Attack, in which he claimed to have been involved in an illegal payment scheme while at Sunderland. The Football League pressed him for details and his refusal to provide any information led them to ban him from the league.

He came out of retirement in 1957, but had to go overseas due to the ban. He signed with PSV Eindhoven and stayed there until the Football League lifted the ban in 1960. Upon his return, he signed with Division Three side Newport County, though he made only eight appearances and scored only three goals before ending his league career after the season.

26 May 1982 - "Oh It Must Be, And It Is!"

On 26 May 1982, Aston Villa won the European Cup over Bayern Munich with an outstanding performance from an unlikely hero.

Playing before a crowd of 45,000 at the Feyenoord Stadion in Rotterdam, Villa started the match as decided underdogs to three-time champion Bayern. And their hopes took another hit when their starting goalkeeper, Jimmy Rimmer, had to leave the match after only 10 minutes. He had injured his neck previously and was relying on painkillers to see him through the day, but he could not make it and had to withdraw. Villa sent on his replacement, 23-year old Nigel Spink. Despite joining the club in 1977, Spink had made only one other appearance with the first team.

His inexperience did not show, however, and he made several dazzling saves to deny the Germans, who boasted three of the tournament's top four scorers (Dieter Hoeness, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, and Paul Brietner).

Villa scored the day's only goal in the 67th minute. Forward Gary Shaw delivered a cutting pass down the left to midfielder Tony Morley, who dodged a couple of Bayern defenders and slipped the ball behind them and across the goalmouth. Forward Peter Withe was waiting there and tapped the ball into the net for the win. Commentator Brian Moore famously announced the goal by saying "Shaw, Williams, prepared to venture down the left. There's a good ball in for Tony Morley. Oh, it must be and it is! It's Peter Withe!"

Spink remained with Villa until 1996, making a total of 460 appearances before moving to West Brom.

27 February 1999 - The Last Of The English Starting XIs

On 27 February 1999, Aston Villa fielded an all-English starting eleven--the last time that's happened in the Premier League.

At the time, Villa were in fourth place and took the pitch that day at home against Coventry City, who were sitting in the relegation zone at 18th. Coventry had not won at Villa Park in 23 attempts and Villa had won the season's earlier fixture at Highfield Road, 1-2, so would have been understandably confident if not for the fact that they had taken only a single point from their last four league matches.

The visitors struck first when their Australian striker, John Aloisi, found the back of the net after 25 minutes. The situation grew worse for the hosts when manager John Gregory had to make two substitutions before the break, replacing Ian Taylor and Steve Watson with Mark Draper and Gareth Barry (still keeping a full English side).

Dion Dublin eventually scored for Villa from the penalty spot, but another goal from Aloisi and two stunning strikes from Dutch midfielder George Boateng ended the day 1-4 to Coventry.

(Villa's starting XI that day were Michael Oakes, Alan Wright, Gareth Southgate, Steve Watson, Riccardo Scimeca, Ian Taylor, Paul Merson (pictured), Simon Grayson, Lee Hendrie, Dion Dublin, and Julian Joachim; with Gareth Barry, Stan Collymore, and Mark Draper as substitutes.)

29 December 2009 - El Niño Turns Fifty

On 29 December 2009, Spanish striker Fernando Torres scored his 50th league goal for Liverpool, reaching that milestone faster than any other player in the club's history.

Nicknamed "El Niño," Torres arrived in Liverpool from Atlético Madrid in July 2007 when he was only 23. He made his league debut for the Reds on 11 August 2007, then scored his first league goal one week later in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea. He provided a total of 33 goals in all competitions that first year, helping Liverpool to a 4th-place league finish and the Champions League semifinals. His 24 league goals tied him for second in the Premier League.

Injuries hampered his second season on Merseyside, limiting him a still-respectable haul of 14 league goals as Liverpool secured a second-place finish.

The record 50th goal came the following season, his third with Liverpool. Deep into stoppage time at Aston Villa with the match scoreless, Torres latched on to a 93rd-minute rebound and slotted it past Villa keeper Brad Friedel for the win. It was Torres' 72nd league match for Liverpool, eight matches fewer than the club's former record-holder Sam Raybould and 12 matches fewer than Liverpool's all-time leading goalscorer, Ian Rush.

23 December 2006 - United Teach Mourinho A Special Lesson

On 23 December 2006, Manchester United scored their 2000th goal under Sir Alex Ferguson, delivered by Cristiano Ronaldo in a 0-3 trouncing of Aston Villa.

United started the day at the top of the table, 2 points clear of second-place Chelsea, whose manager, José Mourinho, had predicted that United would not top the table at Christmas. Despite the pressure to get all three points, Ferguson rested star striker Wayne Rooney in favor of Louis Saha, playing alongside wingers Ronaldo and Ji Sung Park in a 4-3-3 formation. That decision looked questionable in the first half, as Saha failed to ignite United's anemic attack.

But as Ferguson prepared to bring Rooney on in the second half, Ronaldo completed a dashing 50-yard run then unleashed a fierce shot in the 58th minute. Villa defender Gary Cahill managed to block it, but failed to control the ball which landed at Ronaldo's feet for an easy goal--United's 2,000th under Ferguson. Paul Scholes added a second in the 64th minute before Ronaldo completed the rout with another in the 85th minute.

The win secured United's position at the top of the table for Christmas; indeed, they remained in first for the remainder of the season to capture their 16th league title.

5 September 1910 - A Bright Day For Brighton & Hove

On 5 September 1910, Brighton & Hove Albion won their first and only national silverware, beating Aston Villa 1-0 in the Charity Shield.

England's Football Association began the Charity Shield in 1908 as a competition between the previous season's Football League and Southern League champions. For the first two years, the Football League claimed the honors. In 1910, Brighton and Hove Albion took up the Southern League standard against defending Football League champions Aston Villa.

The teams met at Stamford Bridge in London, where a crowd of 13,000 assembled to watch them engage in a defensive stalemate. With 18 minutes left in the match, Albion inside left Charlie Webb scored the match's only goal, giving his side the 1-0 win. While Brighton & Hove would go on to win four more lower division titles and advance to the 1983 FA Cup Final, the Charity Shield win remains their only national title.

In 1913, the Charity Shield format changed to amateurs against professionals, leaving Albion as the only Southern League team to win it. The format changed again over the years, so that the competition - now known as the Community Shield - currently pits the Football League winners against the FA Cup holders.

20 April 1895 - Villa Wins The Cup, Then Loses It

On 20 April 1895, Aston Villa (pictured) scored what was at the time the fastest goal in FA Cup Final history to beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0 before a crowd of 42,560 at London's Crystal Palace. Because many of those attendees were slow entering the stadium, they missed the record-setting goal.

There is some dispute about who actually scored the goal. According to post-match reports, Villa center forward John Devey started the match, kicking the ball to inside-left Dennis Hodgetts, who then sent it to winger Charlie Athersmith on the right. Athersmith then crossed it to the goalmouth, where it fell to inside forward Bob Chatt, who then half-volleyed it toward the goal. The ball entered the goal sometime between the 30th and 39th second of the match.

Press reports credited the goal to Chatt, but some Villa players said later that West Brom keeper Joe Reader deflected Chatt's shot into the path of Devey, who fired it into the net. In any event, the FA still lists Chatt as the goalscorer on the 30th second. It turned out to be the match-winner, as neither team was able to penetrate the other's defense for the remainder of the match.

It was the second FA Cup title for Villa, who had won it in 1887 by beating West Brom 2-0. Villa didn't get to hold on to it for very long, though, as the 1895 Cup itself was stolen shortly after the Final and has never been recovered.

Villa's record goal stood for 114 years until it was overtaken in 2009 when Everton's Louis Saha scored at the 25-second mark in their 2-1 loss to Chelsea.

2 April 2005 - And Then There Were Eight

On 2 April 2005, visiting Aston Villa pounded Newcastle 0-3 before a crowd of 52,306 at St. James' Park. It was an all-out humiliation for the hosts, who finished the match with only eight men thanks to three red cards, two of which were issued for a fight between Newcastle teammates Lee Bowyer and Kieron Dyer.

Newcastle entered the match as heavy favorites, having lost only once in their previous 17 matches. Villa, meanwhile, had won away from home only twice in 15 attempts that season. But any optimism among the home supporters was dashed by Juan Pablo Angel's 5th-minute strike that put the visitors ahead 0-1. 

Newcastle applied constant pressure for an equalizer that never came, despite several close misses and a legitimate cry for a penalty when skipper Alan Shearer's header struck the arm of Villa defender Jlloyd Samuel. The referee, however, ruled that the contact was not deliberate.

The referee did award a penalty kick for a handball in the second half, as Newcastle substitute Steven Taylor handled a Villa shot on the line, earning himself a red card in the process. Gareth Barry converted the 73rd-minute kick to extend Villa's lead to 2-1, then extended it further when Darius Vassell earned another penalty thanks to a challenge from Newcastle's Stephen Carr in the 80th minute. That's when the match moved from embarrassing to surreal.

Shortly after Barry's second penalty kick, Bowyer apparently took offense when Dyer did not pass him the ball and the two ended up in a full-bore brawl. Barry stepped in to separate the two, but both Bowyer and Dyer were sent off for violent conduct.

Oddly enough, Bowyer left Newcastle for West Ham at the end of the 2005-06 season, then was joined by Dyer, who arrived at Upton Park in the summer of 2007. They continued to play together until January 2009, when Bowyer left for Birmingham City.

28 March 1903 - Ireland's Good Old Goodall

On 28 March 1903, center-half Archie Goodall (pictured) scored the opening goal in Ireland's 2-0 victory over Wales in the 1903 British Home Championship. Goodall was 38 years and 283 days old, making him the oldest goalscorer in the history of the Irish national team.

Born in Belfast in 1864, Goodall spent his entire club career in England, starting with Preston North End in 1887. After one season in Deepdale and one with Aston Villa, he settled with Derby County for whom he made 380 league appearances (and scored 48 goals) between 1889 and 1903.

He received his first call up for Ireland in March 1899. Prior to that time, the Irish FA had refused to allow the national team to select footballers who were playing in clubs outside Ireland, making Goodall one of the first players based in England to don a shirt for the Irish national team.

Ireland's match against Wales on 28 March 1903 was their last of the tournament. Goodall's goal - the second and last of his international career - helped the Irish finish level on points with England and Scotland and, because there was no provision in the tournament rules to break a tie, the three sides shared the trophy equally. It was the first top finish for Ireland, who would finish as runners-up the following season, then win the title outright in 1914.

Goodall left Derby County in 1903 and spent a season with Plymouth Argyle before moving to Glossop North End as player-manager. After one season there, he moved to Wolverhampton in 1905, but made only seven appearances for Wolves before retiring later that year.

2 February 2009 - Arsenal Get Their Arshavin

On 2 February 2009, Arsenal completed their long courtship of Russian playmaker Andrey Arshavin, with the former Zenit St. Petersburg player agreeing to move to the London club for a fee close to £15 million.

Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had shown interest in Arshavin after the 2008 Euros, in which the Russian had emerged as a star for his national team, but initial discussions in the summer of 2008 proved fruitless. And, although talks resumed in the January transfer window, it appeared that those talks would similarly fail to result in an agreement. The on-again-off-again deal dragged on until the last day of the window and was not completed until late that evening.

Despite Arsenal's lengthy pursuit, their signing of Arshavin was a departure from the club's usual transfer policy under Arsene Wenger, who usually preferred not to purchase players at the peak of their career nor to make big signings in the January window.

Arshavin proved to be shrewd purchase, however. When he signed for Arsenal, the Gunners were sitting in fifth place, five points behind Aston Villa. Arshavin instantly adapted to the Premier League and began scoring for the club, including all four goals in Arsenal's 4-4 draw with Liverpool at Anfield. By the end of the season, Arsenal had overtaken Villa to finish in fourth place and qualify for the Champions League.

His success at Arsenal proved short-lived, however, as he scored only 31 goals in 143 appearances. In March 2012, he returned to Zenit on loan, then signed a permanent deal there in June 2013 on a free transfer from Arsenal.

1 February 1936 - The Floodgates Opened

On 1 February 1936, the sides in the four levels of the English Football league pyramid set a collective record by scoring (or conceding) a total of 209 goals in a single day. Nine players scored hat-tricks and three players bagged four goals each.

The goals were scored in 44 different matches, for an average of 4.75 goals per match. Highlights included Chester City's 12-0 win over York City and Chesterfield's 5-6 win at Crewe Alexandra, both of which were in Division Three North. In the top flight, Brentford rolled over Wolves 5-0 and West Brom flooded Liverpool 6-1, while the largest margin of victory in Division Two was West Ham's 6-0 win over Bury. The only scoreless League match that day was Aldershot's 0-0 draw with Bristol City in Division Three South.

Division One's last place team Aston Villa delivered the day's biggest upset by beating hosts Derby County, then in second place, by the score of 1-3. The win did little to change Villa's fortunes, however, as they finished second from bottom are were relegated to Division Two.

14 December 1935 - Drake Takes The Cake

On 14 December 1935, Arsenal topped Aston Villa 7-1 in a First Division match before a crowd of 60,000 at Villa Park. All seven of the Gunners' goals were scored by center forward Ted Drake, setting a record for most goals scored in a single match by one player in the English top flight.

Drake had joined Arsenal in March 1934, moving from Southampton for a transfer fee of £6,500. The following season, he scored a club-record 44 goals.

Having firmly established his prowess as a shooter, his 7-goal tally against Villa was nonetheless a surprise. In fact, Villa seemed to have the better of the chances in the first 15 minutes before the floodgates opened for Drake. By the break, he had hat-trick and after 60 minutes, he had two hat-tricks. In all, Drake took nine shots on the day, with one hitting the bar and one saved by the Villa keeper.

At the time, Drake's tally was a record in all of English football. Twelve days later, however, Tranmere's Bunny Bell scored nine against Oldham in a Third Division match. Still, Drake's effort remains a record for the top division.

7 September 2006 - Barça Gives Back

On 7 September 2006, FC Barcelona reached an agreement with UNICEF to promote the charity by including its name and logo on Barça's shirts, as well contributing 0.7% of the club's total annual revenue to UNICEF for a period of five years.

The move was a significant departure from Barça's past practices, as the club was one of the few in football who had never before included a sponsor on their shirts. In this case, however, it was Barça who was sponsoring UNICEF, rather than the other way around.

Unique at the time, the deal started a minor trend as other clubs soon followed suit. Swedish club Hammarby IF and Danish club Brøndby IF penned similar deals with UNICEF in 2007 and 2008, respectively. And English side Aston Villa sponsored Acorns Childrens Hospice on their shirts starting with the 2008-09 season.

22 March 1888 - Thank You, Mr. McGregor

On 22 March 1888, the Football League was founded by Scotsman William McGregor, then director of Aston Villa. The original twelve members were Accrington, Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Bolton Wanderers, Burnley, Derby County, Everton, Notts County, Preston North End, Stoke, West Bromwich Albion, and Wolverhampton Wanderers. 

McGregor first proposed the idea in a letter to the clubs dated 2 March, proposing a meeting at Anderton's Hotel in London for later in the month. That first meeting on 22 March was "informal," with a formal meeting following on 17 April. The league's first season began a few months later on 8 September 1888.

Prior to the formation of the Football League, the individual clubs in England scheduled their own fixtures. With the League, however, each club played the other clubs two times - once home and once away - earning two points for a win and one point for a draw. Preston North End claimed the first league title.

Today, the Football League oversees levels two through four in the English pyramid - the Championship, League One, and League Two. Teams promoted from the Championship enter the Premier League, while teams relegated from League Two compete in the Football Conference.

19 August 2006 - Not The Housewarming Present They Would have Liked

On 19 August 2006, Arsenal played their first competitive game at the new Emirates Stadium, drawing 1-1 with Aston Villa.

Built over a three-year period with a construction cost of £390 million, the stadium replaced Arsenal's previous home, Highbury, and expanded the club's match-day capacity from 38,000 to over 60,300. A slightly less-than-capacity crowd of 60,023 turned up for the the first competitive game there on the Premier League's opening weekend, with Aston Villa as the guests of honor.

It was a close contest, remaining scoreless through the first half, but Villa managed to break the deadlock early in the second when captain Olof Mellberg headed home from a 53rd-minute corner kick.

Corner kicks became the theme of the day. Arsenal substitute Theo Walcott came on in the 73rd minute and, eleven minutes later, sent in a cross that dropped at the feet of midfielder Gilberto Silva, who prodded it home to earn a share of the points.