This site is a "virtual" collection of stickers featuring the Aston Villa squads of the 1970s and 1980s. These sorts of collections began to catch on in the late-1960s, and almost all of them concentrated on top-flight teams. But Villa were down in the lower divisions until 1975, and so virtually all the stickers featured here were printed after that point.
There were several companies behind these sticker sets. So far as sticker books with league teams is concerned, FKS were the pioneers in Britain, starting their annual "Soccer Stars" albums in 1968. Panini became involved in the 1970s, eventually taking over from FKS as the main player and only regular publisher for much of the 1980s. We end our coverage at the point at which the Premier League came in. At that stage, Panini lost the franchise for top-tier football and Merlin took on the mantle. Topps have since re-emerged and superseded Merlin, but these are beyond our limits. As stated, this site concentrates mainly on the years 1975-1993. |
IMAGES: This site was initially built using images downloaded from various electronic sources. As time goes by, we are collecting physical copies of all the stickers and gradually replacing our provisional images with our own scans. These are recognisable by the fact that they have thin black outlines around them, and those images can be clicked on, to see enlargements. Similarly we are adding scans of the backs of each sticker, as we obtain them, making the site a work-in-progress.
How to navigate around the site
There are a lot of images on the site, and several ways readers can navigate around:
1. From the menu, left, select the "Seasons" page. From there you can choose a sticker collection to view.
2. Each sheet of stickers has an option at the top to jump forwards or backwards to the next release from the same manufacturer. So, you can jump through all the FKS pages, or Panini pages etc, using those links.
3. Use the "Read Through" system to move directly from page to page, by clicking the blue button at the bottom. You will be able to visit every page on the site, in sequence. Pressing the button here will set you off on page 1:
1. From the menu, left, select the "Seasons" page. From there you can choose a sticker collection to view.
2. Each sheet of stickers has an option at the top to jump forwards or backwards to the next release from the same manufacturer. So, you can jump through all the FKS pages, or Panini pages etc, using those links.
3. Use the "Read Through" system to move directly from page to page, by clicking the blue button at the bottom. You will be able to visit every page on the site, in sequence. Pressing the button here will set you off on page 1:
4. To find a specific sticker collection, go to the "Manufacturers" page on the left-hand menu.
5. Use the search box at the very top, for specific words, phrases, names etc.
We would appreciate any further info or suggestions - especially if there's something we've missed. Email us
The basic data for this site, our knowledge of exactly what exists to be collected, originated from two main sources. The websites below are superb pieces of research and mines of information, which we recommend to readers:
For Panini / Merlin: Football Stickipedia
For everything else sticker-wise: Nigel's Webspace
For trading cards but also now branching out into early stickers: Tony's Sports Cards
Email us
5. Use the search box at the very top, for specific words, phrases, names etc.
We would appreciate any further info or suggestions - especially if there's something we've missed. Email us
The basic data for this site, our knowledge of exactly what exists to be collected, originated from two main sources. The websites below are superb pieces of research and mines of information, which we recommend to readers:
For Panini / Merlin: Football Stickipedia
For everything else sticker-wise: Nigel's Webspace
For trading cards but also now branching out into early stickers: Tony's Sports Cards
Email us