Quote Originally Posted by Eric the Half a Bee View Post
Not sure what your definition of a yo-yo club is, but out of 123 seasons in the league since its inauguration, Villa have not been in the top flight for 15 of them. Their 108 seasons in the top division is the 2nd highest behind Everton, who've managed 119. They've been relegated from the top flight 5 times and their recent 3 season stint in the Championship was the 2nd longest they've been out of the top division since the 60s and 70s, where their 8 years included 2 seasons in Division 3, as TOBW mentioned.

Looking at my records, Arsenal have been relegated from the top division once, Liverpool 3 times, Spurs 4, Villa and Man Utd 5, Chelsea and Newcastle 6, Man City 10. Villa have played more top flight matches than anyone bar Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton.
Villa’s top flight record is certainly helped by being one of the 12. Compared to Everton in modern times they’ve had the bleaker time. Ok, not so much a yo yo club but compared to the others, bar Man City, going down to the third tier would be unthinkable. In my growing up years Villa were the record FA Cup winners, that record’s been obliterated. Yes, they have a very commendable European Cup to their name but to me they’ve always been a successful Victorian/Edwardian club. But, as you’ve corrected me, not a yo yo club, it just seems to me we’ve played them in the league a lot more than the other bigger guns.