Dwight Yorke, Savo Milošević & Ian Taylor

True Colours: Aston Villa's League Cup Winning Shirt

With Aston Villa the next visitors to King Power Stadium on Sunday (7:15pm kick-off), LCFC.com looks back on an iconic shirt from the Villans' recent history.
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Equalling what was then a record total, Villa claimed their fifth League Cup trophy midway through the 1990s.

As one of the Premier League's founding members, Aston Villa were a well-established top-flight team by the start of the 1995/96 season, having finished runners-up in the inaugural campaign, back in 1992/93. 

Villa's 1994/95 kit offered a change from the 1993-1995 edition, opting for the traditional full claret colouring on the front of shirt, removing the thin blue stripes seen on the previous incarnation. 

It did, however, include light blue sleeves and a v-neck collar - often found on shirts during the decade. Complete with white, or infrequently sky blue, shorts and claret socks, it was Reebok's first year as Villa's shirt manufacturers, taking over from Asics.

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Aston Villa
Aston Villa

Aston Villa celebrate with the League Cup trophy after winning the competition for the fifth time.

They offered a unique twist of having the Aston Villa crest patterned down both the shirt and shorts, while there was also a new sponsor on the shirt, as AST Computer replacing Müller. 

Villa had narrowly avoided relegation at the end of 1994/95, finishing in 18th place, with only two teams dropping down into Division One. Now under the stewardship of Brian Little, who would manage the team from November 1994 until February 1998, a rebuilding process was underway. 

This continued ahead of the 1995/96 campaign, with England defender Gareth Southgate and Serbian forward Savo Milošević joining for club-record transfer fees, along with midfielder Mark Draper from Leicester City. 

Milosevic was brought in to replace the outgoing Dalian Atkinson and Dean Saunders - who had been top goalscorer for Villa during 1994/95.

The Serbian would go on to score a second-half hat-trick in a 4-1 home win over Coventry United in December 1995.

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Mark Draper
Mark Draper

Mark Draper scored on his Villa debut, a 3-1 victory over Manchester United, after signing from Leicester City.

And with the likes of Gary Charles, Alan Wright and Ian Taylor, also recruited by Little soon after taking over during the previous season, Villa started 1995/96 in fine form.

With just one defeat from their first eight games, including a 3-1 victory over Manchester United on the opening day, Villa sat second in the table. 

After a tricky patch, a 3-0 home victory over Leeds United on 3 February 1996 moved Villa back up into fourth position, where they would remain for the rest of the season. 

As a result, UEFA Cup qualification was secured, with 63 points from their 38 league fixtures, finishing above Arsenal on goal difference.

Dwight Yorke's 17 goals in 35 Premier League appearances saw him lead the charts as Villa's top scorer, while Milošević netted 12 in his 37 games.

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Dwight Yorke
Dwight Yorke

Trinidad and Tobago international forward Dwight Yorke finished as Villa's top scorer in 1995/96.

Villa also reached the latter stages of the FA Cup, beating Gravesend & Northfleet, Sheffield United, Ipswich Town and Nottingham Forest en route to the last four.

However, Liverpool proved too strong in the semi-final and won 3-0 at Old Trafford to knock the Midlanders out.

But it was in the League Cup where Villa really excelled. The club had already won one League Cup earlier in the decade, during Ron Atkinson's tenure, lifting the trophy in 1994.

They began the 1995/96 competition in scintillating form, beating Peterborough United 6-0 in the first leg of their second round tie and followed it up with home victories over Stockport County, Queens Park Rangers and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Then came a two-legged semi-final against Arsenal, with the first leg contested at Highbury. Two Yorke goals, his fourth and fifth in the competition that season, saw Villa take a 2-2 draw back to Villa Park. The pair played out a goalless draw in the second leg, with Villa progressing on away goals.

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Savo Milošević
Savo Milošević

Savo Milošević opened the scoring in the 1996 League Cup final at Wembley.

The final against Leeds United was played in front of just over 77,000 at the old Wembley Stadium. Record signing Milošević handed Little's side the lead, before Taylor and Yorke rounded off the scoring in the second-half to complete a dominant display under the Twin Towers. It remains the club's last domestic honour.

The same kit would also be worn for Villa's 1996/97 campaign and they enjoyed another successful Premier League season, finishing fifth and once again qualifying for the UEFA Cup. 

The Midlands side were, however, unable to repeat their cup heroics, going out of the League Cup and the FA Cup at the fourth round stage.

It would prove to be the final Villa shirt to be used in two successive seasons, with every kit from 1997/98 onwards being replaced after one year.

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