10 Greatest Aston Villa Managers Of All Time Ranked
Aston Villa were founded in 1874 and went on to become one of the most successful English clubs. They have won it all, from English league titles, to FA Cups and of course the European Cup. All of these were achieved with some world-class players’ help and top managers’ guidance. In this article, let us have a look at some of the greatest Aston Villa managers of all time.
Based on the impact, success, playing style, win percentage and fans’ opinion, here are the ten greatest Aston Villa managers of all time.
=10. Martin O’Neill [2006–2010]
O’Neill was appointed Villa manager two weeks before the start of the 2006/07 season replacing David O’Leary. Villa made a good start under him, remaining unbeaten in their first nine league fixtures. Villa finished 11th that season, 5 positions better than the previous season. The following 3 seasons they finished 6th in each term, narrowly missing out on Champions League football in 2009-10.
O’Neill didn’t win a trophy at Villa, his highlight was the league cup run in 2009/10, where his side reached the final. Unfortunately, they lost out 2-1 to Manchester United in a controversial final. He surely earns his place among the greatest Aston Villa managers of all time.
=10. Dean Smith [2018–2021]
Dean Smith became manager of the club in 2018, taking over from Steve Bruce. He’s a Villa fan and from a Villa family, so everyone loved Dean. Villa had finished fourth in the Championship in the season before and were runners-up in the Playoffs, thus Dean Smith’s job was to get Villa promoted.
He did this exactly and brought Villa back into the Premier League after beating Derby County in the 2019 Championship play-off final. He also took Villa to the 2019–20 League Cup final, ultimately losing to Manchester City. Smith was sacked in November 2021, after a run of five successive defeats in the Premier League. He overall managed 134 games, with a win percentage of 41.04.
9. Graham Taylor [1987–1990]
Taylor came to Villa after building the best Watford side of all time. He came to Villa with the responsibility of transforming a Villa side that had stuttered after winning the European Cup in 1982. Taylor came close to his first title win in 1990 when the Villans were runners-up to Liverpool. It was after this success that England came knocking and things went rather downhill for Taylor.
Taylor’s England tenure started well with Three Lions going unbeaten for 23 games. Yet a poor Euro ‘92 and a disastrous qualification for the 1994 World Cup meant Taylor was shown the door, he would eventually return to Villa, although would fall out with the club’s chairman Doug Ellis after 15 months in charge.
8. Brian Little [1994–1998]
Anyone for a bit of the Man Who Walks On Water – Sir Brian of the Little? 1994 to 1998, 68 wins in 164 matches with plenty of quality football to boot, European football and another Cup win. Little had returned to the club and it’s where he belongs.
Under Little, young players like Mark Bosnich and Ugo Ehiogu were now getting more first-team chances. The new-look Villa team gelled well, and 1995–96 was a successful season at Villa Park. The club finished fourth in the Premiership, reached the FA Cup semi-finals and won the Football League Cup with a 3–0 win over Leeds United at Wembley.
7. Unai Emery [2022- present]
The Spaniard took over the reins of Aston Villa from Steven Gerrard in October 2022, when the club was in a very difficult position. Under Unai Emery, Villa would win fifteen of its twenty-five league games, earning 49 points from a possible 75 during that run.
With a final-day victory over Brighton & Hove Albion, the club finished 7th and secured European football in the UEFA Europa Conference League. From relegation battlers to European football, this was quite a turnaround.
The following season, he led the club to a 4th-place finish in the league, securing qualification to the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1982–83.