If you want to know more about the rebranding, check this post on the awesome blog Brand New: [url]http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/new_logo_and_identity_for_aston_villa_football_club_by_someone.php[/url]

Nice to see past badges with a modern look. :-)
Why do you think that the sky blue background is the major problem of the current crest? Is it because of the lack of burgundy?
I think that a sky blue background is ok, because it gives contrast with the shirt color, although I'd add more burgundy somewhere. The issue of the sky blue background in the crest is that the gold lion has not enough contrast.
In my opinion a circular crest with reversed colors, with the lion in gold, could be a good solution.
Something like this:
[img]http://i68.tinypic.com/25f1xd1.png[/img]

@Tlio Yes, the sky-blue is a problem because the lack of contrast and there's too much space with and not enough burgundy.

Your example looks awesome.

I like the extra detail on the lion, but I'm wondering how difficult it would be to embroider that.