Designing a new Villa: Should Aston Villa revert back to their round crest?

I remember the excitement that heralded Aston Villa's 'new' badge. A blue shield that would feature a star that represented Villa's European Cup success. It brought us the Lerner/MON years and the crushing disappointment that followed. This badge was made to capitalise on Villa's rise and of course, to look fresh on TV graphics. To me, it signifies failure. Aston Villa tried to revamp, they tried to reach for that star and they fell, in a fall that may result them dropping back to the Football League. It was made to replace Aston Villa's 90's badge, the slightly crimson stripes that accompanied the blue brought the clubs motto back to the fold.

There's currently a petition open for fans who want to 'bring back the old badge' to sign. For me, this isn't a option either, Aston Villa's circular shield represents the best years of football for a huge swath of Villans, but I'd like to seem them go in a different direction.

Tom Fox and Steve Hollis have outlined a vision for the club regardless of relegation and I believe the time is right, not for a change back - but a move forward in terms of how the football club is presented.

The Shield

I'd like to see a change back to a circular shield. Similar in design to the first picture in the gallery above. The major change I would suggest would be to underline the circular shield with a banner in the style of the second badge. A round shield with the 'prepared' banner feels like a 'stronger' design. In fact, it would be a design that would last for years.

The Lion Rampant

The proud lion has always held it's place on the forefront of the claret & blue shirt. The Lion Rampant is a traditional icon of Scottish heraldry and can be seen on the badges of Glasgow Rangers. Aston Villa wear this badge so proudly because it represents the two scotsman who built Villa - George Ramsay and William McGregor.

Instead of paying total respect, Aston Villa have moulded the lion to fit their own graphic purposes. The lion changed from red to yellow, for seemingly no reason. I'd seek a middle ground and present a proud claret lion that harkens back to the 1800's, when two Scotsman built a football club.

Colouring

Aston Villa have been decked out in claret and blue for most of living memory. This wasn't the case when they began, as they would wear battle gear consisting of the giant red lion laying on a black shirt - it was only when Ramsay opted for 'chocolate and blue' shirts that they moved towards their iconic colours. I'm not sure how 'chocolate' translates into claret, but here we are. Using Villa's modern palette of claret, blue & yellow - I'd simply use those. A claret lion and circle dressed with yellow bordering and font whilst a blue background caps the design off.