See main article: History of Aston Villa F.C. (1961–present).
| Club: | Aston Villa |
| Season: | 1989–90 |
| Manager: | Graham Taylor |
| Chairman: | Doug Ellis |
| Stadium: | Villa Park |
| League: | First Division |
| League Result: | 2nd |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Sixth round |
| Cup2: | League Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Third round |
| League Topscorer: | David Platt (21) |
| Season Topscorer: | David Platt (24) |
| Prevseason: | 1988–89 |
| Nextseason: | 1990–91 |
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.[1]
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. During Taylor's tenure the club failed to report to police sexual abuse by scout, Ted Langford.[2]
Paul McGrath – Manchester United, 3 August 1989, £400,000See main article: 1989–90 Football League First Division.
| 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 |