Decade Journey from Relegation Despair to European Contenders

It marked exactly 10 years since Aston Villa had been relegated to English football’s second tier for the first time since 1987, following a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United. That loss had been their ninth consecutive league defeat in a 13-game winless run, bringing a miserable 2015–16 season to a close and leaving the 1982 European Cup winners facing an uncertain future under American owner Randy Lerner.