This term marked the first for the club without long-term player and former captain Gareth Barry following his £12 million move to Manchester City on 2 June 2009. Barry had been at the club since 1997.
The club progressed to the final of the League Cup during this season, eliminating Cardiff City, Sunderland, Portsmouth and Blackburn Rovers along the way. However, Aston Villa were beaten 2–1 by Manchester United in the final at Wembley Stadium on 28 February 2010. Villa's other domestic cup venture also took the club to Wembley in the FA Cup, where they were defeated 3–0 by Chelsea in the semi-final. Aston Villa finished 6th in the Premier League for the 3rd year in a row, with 2 points more than previous season, they also qualified for the Europa League for the 3rd year running.
The club once again dismissed sponsorship payments to allow Acorns as a charitable sponsor. A new away kit was unveiled on 24 May 2009 and inspired by the England national football team. It features a white and gray halved style with pinstripes and a navy accent, intended to pay tribute to the 67 Villa players that have appeared for the country while at the club.[4] The blue and black away kit of 2008–09 also became this season's third kit.[5]
The new home kit was unveiled the day before the first clash of the Peace Cup 2009, which was against Málaga on Saturday 25 July.[6]
^Since Manchester United won the League Cup and then qualified for the Champions League, their spot in the Europa League was passed down to the 6th-placed team. The 6th-placed Aston Villa was coincidentally also the League Cup runners-up.
^Originally Portsmouth qualified for the third qualifying round of the Europa League as the FA Cuprunners-up, replacing the winners, Champions League-qualified Chelsea. However, they failed to apply for a UEFA licence. Therefore, Liverpool as the best placed team not qualified for the European competitions took their place.
Results
Results by matchday
Matchday
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
Ground
H
A
A
H
A
H
A
H
H
A
A
H
A
H
H
A
A
H
A
H
A
H
H
A
A
H
H
A
H
A
H
A
A
H
A
H
A
H
Result
L
W
W
W
W
L
D
W
D
D
L
W
D
D
W
W
W
W
L
L
D
D
W
D
D
W
D
W
D
D
L
W
D
W
W
W
L
L
Position
16
12
8
6
5
7
7
6
7
7
7
5
5
6
5
4
4
4
4
6
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
7
6
5
6
6
Source: worldfootball.net A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
