page_title: History of Aston Villa F.C. (1961–present)
section_title: Taylor, Vengloš and Atkinson
hierarchical_section_title: History of Aston Villa F.C. (1961–present) / Taylor, Vengloš and Atkinson
caption_attribution_description: English: Ron Atkinson in the dugout at Halesowen Town vs Brackley Town at The Grove, Halesowen on 20th October 2007. Photo taken by me, Pontificake
context_page_description: The history of Aston Villa F.C. from 1961 to the current season covers the fluctuating fortunes of the club during the 1960s and 1970s, the European Cup victory in 1982 and the present day Premier League club.
  The late 1960s was a turbulent time for the club. The problems began when the club, under manager Dick Taylor, was relegated from the first tier of English football for the third time in 1967. Within two years, pressure from supporters led to the resignation of the board of directors. The club was then relegated to the Third Division. In the 1971–72 season, Aston Villa returned to the Second Division as champions with a record 70 points. In 1974 Ron Saunders was appointed manager, and by 1975 he led the club back into the First Division and into European competition. It continued to have much success under Saunders, winning the league in the 1980–81 season. Saunders' resignation halfway through the 1981–82 season came as a surprise, with the club in the quarter-final of the European Cup. He was replaced by his assistant manager Tony Barton who guided them to 1–0 victory over Bayern Munich in the European Cup final in Rotterdam.
context_section_description: Taylor's first season at Villa ended with automatic promotion as Second Division runners-up, being pipped to the title by Millwall. One player who contributed to that season's success was the recently signed David Platt, a former Manchester United reserve who had signed from Crewe Alexandra for £200,000 just after Taylor's arrival. Before he left in 1991, Platt scored 68 goals in his 155 appearances for the club. Villa avoided relegation the last day of the 1988–89 season as other results favoured them. In the 1989–90 season they emerged as surprise contenders for the title, leading for three weeks in the latter stages of the season before finishing in second place, nine points behind Liverpool. Taylor departed for the England manager's job and was succeeded by Slovak coach Jozef Vengloš, the first foreign manager in the First Division.
  The 1990–91 season was Vengloš's only season as manager of Aston Villa. Their second-place finish the previous season earned them qualification for the UEFA Cup as one of the first English clubs to enter European competition after the ban resulting from the Heysel Stadium disaster was lifted. They beat first round opponents Baník Ostrava over two legs, and won the first leg of the second round tie against Inter Milan. However, this lead was overturned by Inter in the return leg 3–0 and Villa were eliminated. The defeat started a decline, and by the end of the season they were two places above the relegation zone. Vengloš stepped down and David Platt was sold to Italian side Bari for £5 million. The team's new manager was Ron Atkinson, who had taken West Bromwich Albion to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup and had won the League Cup with Sheffield Wednesday. In his first season in charge, 1991–92, Villa finished in sixth place and thus became one of the founder members of the FA Premier League.
caption: Ron Atkinson, who guided Villa to second place in the First Division in his first season with the club
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