On This Day

• Roberto Di Matteo’s leads Villa for the first time.

• This is Villa’s first game in the second tier of English football for 29 years.

• Goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini, 21, drops a clanger on his Villa debut to gift Wednesday the win after joining from Hellas Verona for a fee of £4,500,000 in July 2016 to become the 889th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

• Centre Tommy Elphick makes his Villa debut aged 28 after joining from AFC Bournemouth for a fee of £3,510,000 in July 2016 to become the 890th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

• Midfielder Aaron Tshibola makes his Villa debut aged 21 as a 70’ substitute after his inexplicable signing from Reading for a fee of £5,310,000 in July 2016 to become the 891st player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football. Tshibola's arrival had strong echoes of that of Michael Boulding in 2002 where a player of clearly insufficient quality was brought into the club, unlike Boulding however, Tshibola cost big money. The idiocy of the previous regime was clearly not completely over.

• Forward Ross McCormack makes his Villa debut aged 29 after joining from Fulham for a fee of £12,870,000 earlier this month to become the 892nd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

• Alan Hutton makes his 100th appearance in a Villa shirt (93 Starts) to make it W18 D25 L57, 1 Goal, 4 Assists, 25 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Leandro Bacuna makes his 100th appearance in a Villa shirt (78 Starts) to make it W27 D20 L53, 6 Goals, 6 Assists and 17 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Ashley Westwood loses for the 75th time in a Villa shirt on his 140th appearance (134 Starts) to make it W37 D28 L75, 5 Goals, 12 Assists and 24 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Former Villa midfielder Barry Bannan lines up for Wednesday.

On This Day

• Villa make it two defeats from two in all competitions as questions are asked once again and suspicion abounds.

• Villa’s earliest entry into the League Cup ever and consequently their earliest ever exit from the competition since its inauguration in 1960.

• Mark Bunn concedes his 25th goal in a Villa shirt on his 13th appearance to make it W3 D4 L6, 25 Goals Conceded, 4 Clean Sheets and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Ross McCormack collects his first booking in a Villa shirt on his 2nd appearance to make it W0 D0 L2, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

• Despite having refused to play for Villa again just 5 months earlier, troublesome centre back Jores Okore makes his 47th and final appearance for Villa (43 Starts) aged 24 before moving on to FC Copenhagen on a free transfer later this month. Villa had paid FC Nordsjaelland £4,230,000 for Okore’s services in July 2013 and following a controversy and injury ravaged spell across his 3 seasons with the club left with a record of W13 D11 L23, 1 Goal, 8 Bookings and 1 Own Goal. Okore's own goal came on what would prove to be his final appearance, with an easily avoidable error, that led to incredulity from his teammates during the match amd that attracted comment during and after the game as Villa fell to lower league opposition seemingly without a fight. Okore would later be accused of match fixing at Aalborg Boldspilklub.

• Jordan Ayew suffers his 25th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 38th appearance (32 Starts) to make it W5 D8 L25, 8 Goals, 8 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

On This Day

• Villa secure their first second tier win since beating Bradford City 1-0 on Monday, 2 May 1988.

• Centre back James Chester makes his debut for Villa aged 27 after joining from West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £8,370,000 earlier his month to become the 893rd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

• Jack Grealish scores his 2nd goal in a Villa shirt on his 49th appearance (24 Starts) to make it W16 D4 L29, 2 Goals, 5 Assists, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Pierluigi Gollini keeps his first clean sheet in a Villa shirt on his 2nd appearance to make it W1 D0 L1, 1 Goal Conceded, 1 Clean Sheet so far in his Villa career.

• Winger Adama Traoré made his final appearance for Villa aged 20 before moving on to Middlesbrough for a fee of £7,430,000 later this month. Traoré made 1 start, 11 substitute appearances and scored once. Villa had paid Barcelona a scarcely believable £9,000,000 for Traoré’s services a year earlier in August 2015. Villa wouldn’t be the last club to spend big on this most ineffective and disruptive of players who left with a record of W2 D1 L9, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 1 Booking.

• Ross McCormack’s first three games following his £12,870,000 move have now contributed no goals, one assist, two bookings and a half time hook to leave a record of W1 D0 L2 so far in his Villa career.

• Aly Cissokho contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 48th appearance (47 Starts) to make it W10 D9 L29, 1 Assist, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

On This Day

• Villa make it one defeat, a win and a draw in Roberto Di Matteo's first three Championship games.

• The game is overshadowed by the news that legendary Villa centre forward Dalian Atkinson has been murdered by police officers outside his father's house. 

• Jack Grealish makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (25 Starts) to make it W16 D5 L29, 2 Goals, 6 Assists, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Ross McCormack scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 4th appearance to make it W1 D1 L2, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Former Villa midfielder Jonathan Hogg lined up for Huddersfield.

On This Day

• Villa record a second successive draw as their Championship campaign under Roberto Di Matteo gets off to a slow start.

• Aly Cissokho makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt on his (49 Starts) to make it W10 D11 L29, 1 Assist, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Roberto Di Matteo has delivered two draws, a win and a loss in his first four league games as well as a first round exit from the League cup with Villa clearly taking time to settle in the second tier and under the new manager’s methods. 

• Ross McCormack picks up his third booking in five games.

• Former Villa ‘keeper Scott Carson lined up for Derby with former Villa record signing - centre forward Darren Bent - coming on as a 77’ substitute for the Rams.

On This Day

• Villa lose for the second time in 5 Championship games under Roberto Di Matteo having won once.

• Despite an early Jack Grealish goal Roberto Di Matteo loses his 2nd league game of the campaign having drawn 2 and won 1 to leave Villa in 16th place in the second tier and already well off the promotion pace. 

• Midfielder Mile Jedinak makes his Villa debut aged 32 after joining from Crystal Palace for a fee of £4,140,000 earlier this month to become the 894th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

• Right back Ritchie De Laet makes his Villa debut aged 27 after joining from Leicester City for a fee of £2,070,000 earlier this month to become the 895th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

• Libor Kozák makes his 22nd and final appearance for Villa (12 Starts) after an injury ravaged 3 seasons with the club, Kozák left with a record of W6 D8 L8, 4 Goals and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

• Jordan Ayew collects his 10th booking in a Villa shirt on his 42nd appearance (36 Starts) to make it W6 D10 L26, 8 Goals, 10 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Jack Grealish collects his 5th booking in a Villa shirt on his 52nd appearance (27 Starts) to leave the much hyped midfielder with as many cards as assists in his nascent Villa career with a record of W16 D6 L30, 2 Goals, 6 Assists, 5 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Leandro Bacuna collects his 20th booking in a Villa shirt on his 104th appearance (82 Starts) to make it W28 D22 L54, 6 Goals, 7 Assists and 20 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Jordan Amavi suffers his 10th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 15th appearance (12 Starts) to make it W2 D3 L10, 2 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Aly Cissokho suffers his 30th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 50th start (51 Appearances) to make it W10 D9 L30, 1 Assist, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Future Villa centre forward Tammy Abraham scores Bristol City’s opener whilst fellow future Villa centre forward Jonathan Kodjia is left out of the squad pending his transfer.

On This Day

• Villa, without a win in four Championship games, draw for the third time under Roberto Di Matteo and slump to 17th in the league. 

• Centre forward Jonathan Kodjia makes his Villa debut aged 26 after joining from Bristol City for a fee of £11,610,000 in August 2016 to become the 896th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

• Jordan Ayew contribute his first assists in a Villa shirt on his 43rd appearance (37 Starts) to make it W6 D11 L26, 8 Goals, 2 Assists, 11 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Future Villa midfielder Henri Lansbury scored Forest’s 87’ equaliser whilst former Villa defender Eric Lichaj lines up for them.

On This Day

• Villa draw for the fourth time in five winless Championship matches as the concerningly slow start to life in the second tier under Roberto Di Matteo continues.

• New signings Mile Jedinak and Jonathan Kodjia combine for the latter to score his first goal for the club but it’s not enough to beat future Villa boss Dean Smith’s Brentford as Roberto Di Matteo’s side make it one win in eight games.

• Jonathan Kodjia scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 2nd appearance to make it W0 D2 L0 and 1 Goal so far in his Villa career.

• Mile Jedinak contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 2nd appearance to make it W0 D1 L1 and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

• Record signing Ross McCormack is taken off at half time for the second time in 7 games. 

• Gary Gardner makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (9 Starts) to make it W5 D10 L10, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Future Villa forward Scott Hogan lines up for Brentford.

On This Day

• Villa draw for the third consecutive game and the fifth time in a six game winless run to leave them with one win in eight Championship games under Roberto Di Matteo.

• Winger Albert Adomah makes his Villa debut aged 28 as a 82’ substitute after joining from Middlesbrough for a fee of £3,150,000 in August 2016. Adomah becomes the 897th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

• Jonathan Kodjia collects his first booking in a Villa shirt on his 3rd appearance to make it W0 D3 L0, 1 Goal and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

• Nathan Baker return to the line up lasts just 28’ before leaving the field due to injury with Micah Richards replacing the unlucky centre back for his first appearance since May 2016.

• Roberto Di Matteo’s Villa record their fifth draw in six games and now have one league win in eight games as they fall to 18th in the table just above the League One relegation zone. 

On This Day

• Villa draw a fourth successive game to extend their winless run to seven Championship matches as the Roberto Di Matteo regime already seems to be spiralling out of control on and off the pitch.

• Off the pitch Jack Grealish is in trouble again after allegations of an all-night party leading to a hefty fine and a period of ostracism from first team selecion under Roberto Di Matteo.

• Di Matteo's decision to suspend Jack Grealish further robs Villa of desperately needed creativity as a sixth draw in seven games makes it just one win in nine for Villa's new boss. 

• Meanwhile Dr Tony Xia continues to confirm he is the oddest owner in football. Whether that's a good or a bad thing isn't clear.

• Aaron Tshibola scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 5th appearance (3 Starts) to make it W1 D2 L2, 1 Goal and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Nathan Baker leaves the field with injury before the second half for the second successive game.

On This Day

• Villa's poor start to life in the second tier under Roberto Di Matteo continues as they draw for a 5th successive game and are now without a win in 8 Championship games to leave them with 1 win in 11 in all competitions.

• 1 win in 10 league games and a 7th draw in 8 leave Roberto Di Matteo's side floundering in 17th with little sign that the spark needed to kick start the season will be coming any time soon. 

• Despite a raft of new signings - Pierluigi Gollini, Tommy Elphick, Aaron Tshibola, James Chester, Mile Jedinak, Jonathan Kodjia, Ritchie De Laet and Albert Adomah - the culture of under achievement that has become so ingrained in the club is preventing a fresh start. 

• Although a failure to hold onto a lead is not a rare occurrence under Roberto Di Matteo, it is yet again the involvement of the old guard (as substitutes for the new guard) that sees Villa concede a late equaliser once again. 

• Without significant further culling of the relegation infected squad inherited from 2015-16 there is little sign or expectation that Villa can turn a corner and look up the Championship table. 

• Jack Grealish makes his 30th start for Villa (55 Appearances) to make it W16 D9 L30, 3 Goals, 6 Assists, 5 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

• Pierluigi Gollini concedes his 10th goal in a Villa shirt on his 10th appearance to make it W1 D7 L2, 10 Goals Conceded and 3 Clean Sheets so far in his Villa career.

• Future Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane lined up for Barnsley with future Villa right back James Bree on the bench for the Tykes.

On This Day

• Villa's awful start to life outside the top flight continues as their winless run stretches to 9 with defeat at Preston. 

• Unlike the Lerner regime however the reaction of the owner is swift and Roberto Di Matteo is sacked just 12 games into his hopeless tenure.

• Roberto Di Matteo presided over 1 win in 11 league games, 5 games with goal concessions after 85', 3 losses, 7 draws and the earliest League Cup exit in the club's history.  

• Even following the appalling managerial appointments from 2010 to 2015 that was some record.

• Di Matteo was a deeply underwhelming appointment with more than a whiff of Champions League glamour hiding a fundamentally weak approach.

• Di Matteo never looked like he was the man to turn Villa around after a half decade of incompetence. 

• In truth Di Matteo was not bold enough, too many of the abject 2015-16 squad remained and continued to play and influence the dressing room. Some of that was beyond Di Matteo’s control as even the most celebrated of managers would have struggled with the deadwood drifting around Villa Park however with money spent, results were limited and recruitment was questionable in the extreme. 

• For every Jonathan Kodjia - although yet to spark under Di Matteo - James Chester and Tommy Elphick there was a Ross McCormack or even more bewilderingly an Aaron Tshibola. Di Matteo simply seemed out of his depth in every department and so it proved. 

• Ashley Westwood collects his 25th booking on his 150th appearance in a Villa shirt (143 Starts) to make it W38 D35 L77, 5 Goals, 12 Assists and 25 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• James Chester makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W1 D7 L2 and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Former Villa midfielder Daniel Johnson and former Villa centre forward Callum Robinson lined up for Preston.

• Roberto Di Matteo is sacked by Dr Tony Xia is sacked after a dismal 12 game spell as manager - the shortest managerial reign in Villa's history - during which time he recorded W1 D7 L5 at a rate of 0.83 points per game.