On This Day

• Villa open the season in off the field turmoil as Martin O'Neill baulks at Randy Lerner's insistence on a fire sale of the club's best assets, times his departure to the most cynical point and leaves the team managerless on the eve of the campaign.

• James Milner, 24, makes his 126th and final appearance for Villa (119 Starts) before moving on to Manchester City for a fee of just £19,800,000. A player of rare ability combined with a strong work ethic and selflessness he was immediately taken to the hearts of Villa fans when he first joined the club on a season long loan from Newcastle United. A fabulous player and Villa servant who should have been wearing claret and blue throughout his career. Sadly however, Villa's owner had a different plan and accepted just £5,800,000 more than Villa had paid for him in his desperate grab for cash. That Stephen Ireland moved the other way simply underlined the sheer folly that had overtaken the club over summer 2010. A contrast between Milner and Ireland couldn’t have been more absolute and it is unfathomable to understand how the Villa hierarchy accepted such a terrible deal with Ireland’s well documented issues underlining the folly of letting their best player leave on the cheap. Milner went on to win titles, but will always be remembered fondly as a boy in claret and blue. He should have done it here, but left prematurely W57 D36 L33, 22 Goals, 33 Assists an 19 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one every 2.29 games played so far in his Villa career.

• Forward Andreas Weimann makes his Villa debut aged 19 having joined Villa from SK Rapid Wien as a 16 year old in July 2007 to become the 825th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

• Barry Bannan makes his 3rd appearance in a Villa shirt (1 Start) and plays his first game in 18 months to make it W1 D0 L2 so far in his Villa career having previously started 'that' Moscow game in February 2009.

• Stewart Downing contributes his 10th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 36th appearance (34 Starts) to make it W19 D10 L7, 4 Goals and 6 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one every 3.60 games played so far in his Villa career.

• Ciaran Clark collects his 1st booking in a Villa shirt on his 6th appearance to make it W4 D1 L1 and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

On This Day

• A young Villa side records a creditable draw in the away leg in Vienna of their Europa League Play off with Rapid.

• A Martin O'Neill 'Cup Team' © is fielded by Kevin MacDonald and secures an away goal and draw in Vienna ahead of the second leg.

• Midfielder Jonathan Hogg, 21, makes his debut aged 21 having signed from Middlesbrough as a schoolboy to become the 826th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

• Eric Lichaj, 21, makes his debut in a Villa shirt having joined from Chicago Magic in July 2007 aged 18 to become the 827th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

• Isaiah Osbourne makes his first appearance in a Villa shirt in 66 games since ‘that’ Moscow game and only his 6th in 103 Villa matches. It would also be Osbourne’s 30th and final appearance before joining Hibs in August 2011. Osbourne would leave with a record of W6 D11 L13, 0 Goals, 1 Assist and 2 Bookings over his 4 seasons with Villa.

• Barry Bannan scores his 1st goal in a Villa shirt on his 4th appearance (2 Starts) to make it W2 D0 L2, 1 Goal and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

On This Day

• Villa are hammered by Newcastle as the limitations of fielding a managerless team are laid bare.

• Well at least that ruled Kevin MacDonald out of the running to replace O'Neill.

• James Milner makeweight Stephen Ireland, 24, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after arriving from Manchester City earlier this month. If any game was a microcosm of his car crash of a career this was it, lightweight, self-obssessed and overpaid, the player should never have been at the club but that he was meant that he became the 828th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football. A contrast to James Milner could not have been greater.

On This Day

• Villa follow their Premier League hammering at the hands of Newcastle to be defeated at home to be knocked out of the Europa League before it started by Rapid Vienna.

• Brad Guzan concedes his 25th goal in a Villa shirt on his 20th appearance (19 Starts) to make it W10 D4 L7, 25 Goals Conceded, 5 Clean Sheets and 2 Bookings.

• Habib Bèye contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 14th appearance (12 Starts) to make it W6 D2 L6, 1 Assist, 3 Bookings and 1 Red Card.

On This Day

• Villa win for the first time in five in all competitions as Everton are beaten at Villa Park.

• As for Kevin MacDonald - he's still rabbiting on about being in with a chance for the permanent manager's job as if it's his choice. Perhaps it is, perhaps Villa under Lerner and Faulkner are really as inept, incompetent and badly organised as many believe, and perhaps they think a man who managed to squeak a win against a woefully out of form Everton and who has already plumbed the depths of poor performance is the obvious choice to replace Martin O'Neill.

• Ashley Young contributes his 50th Assist in a Villa shirt on his 154th appearance (151 Starts) to make it W69 D46 L39, 29 Goals, 50 Assists, 24 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Stiliyan Petrov secures his 70th win in a Villa shirt on his 163rd appearance (156 Starts) to make it W70 D52 L41, 7 Goals, 7 Assists and 26 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Luke Young secures his 30th win in a Villa shirt on his 66th appearance (63 Starts) to make it W30 D17 L19, 1 Goal and 11 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Stewart Downing secures his 20th win in a Villa shirt on his 39th appearance (37 Starts) to make it W20 D11 L8, 4 Goals, 6 Assists and 1 Booking at a goal involvement rate of one every 3.90 games played so far in his Villa career.

On This Day

• Villa finally appoint a replacement for Martin O'Neill but he is too busy to take up the post immediately to leave Villa defeated by Pulis-ball once again to make it three defeats in six under caretaker Kevin MacDonald.

• Stoke secure a 93rd minute winner to claim their first victory of the season against Villa but the bad news doesn’t stop there as Villa’s new boss search is completed….. 

• And the winner is…. ~~Kevin MacD~~ … Gérard Houllier. 

• Quite what possessed Randy Lerner and his non-footballing cohorts is unclear, but chasing and appointing a manager who was too busy to start the job and who had known issues with at least three senior members of the small Villa squad he inherited, suggested at best naivety but more accurately reckless stupidity. 

• With a straight face the hapless CEO Paul Faulkner had claimed: “Two of the key qualities which we identified as being of crucial importance in our search for the new manager were experience of managing in the Premier League and a strategy for building on the existing strengths in our current squad. Gerard Houllier comfortably satisfies these criteria.” 

• Of course there was the calculation that some of the Villa support would welcome an ex-manager from a “big club” but for every one who bought in to the appointment there were many more who saw the writing on the wall. 

• Distant, dismissive and disrespectful. One of the most one-eyed managers seen in the game and a dour demeanour and persona were certainly a departure from Martin O’Neill, in fact the only trait they shared in common was a penchant for player fall-outs. 

• Were Houllier’s ‘qualities’ what was necessary to rebuild and reinvigorate a squad that had lost its heart and head - James Milner? 

• In one telling, O’Neill’s petulant, childish and spiteful walk out on the eve of the season left Villa exposed and desperate; the alternate, and more accurate, telling however is that O’Neill had been walking around with a sign reading “Lack of commitment” since Villa’s hammering at Chelsea in April and a better run club would have either managed the issues or planned for the inevitable, preferably both. 

• Villa however did neither and set in stone a decline unlike anything seen in B6 since the mid 60’s.

• Gabriel Agbonlahor contributes his 75th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 188th appearance (174 Starts) to make it W77 D56 L55, 52 Goals, 23 Assists and 15 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.51 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

On This Day

• With Villa's new manager still too busy to take over Kevin MacDonald leads Villa to a first Premier League draw of the season.

• Kevin MacDonald ends his caretaker stint with a record of P7 W2 D2 L3 F9 A13 GD-4.

• Ashley Young scores his 50th goal in a Villa shirt on his 156th appearance (153 Starts) to make it W69 D47 L40, 30 Goals, 50 Assists, 24 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Gabriel Agbonlahor makes his 175th start in a Villa shirt (189 Appearances) to make it W77 D57 L55, 52 Goals, 23 Assists and 15 Bookings so far in his Villa career.