With the 2017/18 Sky Bet EFL season kicking off on Friday 4th August, the new campaign was celebrated with players, coaches and managers coming together for the #EFLSeasonLaunch.
d at Villa Park on Tuesday 1st August, the host club were represented by manager Steve Bruce and new captain John Terry, who were just two of a number of stars on show in the Midlands.
Click here to view a gallery of images from the #EFLSeasonLaunch
The skipper of the Villans' fierce rivals Birmingham City, Michael Morrison, was welcomed to the stadium, while Derby County had former Villa players Andi Weimann and Kevin Phillips – now first-team coach for the Rams – in attendance.
Rochdale's Joe Thompson was another invited guest, fighting fit after recently beating cancer for a second time. From Sky Bet League Two, Forest Green Rovers duo Mark Cooper and Christian Doidge, along with Notts County's Shola Ameobi, completed the line-up.
Invited press were in attendance too, covering the event across media channels and interviewing guests about their hopes and ambitions for the season ahead.
Here's what a few of those guests had to say...
John Terry - Aston Villa
🗣 “The vision's clear - we want to pick up three @SkyBetChamp points and work from there.” John Terry - @AVFCOfficial#EFLSeasonLaunch pic.twitter.com/rzukEpdxRb
— EFL (@EFL) August 1, 2017
Joe Thompson - Rochdale
🗣 “I’ve needed the fans more than they’ll ever realise; it shows the beauty of football.” @JJL_Thompson - @officiallydale#EFLSeasonLaunch pic.twitter.com/m75Rb0xQ6R
— EFL (@EFL) August 1, 2017
Christian Doidge - Forest Green Rovers
🌧🗣 “The club's the best club for me, it's going in the right direction.” Christian Doidge - @FGRFC_Official #EFLSeasonLaunch pic.twitter.com/OJ6N8GM4Op
— EFL (@EFL) August 1, 2017