# 1989–90 Aston Villa F.C. season

The 1989–90 Aston Villa season saw the football club competing in the Football League First Division. A lowly 17th the previous season, Villa improved drastically and spent most of the season challenging for the title though finishing in second behind Liverpool. This was Villa's highest finish since 1980–81, and a great result for a team in the second season of the top flight. At the end of the season Jozef Vengloš became the first manager from outside of Britain of a top flight club in English football history.
Key players in the team this season were high-scoring midfielder David Platt, who broke into the England team and went on to play at the World Cup, as well as being voted PFA Player of the Year, and new defender Paul McGrath, a £450,000 pre-season signing from Manchester United. Aston Villa played in kit manufactured by Danish company Hummel and sponsored by Mita Copiers. There were also debuts for Kent Nielsen, Adrian Heath, Andy Comyn, Mark Blake, Tony Cascarino and Dwight Yorke.
Slovak Jozef Vengloš, who had just led Czechoslovakia to the quarter-finals of the World Cup, replaced Graham Taylor who had accepted an offer to take over management of the England national football team.

## Squad

    Squad at end of season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Lee Butler |
| — | GK | ENG | Nigel Spink |
| — | DF | ENG | Andy Comyn |
| — | DF | ENG | Darrell Duffy |
| — | DF | ENG | Kevin Gage |
| — | DF | ENG | Bernie Gallacher |
| — | DF | ENG | Derek Mountfield |
| — | DF | ENG | Chris Price |
| — | DF | ENG | Steve Sims |
| — | DF | IRL | Paul McGrath |
| — | DF | DEN | Kent Nielsen |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Birch |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Blake |
| — | MF | ENG | Nigel Callaghan |
| — | MF | ENG | Gordon Cowans |
| — | MF | ENG | Tony Daley |
| — | MF | ENG | Stuart Gray (captain) |
| — | MF | ENG | David Platt |
| — | MF | ENG | Gareth Williams |
| — | FW | ENG | Ian Olney |
| — | FW | ENG | Ian Ormondroyd |
| — | FW | ENG | Dean Spink |
| — | FW | IRL | Tony Cascarino |
| — | FW | TRI | Dwight Yorke |

### Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ENG | Adrian Heath (to Manchester City) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ENG | Mark Lillis (to Scunthorpe United) |

### Youth and reserves

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Glen Livingstone |
| — | DF | ENG | Christopher Boden |
| — | DF | ENG | John Elliott |
| — | DF | ENG | Bryan Small |
| — | DF | ENG | Andrew Smith |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve Froggatt |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Craig Liddle |
| — | MF | ENG | Lee Williams |
| — | FW | ENG | Martin Carruthers |
| — | FW | ENG | Tommy Mooney |
| — | FW | ENG | Mark Parrott |
| — | FW | WAL | David Jones |

### Trainees

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ENG | Ian Tyrrell |

### Apprentices

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | GK | ENG | Michael Oakes |
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ENG | Neil Floate |

### Other players

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | DF | ENG | Russell Bullivant |
| — | DF | ENG | David Watt |
| — | MF | ENG | Richard Crisp |
| — | MF | ENG | Brian Nicholas |
| — | FW | ENG | David Travis |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | FW | ENG | Stephen Walker |
| — | | | Noel Callaghan |
| — | | | Shepherd |
| — | | ENG | Stephen Slocombe |
| — | | | C Williams |

### Trialists

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | TRI | Colvin Hutchinson |
| — | FW | DEN | Lars Jakobsen (on trial from OB) |

## Transfers
### In

* Paul McGrath – Manchester United, 3 August 1989, £400,000
* Dwight Yorke

### Out

* Allan Evans – Leicester City
* Alan McInally – Bayern Munich, £1,200,000
* Mark Lillis – Scunthorpe United, 21 September, £40,000
* Adrian Heath – Manchester City, February 1990, £300,000

## Results
### First Division

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 1 | Liverpool (C) | 38 | 23 | 10 | 5 | 78 | 37 | +41 | 79 | Disqualified from the European Cup |
| 2 | Aston Villa | 38 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 57 | 38 | +19 | 70 | Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 38 | 19 | 6 | 13 | 59 | 47 | +12 | 63 | |
| 4 | Arsenal | 38 | 18 | 8 | 12 | 54 | 38 | +16 | 62 | |
| 5 | Chelsea | 38 | 16 | 12 | 10 | 58 | 50 | +8 | 60 | |
| 6 | Everton | 38 | 17 | 8 | 13 | 57 | 46 | +11 | 59 | |
| 7 | Southampton | 38 | 15 | 10 | 13 | 71 | 63 | +8 | 55 | |
| 8 | Wimbledon | 38 | 13 | 16 | 9 | 47 | 40 | +7 | 55 | |
| 9 | Nottingham Forest | 38 | 15 | 9 | 14 | 55 | 47 | +8 | 54 | |
| 10 | Norwich City | 38 | 13 | 14 | 11 | 44 | 42 | +2 | 53 | |
| 11 | Queens Park Rangers | 38 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 45 | 44 | +1 | 50 | |
| 12 | Coventry City | 38 | 14 | 7 | 17 | 39 | 59 | −20 | 49 | |
| 13 | Manchester United | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 46 | 47 | −1 | 48 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 14 | Manchester City | 38 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 43 | 52 | −9 | 48 | |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 13 | 9 | 16 | 42 | 66 | −24 | 48 | |
| 16 | Derby County | 38 | 13 | 7 | 18 | 43 | 40 | +3 | 46 | |
| 17 | Luton Town | 38 | 10 | 13 | 15 | 43 | 57 | −14 | 43 | |
| 18 | Sheffield Wednesday (R) | 38 | 11 | 10 | 17 | 35 | 51 | −16 | 43 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 19 | Charlton Athletic (R) | 38 | 7 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 57 | −26 | 30 | Relegation to the Second Division |
| 20 | Millwall (R) | 38 | 5 | 11 | 22 | 39 | 65 | −26 | 26 | Relegation to the Second Division |
* Nottingham Forest 1–1 Aston Villa
* Aston Villa 1–1 Liverpool
* Aston Villa 1–1 Charlton Athletic
* Southampton 2–1 Aston Villa
* Aston Villa 2–0 Tottenham Hotspur
* Sheffield Wednesday 1–0 Aston Villa
* Aston Villa 1–3 QPR
* Aston Villa 1–0 Derby County
* Luton Town 0–1 Aston Villa
* Manchester City 0–2 Aston Villa
* Aston Villa 2–1 Crystal Palace
* Aston Villa 6–2 Everton
* Norwich City 2–0 Aston Villa
* Aston Villa 4–1 Coventry City
* Wimbledon 0–2 Aston Villa
* Aston Villa 2–1 Nottingham Forest
* Liverpool 1–1 Aston Villa
* Millwall 2–0 Aston Villa
* Aston Villa 3–0 Manchester United
* Aston Villa 2–1 Arsenal
* Chelsea 0–3 Aston Villa
* Charlton Athletic 0–2 Aston Villa
* Aston Villa 2–1 Southampton
* Aston Villa 1–0 Sheffield Wednesday
* Tottenham Hotspur 0–2 Aston Villa
* Aston Villa 0–3 Wimbledon
* Coventry City 2–0 Aston Villa
* Aston Villa 2–0 Luton Town
* QPR 1–1 Aston Villa
* Derby County 0–1 Aston Villa
* Crystal Palace 1–0 Aston Villa
* Aston Villa 1–2 Manchester City
* Arsenal 0–1 Aston Villa
* Aston Villa 1–0 Chelsea
* Manchester United 2–0 Aston Villa
* Aston Villa 1–0 Millwall
* Aston Villa 3–3 Norwich
* Everton 3–3 Aston Villa

### FA Cup

| Home Club | Score | Away Club | Round | Date |
| Blackburn Rovers | 2–2 | Aston Villa | Third round proper | 6 January 1990 |
| Aston Villa | 3–1 | Blackburn Rovers | Third round proper replay | 10 January 1990 |
| Aston Villa | 6–0 | Port Vale | Fourth round proper | 27 January 1990 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 0–2 | Aston Villa | Fifth round proper | 17 February 1990 |
| Oldham Athletic | 3–0 | Aston Villa | Sixth round proper | 14 March 1990 |