1998–99 in English football gets the manager's job on a permanent basis. 28 October 1998 – Chelsea player-manager Gianluca Vialli scores a hat-trick in the 4–1 League Cup third round win over Aston Villa. Making his debut as a late substitute is 17-year-old defender John Terry. On the same day, striker Brian Laudrup's departure from Chelsea is announced after just four months at the club. 31 October 1998 – Ron Reeves, a 55-year-old steward, is killed outside Highfield Road stadium after being crushed by the Arsenal team coach just before a game with Coventry City. The month ends with Aston Villa still top, a
Aston Villa F.C. in the 1870s national power during the 1880s. Aston Villa F.C. in the 1870s Aston Villa Football Club was formed in 1874, by members of the Villa Wesleyan Cross Chapel. These were players of cricket in search of a winter pastime. The first meeting to discuss the new team was held on the fringes of Birchfield and Lozells, not far from where Villa Park now stands on Trinity Road, Aston, Birmingham. After appointing Walter H. Price as first-ever captain, the newly formed 'Aston Villa Football Club' set about the task of trying to find suitable opponents. This was difficult, as rugby was more