Sunshine After the Rain

Sunshine After the Rain is the story of Aston Villa FC from 2009 to 2023 – a turbulent time when the mighty Villa lion fell from the top flight before clawing its way back to the Premier League and Champions League. After the untimely departure of Martin O’Neill just days before the start of the 2010/11 season, the club entered the doldrums before relegation in 2016. At the heart of this book are those three surreal seasons when Villa played in the Championship. It was a time when the club’s owners and manager changed several times; a period of mid-table finishes, play-off heartbreak and coming close to folding. But the Villans re-entered the top flight under Dean Smith, and Unai Emery brought European football back to Villa Park. From the misery of Moscow in 2009 to beating Brighton on the final day of the 2022/23 season, the book recounts all the matches that mattered. Contributions from the players, managers and supporters bring the story to life.

Rob Carless has written extensively about football and collaborated with former players on their autobiographies. Rob's books include the acclaimed Three Games in May: And a twenty-year odyssey that defined Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United, Under the Floodlights!: Sixty Years of the Football League Cup and Cinque Anni: The Story of the Italian National Football Team: 2017–2022. He has written for Late Tackle and The Non-League Paper.