They may have ended up falling 10 points adrift of champions Manchester United, but for a while Aston Villa were genuine Premier League title contenders during the 1992-93 season.
Ron Atkinson's men finished runners-up for the the third time in six campaigns, but the manager was determined for his side to win a first championship since 1981.
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In a bid to enhance Villa's chances of glory, Atkinson entered the transfer market 22 years ago today to add Andy Townsend to an already experienced squad at Villa Park.
The 30-year-old midfielder, who had cost around £2m, had spent the previous three terms with Chelsea, for whom he had scored 19 goals in 139 appearances. By chance, one of those goals came against Villa in a 2-0 victory for the West Londoners at Stamford Bridge in September 1991.
The Republic of Ireland international would go on to become a favourite among the Villa faithful, having opened his goalscoring account during a 2-1 win away at Ipswich Town in September 1993.
Yet, despite a host of impressive performances in the Villa engine room, Townsend was unable to inspire the club to the title. They finished in a disappointing 10th place in 1993-94, followed by 18th, 4th and 5th in his other three seasons in a claret shirt.
However, he was a part of the teams that won the League Cup in 1994 and 1996 against Man United and Leeds United respectively.
Reflecting more recently on that Wembley triumph over the Red Devils, Townsend said: "I enjoyed my little spat with Roy Keane, my Republic of Ireland teammate. He was a fit young lad and a damn fine player. Same went for Paul Ince and I remember it was vital for Kevin Richardson to sit in and stay tight.
"We had to keep our heads because it wasn't a match to go charging off up the wings to get forward. If you did that, I'd seen it week after week on the television, United would just ping balls into the gaps and murder you.
"Most of the match was played in our half, but that's the way we planned it and it worked a treat because we had the players to hit them on the break at pace."
It was the summer of 1997 that Townsend - now a veteran - departed Villa for Middlesbrough, where he moved for £500,000. In total, he made 134 Premier League appearances for Villa, during which time he scored eight goals.
Liam Apicella
