1989–90 in English football for 19–year–old Leytonstone defender Warren Barton. 31 July 1989 – Norwich City pay Coventry City £525,000 for Welsh winger David Phillips. 3 August 1989 – Nottingham Forest pay Leeds United £650,000 for Republic of Ireland midfielder John Sheridan. 7 August 1989 – Everton sign Aston Villa defender Martin Keown for £750,000. 14 August 1989 – Adrian Heath returns to English football after less than a year in Spain when he joins Aston Villa from Espanyol for £360,000. 18 August 1989 – Property tycoon Michael Knighton agrees to buy control of Manchester United in a deal which is believed to be
1997–98 Aston Villa F.C. season team to achieve automatic UEFA Cup qualification. "Aston Villa's score comes first" 1997–98 Aston Villa F.C. season During the 1997–98 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the FA Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons). When Brian Little resigned as Aston Villa manager in February, Villa were 15th in the Premiership and were starting to look like outside bets for relegation. Ruud Gullit, recently sacked by Chelsea, was linked with the vacancy, but the surprise choice for the job was Wycombe manager John Gregory, a former Villa coach. He influenced a late run of form