• A first win in six sees Villa finally reach 40 points, but doubts remain. 

• Villa do enough to beat Dean Smith on his first return to Villa Park 

• The long overdue arrival of Emiliano Buendía as a late sub sees a strong cameo performance as Ings and Watkins reach 15 goals between them for the campaign.

• Ollie Watkins scores his 25th goal in a Villa shirt on his 71st appearance (67 Starts) to make it W29 D10 L32, 25 Goals, 5 Assists, 10 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career. 

• Tim Iroegbunam, 19, makes his first start in a Villa shirt after two substitute and 18 squad appearances to make it W2 D1 L0 and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career. 

• Villa canter to victory at Carrow Road as they win for the fourth time in six under new boss Steven Gerrard.

• Ezri Konsa, 24, makes his 85th appearance for Villa (81 Starts) since joining the club in July 2019 to make it W34 D15 L36, 6 Goals, 3 Assists, 11 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Carney Chukwuemeka contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 8th appearance (2 Starts) to amke it W5 D2 L1 and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

• Youth goalkeeper Filip Marschall made his first ever appearance in the Villa squad aged 18. 

• Axel Tuanzebe, 24, made his 46th and final Villa appearance as his third loan spell with the club was cut short. In total Tuanzebe had made 41 Starts, W20 D14 L12, 1 Assist and 1 Booking.

• Villa struggle but eventually beat bottom of the pile Norwich at Villa Park.

• Conor Hourihane secures the 60th win and 28th goal of his Villa career on his 127th appearance (107 Starts) to make it W60 D29 L38, 28 Goals, 18 Assists and 23 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Ahmed Elmohamady secures his 50th win in a Villa shirt on his 99th appearance (82 Starts) to make it W50 D23 L26, 3 Goals, 15 Assists and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Villa hammer fellow promoted side Norwich on their home patch as results finally match performances in the League.

• Villa record their biggest league win since hitting 6 in the defeat of Sunderland at Villa Park in April 2013. 

• This was Villa’s biggest away win since thrashing Derby County 6-0 at Pride Park in April 2008. 

• Villa are the first promoted side to score five goals away from home in a Premier League match since Bolton at Leicester in August 2001.

• Anwar El Ghazi contributes his 10th assist on his 44th appearance for the club (37 Starts) to make it W19 D13 L12, 8 Goals, 10 Assists, 5 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Conor Hourihane makes his 100th start in a Villa shirt (118 Appearances) and scores his 25th goal and contributes his 17th assist to make it W55 D28 L35, 25 Goals, 17 Assists and 22 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Matt Targett contributes his first assist for Villa on his 4th appearance to make it W3 D1 L0 and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

• Villa take the lead but Champions Norwich hit back and Villa end the regular season in fifth place after a record breaking ten game winning run.

• Villa lose for the first time in 13 games but with a play off spot booked take the opportunity to rest their key players ahead of the ties with West Bromwich Albion. 

• Villa legend and right back Alan Hutton suffers his 90th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 202nd and final appearance (188 Starts) aged 34 before retiring from football at the expiry of his contract in July 2019. Hutton left with a record of W58 D54 L90, 3 Goals, 8 Assists, 42 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career since his arrival from Tottenham Hotspur in August 2011 for a fee of £4,050,000. 

• Midfielder Birkir Bjarnasson makes his 54th and final appearance for Villa (31 Starts) aged 30 before being released by the club in August 2019. Villa had signed Bjarnasson from FC Basel 1893 in January 2017 for a fee of £1,800,000 and left with a record of W26 D11 L17, 6 Goals, 3 Assists and 4 Bookings.

• Future Villa midfielder Emiliano Buendía lined up for Norwich.

• Meanwhile it is announced that Leeds' Patrick Bamford has received a two game ban for 'deceiving the referee' to get Anwar El Ghazi sent off at Elland Road in the previous fixture.

• Villa take the lead but can't hold on as Dean Smith loses only his second game in charge to leave Villa with two wins in twelve Championship games.

• Jack Grealish makes his 125th appearance in a Villa shirt (80 Starts) to make it W43 D27 L55, 9 Goals, 14 Assists, 20 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

• Future Villa midfielder Emiliano Buendía lined up for Norwich.

• Villa lose for the third time in five, winning once, as their automatic promotion push falters.

• Albert Adomah makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt (64 Starts) to make it W35 D17 L23, 18 Goals, 16 Assists, and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Scott Hogan makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (30 Starts) to make it W22 D10 L18, 10 Goals, 4 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• James Chester collects his 10th booking in a Villa shirt on his 88th appearance to make it W38 D24 L26, 6 Goals, 1 Assist and 10 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Villa win at the fourth attempt in the Championship in 2017-18 thanks to a hat-trick from the irrepressible Conor Hourihane.

• Hourihane hat-trick now has 4 goals in two games as Villa rise to 16th in the table with 5 games played. 

• Bizarrely Steve Bruce doesn’t take credit for his attacking team selection and blames it on having his “hand … forced”. With two assists coming from Henri Lansbury who only took the field as an early substitute for the injured Josh Onomah and a third from a player he didn’t intend to play, confidence in the manager is not high and add to the concern that there is little in the way of a tactical plan at Villa Park.

• Keinan Davis contributes his first assist on his first start for the club (9 Appearances) to make it W4 D2 L3, 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

• Henri Lansbury contributes his first assists for the club on his 21st appearance (19 Starts) to make it W8 D4 L9, 2 Assists and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Conor Hourihane’s hat-trick is Villa's first since Scott Sinclair in the League Cup on Tuesday, 25 August 2015 and is his 5th goal for the club in 21 appearances (16 Starts) to make it W8 D2 L11, 5 Goals, 3 Assists and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• André Green scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 23rd appearance (8 Starts) to make it W7 D4 L12, 1 Goals and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• John Terry secures his first win in a Villa shirt on his 4th appearance to make it W1 D1 L2 so far in his Villa career.

• Villa's excellent run continues as they make it 6 wins in their last 7 Championship games as their terrible early 2017 form under Steve Bruce is a distant memory.

• Villa climb to eleventh in the table but Bruce's constant selection changes cause concern that this is a management regime living on the seat of their pants game to game. 

• Whether that was a realistic route to enough consistency to deliver a play off place - or better - remained an open question.

• Conor Hourihane secures his 5th win in a Villa shirt on his 10th start (11 Appearances) to make it W5 D0 L6, 1 Goal, 2 Assists and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Sam Johnstone keeps his 1st clean sheet and secures his first win as well as contributing his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 9th appearance to make it W1 D1 L7, 1 Assist, 16 Goals Conceded and 1 Clean Sheet so far in his Villa career.

• Villa lose for the second time in three but only the second time in ten under Steve Bruce, winning five, as the new boss steers them away from the danger of a second successive relegation.

• Despite defeat, Steve Bruce’s first ten games in charge have seen him win five and lose twice, a significant improvement over his predecessor. 

• James Chester makes his 20th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W6 D10 L4 and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini makes his final appearance for Villa aged 21 before moving on to Atalanta BC for a fee of £3,870,000 in July 2018. Gollini had only joined Villa 5 months earlier from Hellas Verona for £4,500,000 however he was deemed surplus to requirements by Steve Bruce. Gollini made 20 appearances for Villa and left with a record of W6 D10 L4, 19 Goals Conceded and 5 Clean Sheets.

• Rudy Gestede suffers his 30th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 53rd appearance (26 Starts) to make it W8 D15 L30, 10 Goals, 4 Assists and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Villa win for the second time in 5 Premier League games under Rémi Garde to deliver their best run of the season - 2 wins, 2 draws and 1 defeat.

• Villa win  in the Premier League for the second time under Rémi Garde and for only the third time in 25 games this season. 

• Villa remain bottom of the table under Rémi Garde but have closed the gap to safety to 8 points. 

• Gabriel Agbonlahor scores his 85th goal in a Villa shirt on his 366th appearance (329 Starts) to make it W128 D102 L136, 85 Goals, 44 Assists, 47 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Gabriel Agbonlahor’s strike - his first in twenty one games - means he has now scored in eleven consecutive Premier League seasons for Villa.

• Idrissa Gueye makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (24 Starts) to make it W4 D8 L13, 1 Goal and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Joleon Lescott wins for the second time in seventeen league games in a Villa shirt on his 18th appearance for the club to make it W3 D5 L10, 1 Goal and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

• Villa lose for the 13th time in 19 Premier League games.

• Rémi Garde’s Villa have now lost 4 out of their last 8 games.

• Villa are without a win in 18 Premier League matches.

• Villa remain bottom of the table and are now 11 points from safety with the season only half completed.

• Ashley Westwood collects his 20th booking in a Villa shirt on his 119th appearance (113 Starts) to make it W34 D24 L61, 3 Goals, 10 Assists and 20 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Jordan Ayew collects his 5th booking in a Villa shirt on just his 18th appearance (13 Starts) to make it W3 D4 L11, 5 Goals and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Idrissa Gueye suffers his 10th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 16th appearance to make it W1 D5 L10 and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Kieran Richardson loses for the 20th time in a Villa shirt on his 36th appearance (28 Starts) to make it W12 D4 L20, 1 Assist, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Having played four relegation sides in succession Villa finally score and win having lost two and drawn one against their fellow strugglers under Paul Lambert. 

• Villa have now won 4 of 14 home games in 2013-14 under Paul Lambert.

• Villa now have 8 victories in 28 games this season under Paul Lambert.

• Villa record their 3rd win in 15 under Paul Lambert.

• Christian Benteke scores his second hat-trick in a Villa shirt and contributes his 40th goal involvement on his 64th appearance (60 Starts) to make it W22 D14 L28, 34 Goals, 11 Assists, 10 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Ten months on from his crucial hat-trick that effectively saved Villa from relegation under Paul Lambert, Christian Benteke did it again to lift Villa to seven points off the drop zone with ten to play. 

• Ron Vlaar secures his 20th win in a Villa shirt on his 55th appearance to make it W20 D14 L21, 2 Goals and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Meanwhile, off the field, Villa announce losses of £52m for the 2012-13 season as the gamble on buying lower league youngsters fails to pay off.

• Villa record their first Premier League win since the opening day of the season after three consecutive losses under Paul Lambert.

• Villa keep their first clean sheet in 26 Premier League matches under Paul Lambert.

• Libor Kozák scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 2nd appearance (0 Starts) to make it W1 D0 L1 and 1 Goal so far in his Villa career.

• Ciaran Clark makes his 75th start in a Villa shirt on his 84th appearance to make it W28 D21 L35, 7 Goals, 3 Assists and 20 Bookings. Clark has now picked up a booking every 4.20 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

• Brad Guzan keeps his first clean sheet in a Villa shirt since December 2012 - 27 appearances previously - to make it W28 D15 L29, 106 Goals Conceded, 15 Clean Sheets, 1.63 Goals per League Game and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Villa's crucial run of games against fellow strugglers - playing six of their last eight against such opposition - proves critical as Paul Lambert's side make it five wins across the period to all but guarantee Premier League safety with two games to play.

• Paul Lambert's Villa record their second successive win for only the second time this season. 

• Villa's tenth win of the season, with five having come in the last eight matches, almost guaranteed Premier League football at Villa Park for 2013-14 just weeks after that prospect looked a complete impossibility. 

• Although Christian Benteke's goals had got Villa into a position to have a realistic chance of safety, it was the much maligned Gabriel Agbonlahor who had been equally crucial in recent matches and fittingly it was his brace that effectively saved Villa. 

• Ashley Westwood contributes his 6th assist in a Villa shirt on his 29 appearances (27 Starts) to make it W10 D7 L12, 6 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Winger Brett Holman has to wait another month for an appearance - his last of 29 - for Villa aged 29 before moving on to Al-Nasr on a free transfer in July 2013. Holman had started the campaign with promise but disappeared from the starting line up at the turn of the year and was rarely seen thereafter. Holman had now made just 5 substitute appearances in the last four months under Lambert and had made just one start in a Villa shirt in 2013 having done so 16 times in the first 4 months of the season. Holman's 2012 record was 22 Appearances, 16 Starts, W6 D6 L10, 2 Goals, 4 Assists and 1 Booking. Holman's 2013 record by contrast was 7 Appearances, 1 Start, W7 D10 L12, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 0 Bookings. Like many things under Paul Lambert it was unfathomable.

• Fabian Delph collects his 20th booking in a Villa shirt on his 64th appearance (48 Starts) at a rate of a card every 3.20 games he has played and makes it W24 D17 L23, 2 Goals and 20 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Joe Bennett collects his 5th booking in a Villa shirt on his 28th appearance (24 Starts) to make it W9 D6 L13, 2 Assists, 5 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Meanwhile in bittersweet news, Stiliyan Petrov announces his retirement following his recovery from acute leukaemia.

• Villa make it five games unbeaten in all competitions as they beat Norwich to secure a League Cup semi final spot courtesy of a 'second string' of players rarely used in Paul Lambert's struggling Premier League side.

• Villa score as many goals (4) as they had managed in their previous 6 League games under Paul Lambert despite their Cup opposition being Premier League rivals. 

• Ironically and surely indicatively given their League struggles under Lambert, it is a squad featuring players not regularly included for the Premier League games that fire Villa through to another League Cup semi final.

• Eric Lichaj contributes his 5th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 34th appearance (24 Starts) to make it W12 D12 L10, 2 Goals, 4 Assists and 10 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Villa's terrible start to the season under Paul Lambert continues as they are held by Norwich to record their poorest start to a campaign for 43 years and leave them just above the Premier League relegation zone.

• Villa now have 1 win in 9 Premier League games under Paul Lambert.

• Villa have made their worst start to a season since 1969-70 when they drew two and lost seven of their opening nine games before being relegated to the third tier for the first time in their history.

• Darren Bent makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (46 Starts) but had now been substitute in 3 of the last 4 games, having only been a sub once in his first 46. Bent's record now stood at W17 D16 L17, 22 Goals, 2 Assists and 1 Booking having scored 3 times in 10 games under Lambert compared to 19 in 40 under his predecessors.

• Joe Bennett is sent off on his 6th appearance in a Villa shirt (5 Starts) to make it W1 D2 L3, 3 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Chris Herd makes his first appearance for a month to make it 25 starts in a Villa shirt (31 Appearances), W8 D11 L12, 2 Goals, 2 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Villa end a most difficult season with just seven wins in thirty eight Premier League games as Alex McLeish's tenure ends exactly as many predicted but no one wanted.

• Villa end the campaign without a win in ten games under Alex McLeish.

• Villa end the season on their lowest points tally since another unpopular Scot, Billy McNeill, took Villa down in 1986-87. 

• McLeish had masterminded 14 losses and 18 draws in a 38 game season. 

• The irony however was that up until April 2012 McLeish’s record was actually better than that of his predecessor however the last eight games of the campaign - having lost skipper Stiliyan Petrov - were simply torrid and a respectable 15th, in a more competitive League than 2010-11 and with the same points gained as under Gérard Houllier, became 16th, no win in eight and once again an escape from relegation on the penultimate game of the season. 

• Nobody would chose to be in a second successive relegation fight of course, however, from an objective point of view up until April the campaign had been an improvement. A manager who, in total contrast to his predecessor, wanted to be there - however much a huge swathe of fans understandably didn’t, oversaw a partial rebuild and galvanisation of a squad recovering from the destruction of the previous manager. That Villa had to deal with a huge injury list not only in numbers but also in influence and quality was just another reason to have cut some slack. 

• But equally the football was often poor and overtly negative even in the better days and the manager’s provenance was never forgiven. It was right to part ways of course but the season itself deserves an objective re-evaluation away from the knee-jerk reaction to an unpopular appointment. 

• The final eight games were inexcusably bad, and a season of standing still became a season of unwanted broken records of failure. However, taken as a whole, what had come immediately before and what would soon be upon Villa was immeasurably worse. 

• Off the field an increasing culture of disconnection grew between the leadership of the club and the fan base and had led to two successive appointments of the wrong managers, at the wrong time, for the wrong club. The Villa hierarchy then simply couldn’t get a third successive managerial appointment wrong and a significant chunk of Villa fans had already made clear their favoured candidate sat in the opposition dug-out. 

• Centre back Richard Dunne makes his final appearance for Villa aged 32 before moving on to Queens Park Rangers on a free transfer in July 2013. Dunne would miss the entire 2012-13 season through injury having made 111 appearances and leaving with a record of W39 D39 L33, 5 Goals, 1 Assist and 19 Bookings.

• Centre back James Collins makes his final appearance for Villa aged 28 before returning to West Ham United for £2,880,000 in August 2012. Collins made 108 appearances (102 Starts) during his 3 seasons with Villa but would be sold by Paul Lambert on his arrival as Villa’s new boss despite a record of W38 D40 L30, 6 Goals and 18 Bookings and without a suitable replacement coming in. 

• Centre back Carlos Cuéllar makes his final appearance for Villa aged 30 before moving on to Sunderland on a free transfer in July 2012. Cuéllar made 121 appearances (114 Starts) during his 4 seasons with Villa but would be sold by Paul Lambert on his arrival as Villa’s new boss despite a record of W53 D33 L35, 3 Goals, 5 Assists, 16 Bookings and 1 Red Card and without a suitable replacement coming in. 

• Centre forward Emile Heskey makes his final appearance for Villa aged 34 before retiring from football. Heskey made 110 appearances but only 71 starts during his 4 seasons with Villa but would be sold by Paul Lambert on his arrival as Villa’s new boss. Heskey had contributed 19 goal involvements across his first 54 starts (83 Appearances) up to August 2011 but thereafter things dried up and Heskey was left without a goal in 27 games and without an assist in 47 to leave with a record of W37 D38 L35, 14 Goals, 5 Assists, 10 Bookings and 1 Red Card.

• Right back Stephen Warnock makes 100th start and his 101st and final appearance for Villa aged 30 before moving on to Leeds United on a free transfer in January 2013. Warnock was a solid player who served Villa well over his 3 seasons and 101 appearances, however he was treated abominably by Gérard Houllier and later by Paul Lambert both of whom ostracised Warnock from first team consideration and considerably weakened the defensive options of the team. Warnock would depart with a record of W35 D33 L33, 3 Goals, 8 Assists and 17 Bookings.

• Shay Given concedes his 50th goal in a Villa shirt on his 34th appearance at a rate of 1.41 League Goals per Game to make it W5 D16 L13, 50 Goals Conceded, 8 Clean Sheets and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

• Villa win a third Premier League game of the season as Paul Lambert's Norwich are beaten at Villa Park by the much maligned Alex McLeish.

• Villa win for the first time in four Premier League games to climb to 8th in the table under Alex McLeish.

• Midfielder Jermaine Jenas, 28, makes his belated Villa debut after injury since joining on a season long loan from Tottenham Hotspur in August 2011 to become the 839th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

• Darren Bent contributes his 15th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 26th appearance to make it W11 D9 L6, 14 Goals and 2 Assists so far in his Villa career.

• Stephen Warnock secures his 30th win in a Villa shirt on his 75th appearance to make it W30 D23 L22, 2 Goals, 7 Assists and 13 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Villa win for the second time in three Premier League games but only for the second time in ten in all competitions under David O'Leary as they see off relegation threatened Norwich at Villa Park.

• Olof Mellberg secures his 50th win in a Villa shirt on his 144th appearance to make it W50 D40 L54, 5 Goals, 5 Assists and 13 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Luke Moore secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 22nd appearance (1 Start) to make it W10 D5 L7, 0 Goals, 1 Assist and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Juan Pablo Ángel secures his 50th win in a Villa shirt on his 106th start (128 Appearances) to make it W50 D30 L48, 48 Goals, 13 Assists and 8 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.74 starts so far in his Villa career.

• Liam Ridgewell secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 23rd appearance (12 Starts) to make it W10 D4 L9 and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

• Thomas Sørensen keeps his 25th clean sheet in a Villa shirt on his 70th appearance to make it W29 D18 L23, 82 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.17 goals per game and 25 Clean Sheets (36%) so far in his Villa career.

• Villa are held to a goalless draw for the second successive game to leave them with two wins in six Premier League games under David O'Leary and remain 7th.

• Midfielder Steven Davis, 19, makes his Villa debut aged 19 after joining from St. Andrews Boys’ Club in July 2001 on schoolboy forms to become the 777th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

• Olof Mellberg makes his 125th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W43 D36 L46, 4 Goals, 4 Assists and 9 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Thomas Sørensen keeps his 20th clean sheet in a Villa shirt on his 51st appearance to make it W22 D14 L15, 58 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.14 goals per game and 20 Clean Sheets (39%) so far in his Villa career.

Villa finished the season unbeaten in three games, winning once - enough to leave them one place above the relegation places. Forward Dean Saunders made his final appearance for Villa aged 30 before moving on to Galatasaray S.K. for a fee of £2,350,000. Saunders had played for Villa between 1992-93 and 1994-95 making 144 appearances and scoring 50 goals. Centre back Shaun Teale made his final appearance for Villa aged 31 before moving on to Tranmere Rovers for a fee of £450,000. Teale had played for Villa between 1991-92 and 1994-95 making 179 appearances and scoring 5 goals. Left back Phil King made his final Villa appearance aged 26. King was only signed for Villa by Ron Atkinson in August 1994 but wasn’t to be part of Brian Little’s plans and would move on to Swindon Town in March 1997 having made 23 appearances.

• A 3 minute second half brace earns Villa a first win in 7 Premier League games under Ron Atkinson as they climb back to 8th in the table.

• Steve Staunton secures his 50th win in a Villa shirt on his 109th appearance to make it W50 D31 L28, 8 Goals, 16 Assists and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Dwight Yorke appears for the first time in over 7 months following injury to make it 98 Appearances (73 Starts), W43 D26 L29, 26 Goals, 13 Assists and 1 Booking at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.51 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

• Villa lose for the first time in 14 games under Ron Atkinson as they fall to surprise Premier League leaders Norwich at Villa Park. 

• Ugo Ehiogu, standing in at centre half for the injured Shaun Teale, has a nightmare time but contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 15th appearance (7 Starts) to make it W9 D3 L4 and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

Ron Atkinson's Villa score for the first time in seven games courtesy of Steve Staunton as they win only their second League game in thirteen in 1992.

Ron Atkinson's Villa lose their fourth Division One game in seven matches as cult hero Chris Price made his final appearance aged 31 before returning to Blackburn Rovers in February 1992 for a fee of £150,000. Price played for Villa between 1988-89 and 1991-92 making 144 appearances and scoring twice.

• Villa win for the first time in 9 and make it 16 wins and 16 defeats time in 45 games under a Jozef Vengloš now openly exasperated with his treatment by the local press.

• Second half substitute Dwight Yorke heads the winner that confirms Villa's top flight safety.

• Dwight Yorke contributes his 5th goal involvement and his 4th in his last 7 games in a Villa shirt on his 21st appearance (9 Starts) to make it W5 D6 L10, 2 Goals and 3 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 4.20 he has played so far in his Villa career.

Jozef Vengloš' Villa fail to score for the fifth time in eight games and lose their second League game in three to fall back to 13th in the table.

• Villa fall behind before Paul McGrath and Tony Cascarino score their first goals for the club and David Platt hits his 23rd of the season. 

• That though is not enough to clinch the victory they needed to take the title race to the final game of the season as Liverpool's win over QPR means the title is already decided. 

• Villa finish runners up in the top flight under Graham Taylor - their highest league placing since winning the title under Ron Saunders in 1980-81.

• Paul McGrath scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 46th appearance to make it W28 D4 L14, 1 Goal and 3 Assists so far in his Villa career.

• Meanwhile, off the pitch, never one to miss out on an opportunity to fleece fans, Herbert Douglas Ellis announces a 20% price rise on all tickets and two additional ‘premium’ games to be added to the existing EIGHT that are already sold at a 16% premium. Ellis claims the money is for new signings to strengthen the squad. Spoiler Alert: There were no new signings, just a bigger personal piggy bank.

Graham Taylor’s Villa lose in Division One for the first time in six games as they fall back to 5th place in the table but all eyes were on the local rag again with their barely concealed contempt for the club they reported on. It made no sense. The Evening Mail, champions of every negative thought about Villa and eager to drain any semblance of optimism surrounding the club were at it again. Like wild animals to fresh meat, a defeat away to a top 6 rival was too juicy to ignore. How could they? This was their bread and butter with a slice of sizzling stake. But after calling Villa’s relegation as early as the fourth game of the season, then damning Taylor’s side with the faintest of praise - whilst inflating the self worth of just about every opposition team - a defeat in the League Cup was just too salivating. The defeat to West Ham was not “unlucky” but “embarrassing”. If that was an over-reaction and mis-reading of a cold night in East London, just days needed to be waited by the hacks of the rag to fire up another damning indictment on B6’s pretensions. No longer tipping Villa for relegation they were certainly “still not fooled” by Villa’s achievements in 1989-90 and now could proudly condemn a title challenge to the waste bin besides their cigarette smoke infested desks. One defeat, a first in six League games that had seen Villa climb to fourth, was enough to set the poison pen letters to B6 ablaze once again. We were told Villa’s “strengths were exaggerated” and “weaknesses” ignored. If that wasn’t enough we were reliably informed Villa didn’t score enough. Despite having failed to score in the League for the first time in seven games and only the second time this season. No matter that in the last six League games Villa had scored twelve goals. No matter that Villa had won five of those six games. Worse was to come.. the goals conceded “were a joke”. Was that irony? Did they mean they were literally laughably unfortunate? or were they serious when they claimed Villa’s internationals were more bothered about playing Malta and Romania than winning the League? Yet their own goal descriptions of “dreadfully unlucky” and “going into the net off the centre-half’s backside” simply did not chime with all that preceded. Was it wilful contradiction or just an inability to ever say anything positive about the club they were paid to follow? Just what were these self appointed ‘Judges’ watching? What were they thinking? Why report on a club when any potential objectivity, or even support, or - whisper it quietly - partisan tribalism, as displayed by the Liverpool Echo or Manchester Evening News, was total anathema to them? Doubtless in time they came to love the club in their strange way. Doubtless they soon told us how they believed in Villa all along and help drive them to a top two berth once again. Doubtless they received recognition by virtue of the relationship with the club. But supporters? Never. The sad fact is it didn’t start in November 1989 and neither did it end. They had form through good times and bad. Always unhelpful, always prompting a new ‘crisis’ This, not the worst example or the most vicious, was certainly the most detached from reality given what supporters had witnessed over the last three months under Graham Taylor. Promoted the previous season to successfully fight for survival, just 12 months later the same team were troubling the top 6 of the League but even then we couldn’t count on their support and encouragement. Shameful.

Graham Taylor's Villa make it three games unbeaten as Alan McInally scores his twenty second of the season but first since January. As a result Villa sit 15th in the table, three points off the drop zone in a tight Division One table.

Graham Taylor's Villa win for the first time in five in League games.

Tony Barton's Villa don't have long to wait to get revenge for their defeat in the FA Cup as they beat Norwich at Carrow Road to set up a League Cup semi final with Everton in February. But the game suffers a bizarre incident on 11' as the referee sends off Paul Rideout for wearing rings only to change his mind after a volatile protest from Villa players and staff.

Tony Barton's Villa fail to score for the second time in five games and fourth time this season as they are taken apart by Norwich in the FA Cup replay. Meanwhile, Dean Glover made his Villa debut aged 20 after joining from school football in 1979.

Ron Saunders' Villa make it eleven unbeaten in the League with twelve wins, three draws and two defeats in seventeen League matches this season as they recover from being a goal down at the break to win at Carrow Road and remain clear at the top of the Division One table - now five points ahead of Ipswich.

Ron Saunders' Villa win the League Cup for the second time thanks to Ray Graydon's missed penalty rebound.