Due to the ever-increasing rivalry between the two sets of supporters these days, the fact both Aston Villa and Newcastle United started their season in the Championship was a big talking amongst their rather sizeable fanbases.

With the Toon effectively relegated at Villa Park twice within the last decade, the fact they were joined by the Midlands giants, who meekly surrendered their Premier League status, provoked much debate.

Largely, the argument centred around just who would win the league title and who exactly had made the best signings to prepare for life in the second tier. Well, how long ago that must feel now for those on Trinity Road.

Currently sat far too close to League One for their liking, the Villans trail Rafa Benitez's black and white army by a whopping 30 points ahead of their meeting at St. James' Park. While this season hasn't been as straightforward for the aforementioned Spaniard as hoped, it's clear to see the Tyneside titans dealt with their dismal drop down in a much better fashion.

But how exactly did Villa get it so wrong? The levels of investment were largely the same for both clubs and, while Roberto Di Matteo proved to be unconvincing to say the least in the dugout, both men to take charge of the claret and blue army this term have experience in winning promotion.

Considering all this, here are FIVE things Villa got wrong that Newcastle got right.

Clearing out the deadwood

Ok, so selling the likes of Moussa Sissoko and Georginio Wijnaldum is by no means a masterstroke in the transfer market, but Benitez largely cleared his ranks of the deadwood. That's not to say these two, in particular, are bad players - moves to Tottenham and Liverpool respectively clearly indicate they aren't - yet their attitudes at times last term were indicative of the poisonous mood within the club.

Furthermore, the likes of Fabricio Coloccini, Steven Taylor and Daryl Janmaat were all cut adrift as the Spaniard sought to completely change the atmosphere within the club. Meanwhile, Villa kept a hold of players such as Gabriel Agbonlahor, Libor Kozak and Alan Hutton, men who'd watched their employers fall from grace for years.

Not enough match winners

On paper, Villa have a squad very capable of winning promotion from the Championship and a manager who certainly knows how to do exactly that. However, frustrating draws have proved to be a big part of their campaign, despite the big money spent on the likes of Jonathan Kodjia, Ross McCormack and, more recently, Scott Hogan to bolster their attack.

Within his squad, Bruce lacks anyone to really make a difference in the final third should the forward line remain isolated. Over at St. James' Park, Benitez boasts the likes of Jonjo Shelvey, Ayoze Perez and Matt Ritchie to supplement Dwight Gayle, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Daryl Murphy.

Perhaps more money should have been ploughed into that area of the park.

No set formation

Since taking over, the run of results Bruce has been through has forced him into switching between a 4-4-2, 4-2-3-1 and a 3-5-2. Clearly, that's a reactive policy, though little about Villa's season, on the whole, has been proactive.

Benitez remains largely unwavering in the 4-2-3-1 approach he's been using since his Liverpool days, sticking with that formation through thick and thin. With a set philosophy (for this season, at least) Newcastle look in good stead to find solutions to problems posed, rather than tinkering every other week.

Too quick to hit the panic button

As much as Newcastle were expected to walk the league, their first two games sent shockwaves up and down Tyneside as their expensively-assembled squad lost to both Fulham and Huddersfield Town. Such is the frantic nature of life in the North East, a crisis was seemingly just around the corner.

However, the Toon quickly recovered as their faith in Benitez's ability to turn things around never dimmed and, despite a few more hiccups along the way, those August defeats seems to long ago now.

In stark contrast, Steve Bruce is already fielding questions about his future in charge at Villa Park, despite taking charge in October. While these may be testing times in the Midlands, they need to be realistic about changing years of a losing culture so quickly.

Ambitious signings

The fact two huge names in English football started the campaign in the Championship obviously resonated differently between both clubs. In many ways, it's rather a novelty to see two such big clubs in the second tier, so they really should have been battling it out for the same calibre of player.

There really wasn't all too much stopping Villa purchasing the likes of Dwight Gayle and Matt Ritchie, two players with experience of both the lower leagues and the Premier League, though they instead opted to sign players such as Ross McCormack and Jonathan Kodjia.

Perhaps they thought that was a smarter move, considering their experience in the Championship, though look at how that's worked out. Exactly why they didn't even try and rival the Toon in that regard must be a huge mystery to the Villa faithful.