Big Eck, Bosko Balaban, not signing Juninho - The worst decisions in Aston Villa history

Aston Villa remain in safe hands with Steven Gerrard backed by Christian Purslow, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens as the club target European football next season. However, it hasn't all been rosy as we delve into our Aston Villa archives to dig out some of the worst decisions ever made by this great club. Beware, some of the choices made by Villa 's hierarchy range from the bonkers to the bewildering.

Just five years after being crowned kings of Europe, Aston Villa were relegated from the First Division. Can you imagine Liverpool being in the Championship in 2023? Crazy.

The reasoning behind Villa's sudden demise was simple: allowing players to leave at will. In December 1982, Doug Ellis returned to the club's board and went about clearing a debt bill reportedly worth £1.6m. Attendances at Villa Park were in decline and it was inevitable the books had to be balanced.

Ellis was, to some supporters, partially to the blame of breaking up Villa's Euro kings while others said the squad was an ageing one amid crippling finances. Between 1983 and 1985, though, mainstays of Ron Saunders' championship-winning side Jimmy Rimmer, Kenny Swain, Ken McNaught, Tony Morley, David Geddis, Des Bremner, Eamonn Deacy, captain Dennis Mortimer, the great Gordon Cowans, Colin Gibson and goal hero Peter Withe all departed. That's some cull, that.

Only Allan Evans, Gary Williams and Gary Shaw remained in B6 at the start of the 1986-87 season as Villa's decimated and depleted squad finished rock-bottom and were subsequently relegated. How the mighty fell, eh.

Following the sacking of Tony Barton, Villa were linked with a host of top names. David Pleat, John Toshack and Manchester United's Ron Atkinson were all touted with the vacant Villa post