Aston Villa will change its crest again

Not all restyling succeeds in their attempts. Recently, clubs trying to modernise their aesthetic profile with the corporate logo, the most important identifying symbol of a club, have failed. Perhaps it is due to the pronounced conservatism of fans, who are usually very tradition-conscious and reluctant to change, or the return to old logos on shirts to make them more attractive and unique, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for clubs to justify a new logo or style, so they end up treading water again. The latest club in question is Aston Villa, who after only one year have already decided to abandon the new logo and go in search of a new solution that will please the fans due to the poor response last season.

Aston Villa had finally announced the new crest in November, but it was only to be used on the match and training shirts, while the old crest was to remain for the rest of the branding and communication. The differences between the new and the old crest were considerable: the Scottish rampant lion changed direction and colour, moving from the left side to the opposite side, and the yellow changed to burgundy. Most importantly, the crest became a circle engraved with the name of the club and the year it was founded. A sober but sensitive redesign that, according to the owners' intentions, was supposed to lead the association towards its 150th anniversary. Instead, the anniversary, which is coming up next season, will serve Aston Villa to take some time before deciding which direction the club's crest should take.

Aston Villa's official statement says that 'the current crest did not have the impact hoped for when it was introduced less than a year ago", despite the club spending a lot of time on focus groups, surveys and open polls with fans before choosing the creative direction for the new design. All to no avail, it seems, although the same statement says: 'Based on the results of this initial process, the club will re-engage with fans in the coming weeks to find a lasting identity for Aston Villa that will have the impact it needs." It is difficult to see how Aston Villa can achieve a different outcome by changing the process. Perhaps the only way for fans not to protest the change of crest is to give them time to get used to the difference, time that Aston Villa may not have wanted to grant.