The inaugural 1992/93 Premier League season saw Aston Villa miss out on their first title in 12 years when they finished runners-up to Manchester United. Villa got their revenge over the champions by beating them in the League Cup Final the following season. Chairman Doug Ellis had been unimpressed by Villa's league form and replaced the flamboyant Ron Atkinson with Brian Little in 1993/94. The former Villa player led the club to a 3-0 win over Leeds United in the 1996 League Cup final.

In 2000, Villa reached their first FA Cup final since 1957 but were defeated by Chelsea. Although Villa remained a hard side to beat, the loss of several star names and further managerial changes did little to help consistency. Matters came to a head in 2006 when manager David O'Leary left in acrimonious circumstances, but Martin O'Neill has been heralded as the man to lead them up the table. He led them to sixth-placed finishes in 2007/08, 2008/09 and 2009/10.

Club Heritage

In 1874, a group of cricketers needing something to occupy them during winter happened to see a game of football in the park - thus Aston Villa was born. Their first match was unusual in that the first half was played under rugby rules and the second under football rules. Villa fast became the Midlands' dominant side, beating Small Heath Alliance - later to become arch rivals Birmingham City - 22-0 on one occasion.

Aston Villa were one of the founding members of the Football League in 1888 and enjoyed instant success. In the 1890s, they won five titles in seven seasons. Villa won the league and cup double in 1897. A week later, they moved to Aston Lower Grounds, which the fans dubbed Villa Park. Villa's winning ways continued into the early 1900s, but their fortunes dwindled and in 1937 they were relegated. After the Second World War, the team was totally rebuilt. But apart from a 1957 FA Cup win, previous levels of success were never achieved.

A new low was reached when Villa were relegated to the Third Division in 1971. The club's fortunes changed 10 years later when Ron Saunders led them to the league title. The following year, in 1982, under caretaker manager Tony Barton, the club won the European Cup with victory over Bayern Munich. Villa were relegated from the top flight in 1987 but bounced back at the first attempt. They finished Premier League runners-up under manager Ron Atkinson in 1993 and League Cup wins over Manchester United and Leeds followed in 1994 and 1996 respectively.



West Ham United secured their place back in the Barclays Premiership after a two-year absence in 2005. The Hammers joined the Premier League in 1993 and consolidated in midtable under manager Billy Bonds. At the start of the following season, assistant Harry Redknapp stepped up to become the new manager after Bonds quit the post. Redknapp's first campaign saw the Hammers finish in 14th place, but he led them to three top-10 finishes including fifth place in 1999. Youth team coach Glenn Roeder became the new manager in 2001 and he had a successful first season leading the team to seventh. But things went badly wrong 12 months later, as they were relegated in 2003.

Alan Pardew took over and led West Ham to the Championship play-offs, but they lost to Crystal Palace in the final. However, the Hammers only had to wait another season before returning to the top flight after play-off success over Preston North End. On their return to the top flight in 2005/06, Pardew's men came ninth and also finished as FA Cup runners-up after Liverpool beat them in a penalty shoot-out. In the 2006/07 season, the Hammers started brightly but plunged into a relegation dogfight and Pardew left as manager in November.

New manager Alan Curbishley eventually reversed the slump and West Ham miraculously escaped relegation on the very last day of the season. Curbishley backed that up with a 10th place finish in the 2007/08 campaign in what was seen as a season of consolidation. Gianfranco Zola took the hotseat when Curbishley resigned in September 2008 and led the Hammers to a ninth place finish in 2009.

However the 2009/10 campaign was a struggle with a change of ownership in January 2010 when former Birmingham City owners David Sullivan and David Gold took charge. The Hammers eventually avoided relegation by one place and although they finished five points clear of the drop zone, it was not enough to save Zola's job and he was sacked on 11th May 2010. West Ham have never played outside football's top two divisions since joining the Football League in 1919.

Club Heritage

Founded in 1895, the club was originally known as Thames Ironworks FC, before it was re-named as West Ham United five years later. West Ham won promotion to the top flight in 1923 and the same year appeared in the first Wembley FA Cup Final. They clinched the FA Cup in 1964 and were crowned European Cup Winners' Cup winners in the following season.

More FA Cup glory arrived in 1975 and the Hammers were European Cup Winners' Cup finalists 12 months later. But in 1978, they suffered a blow with relegation from the top tier. But as a Second Division side, West Ham upset Arsenal to win the FA Cup in 1980. They won promotion in 1981 and spent eight seasons in the top flight - including a club-best finish of third in 1986 - before getting relegated in 1989.