# List of Aston Villa F.C. managers

This chronological list of managers of Aston Villa Football Club comprises all those who have held the position of secretary or manager of the first team of Aston Villa since the formation of the club in 1874. From 1874 to 1934, the team was selected by a committee whose secretary had the same powers and role as a manager has today. There were two secretaries during this period, George Ramsay and W. J. Smith. The most successful person to manage the club was George Ramsay, who won six FA Cups and six First Division championships in his 42-year reign as secretary. Jimmy McMullan became the first full-time manager in 1934. Aston Villa were the first top-tier club to appoint a manager from outside the United Kingdom or Ireland when Jozef Vengloš was appointed in 1990.
Manager turnover has increased substantially over the past 30 years. The chairman of the time, Doug Ellis, acquired the nickname "Deadly Doug" because of his penchant for hiring and firing managers. In the 37 years that Ellis was involved with the Board, he hired and fired 13 out of the 24 managers that Aston Villa have had over their 133-year history. One of Ellis's last acts before selling the club to Randy Lerner was to appoint Martin O'Neill, who was with the club from 4 August 2006 to 9 August 2010.

## Managers

This list does not include caretaker managers or those who managed in a temporary capacity.
    Information correct as of 30 October 2024. Only competitive matches are counted.
Table of Aston Villa F.C. managers, including tenure, record and honours :
| Name | Nationality | From | To | Matches | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win% | Honours |
| George Ramsay | Scotland | August 1884 | May 1926 | 1,327 | 658 | 414 | 255 | 049.59 | First Division champions: 1893–94, 1895–96, 1896–97, 1898–99, 1899–1900, 1909–10 FA Cup winners: 1886–87, 1894–95, 1896–97, 1904–05, 1912–13, 1919–20 |
| W. J. Smith | England | August 1926 | May 1934 | 364 | 175 | 67 | 122 | 048.08 | - |
| Jimmy McMullan | Scotland | June 1934 | October 1936 | 55 | 17 | 15 | 23 | 030.91 | - |
| Jimmy Hogan | England | Summer 1936 | September 1939 | 124 | 57 | 26 | 41 | 045.97 | Second Division champions: 1937–38 |
| Alex Massie | Scotland | August 1945 | August 1950 | 189 | 76 | 46 | 67 | 040.21 | - |
| George Martin | Scotland | December 1950 | August 1953 | 119 | 47 | 30 | 42 | 039.50 | - |
| Eric Houghton | England | September 1953 | November 1958 | 250 | 88 | 65 | 97 | 035.20 | FA Cup winners: 1956–57 |
| Joe Mercer | England | December 1958 | July 1964 | 282 | 120 | 63 | 99 | 042.55 | Second Division champions: 1959–60 League Cup winners: 1960–61 |
| Dick Taylor | England | July 1964 | May 1967 | 144 | 51 | 22 | 71 | 035.42 | - |
| Tommy Cummings | England | July 1967 | November 1968 | 62 | 18 | 14 | 30 | 029.03 | - |
| Tommy Docherty | Scotland | December 1968 | January 1970 | 46 | 13 | 16 | 17 | 028.26 | - |
| Vic Crowe | Wales | January 1970 | May 1974 | 199 | 88 | 55 | 56 | 044.22 | Third Division champions: 1971–72 |
| Ron Saunders | England | June 1974 | February 1982 | 353 | 157 | 98 | 98 | 044.48 | First Division champions: 1980–81 League Cup winners: 1974–75, 1976–77 Aston Villa Hall of Fame |
| Tony Barton | England | February 1982 | June 1984 | 130 | 58 | 24 | 48 | 044.62 | European Cup winners: 1981–82 European Super Cup winners: 1982 |
| Graham Turner | England | July 1984 | September 1986 | 105 | 33 | 29 | 43 | 031.43 | - |
| Billy McNeill | Scotland | September 1986 | May 1987 | 41 | 9 | 15 | 17 | 021.95 | - |
| Graham Taylor | England | May 1987 | July 1990 | 142 | 65 | 35 | 42 | 045.77 | - |
| Jozef Vengloš | Czechoslovakia | July 1990 | May 1991 | 49 | 16 | 15 | 18 | 032.65 | - |
| Ron Atkinson | England | July 1991 | November 1994 | 178 | 77 | 45 | 56 | 043.26 | League Cup winners: 1993–94 |
| Brian Little | England | November 1994 | February 1998 | 164 | 68 | 45 | 51 | 041.46 | League Cup winners: 1995–96 Aston Villa Hall of Fame |
| John Gregory | England | February 1998 | January 2002 | 190 | 82 | 52 | 56 | 043.16 | Intertoto Cup winners: 2001 |
| Graham Taylor | England | February 2002 | May 2003 | 60 | 19 | 14 | 27 | 031.67 | - |
| David O'Leary | Ireland | May 2003 | July 2006 | 131 | 47 | 35 | 49 | 035.88 | - |
| Martin O'Neill | Northern Ireland | August 2006 | August 2010 | 190 | 80 | 60 | 50 | 042.11 | - |
| Gérard Houllier | France | September 2010 | June 2011 | 36 | 14 | 8 | 14 | 038.89 | - |
| Alex McLeish | Scotland | June 2011 | May 2012 | 42 | 9 | 17 | 16 | 021.43 | - |
| Paul Lambert | Scotland | June 2012 | February 2015 | 115 | 34 | 26 | 55 | 029.57 | - |
| Tim Sherwood | England | February 2015 | October 2015 | 28 | 10 | 2 | 16 | 035.71 | - |
| Rémi Garde | France | November 2015 | March 2016 | 23 | 3 | 7 | 13 | 013.04 | - |
| Roberto Di Matteo | Italy | June 2016 | October 2016 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 008.33 | - |
| Steve Bruce | England | October 2016 | October 2018 | 102 | 46 | 25 | 31 | 045.10 | - |
| Dean Smith | England | October 2018 | November 2021 | 134 | 55 | 28 | 51 | 041.04 | Play-off winners: 2018–19 |
| Steven Gerrard | England | November 2021 | October 2022 | 40 | 13 | 8 | 19 | 032.50 | |
| Unai Emery | Spain | November 2022 | Ongoing | 97 | 53 | 18 | 26 | 054.64 | |