Villa open the season with a goalless draw but the game is overshadowed by the pitiful behaviour of Dwight Yorke.

Dwight Yorke disgraces himself on the Goodison Park pitch and the descent into tabloid fodder begins for a player once held as a shining example of the positive new face of football. Despite the medals won over a brief period in his career Yorke would forever be tainted as a man with no morals and even fewer principles. Perhaps John Gregory was closer to the truth than any of us realised.

Midfielder Alan Thompson, 24, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from Bolton Wanderers in June 1998 for a fee of £6,480,000 to become the 725th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Defender Ben Petty, 21, makes his sole squad appearance for Villa as an unused substitute after coming through the youth ranks. Petty would move on to Stoke on a free transfer in November 1998.

Forward Dwight Yorke, 26, makes his 287th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (247 Starts) before moving on to Manchester United for a fee of £12,600,000. Yorke left with a record of W126 D69 L92, 98 Goals, 41 Assists and 6 Bookings at a goal per game rate of one for every 2.93 games played and a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.06 games he played across his Villa career.

Lee Hendrie collects his 5th booking in a Villa shirt on his 35th appearance (21 Starts) to make it W17 D6 L12, 3 Goals, 3 Assists, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card at a rate of a card every 7 games so far in his Villa career.