Villa open the season with a remarkable draw against Bolton as all four goals come in the first nine minutes. Villa's debutants combine to create and score two goals in 9' but the game ends in a draw as familiar frailties are exposed on the opening day of the season. 

Left back Aaron Hughes, 25, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from Newcastle United for a fee of £1,350,000 in July 2005 to become the 780th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Forward Kevin Phillips, 32, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from Southampton for £1,350,000 in July 2005 to become the 781st player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Ten man Villa are held by Portsmouth Fratton Park to leave them winless in their first three Premier League games of the season under David O'Leary.

Nolberto Solano, 30, is sent off for the second time in a Villa shirt on his 52nd and unexpectedly final appearance for the club (47 Starts) before returning to Newcastle United for a fee of £2,030,000 in October 2005. Solano, who had cost Villa £1,800,000 in January 2004, had been a committed and productive player during his short Villa career and would leave with a record of W18 D15 L19, 9 Goals, 9 Assists, 7 Bookings and 2 Red Cards at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.88 games played. However whilst his first 40 games delivered 15 goal involvements (Every 2.66 games), his final 12 delivered just 3 (Every 4.00 games) as he seemed to be another player whose form was detrimentally affected by extended exposure to O’Leary.

Villa win for the first time this season as Milan Baroš hits a debut goal to beat Blackburn at Villa Park.

Villa secure their 1st win in 9 under David O'Leary having lost 4 and drawn 4.

Milan Baroš, 23, makes a goalscoring debut in a Villa shirt after joining from Liverpool for a fee of £7,960,000 earlier this month to become the 782nd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Patrik Berger, 31, makes his Villa debut from the subs bench after joining from Portsmouth on a free transfer in July 2005 to become the 783rd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Steven Davis secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 33rd appearance (23 Starts) to make it W10 D9 L14, 2 Goals and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Meanwhile off the pitch it is revealed that a potential takeover of Villa has failed after a bid is rejected by the club despite having "denied the opportunity to enter into any dialogue" with the bidders.

Villa are torn to shreds by Marlon Harewood and West Ham as they record their fifth loss in ten games under David O'Leary and leaves them with one win in five Premier League games this season.

Despite the result however, it’s a day to celebrate as two players who typify everything the fans value make their debuts. 

Dutch international right back Wilfred Bouma, 27, makes his Villa debut after joining from PSV Eindhoven for a fee of £4,230,000 in July 2005 to become the 784th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Winger James Milner, 19, makes his Villa debut after joining on a season long loan from Newcastle United in August 2005 to become the 785th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Joining the likes of Juan Pablo Ángel, Gareth Barry, Olof Mellberg, the injured Martin Laursen and Mark Delaney in the squad it remains a mystery how such talent and commitment aren’t being mobilised effectively to drive Villa forward. That they aren’t is perhaps the single biggest indictment of the O’Leary era as, despite having the nous to bring quality into the club, he continually fails to galvanise this outstanding spine of a team. 

Villa with one win in eight Premier League games under David O'Leary still find time to beat Birmingham at St Andrew's.

Villa record their 2nd win 14 Premier League matches to move up two places in the table to 14th. 

Villa win for the first time against Birmingham in 7 matches but for the 7th time in 13, drawing two.

The game is notable however for the bizarre and frankly embarrassing post match celebration from manager David O'Leary with cynics suggesting that his charge across the pitch in acknowledgement of Chairman Doug Ellis simply showed how entrenched they had become together regardless of the perilous place the club had been taken into under their watch.

Juan Pablo Ángel makes his 150th appearance in a Villa shirt (126 Starts) to make it W55 D37 L58, 52 Goals, 16 Assists and 9 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.20 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Luke Moore secures his 15th win in a Villa shirt on his 40th appearance (8 Starts) to make it W15 D8 L17, 3 Goals, 2 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Thomas Sørensen keeps his 30th clean sheet in a Villa shirt on his 94th appearance to make it W36 D25 L33, 120 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.28 goals per game and 30 Clean Sheets (32%) so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose at home to Wigan to leave David O'Leary with two wins in eleven Premier League games.

Villa lose for the 8th time in 15 Premier League games under David O'Leary. 

Despite just 2 wins in 15, O’Leary's post match comments suggest he has belatedly adopted a more collective approach since recording their second win of the season last time out. Long may it last, but it probably won’t.

Villa take welcome respite from their League difficulties under David O'Leary as they record a narrow win against Championship side Burnley and avoid the humiliation they had suffered under the same opposition last season.

Kevin Phillips contributes his 5th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 7th appearance as his strong start continues with a record of W3 D2 L2, 3 Goal and 2 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.40 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

James Milner contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 8th appearance to make it W3 D1 L4, 3 Goals and 1 Assist at a goal involvement rate of one every 2.00 games played so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the fourth time in five League games under David O'Leary and have just two wins in twelve Premier League games but the manager claims he knows "what's needed to put it right", just a shame he hadn't done it already.

Villa lose for the 9th time in 16 Premier League games under David O'Leary with just 2 wins as a player who rarely looked a scoring threat in a Villa shirt, Darius Vassell, scores a brace within half an hour of the start of his first match against his former club. 

Stuart Taylor makes an emergency debut to become the 788th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.after Thomas Sörensen is injured in the warm up, Taylor, 24, had joined Villa from Arsenal on a free transfer in July 2005.

Liam Ridgewell scores his 1st goal in a Villa shirt on his 43rd appearance (31 Starts) to make it W16 D8 L19, 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 5 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Patrik Berger contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 9th appearance (4 Starts) to make it W3 D1 L5, 1 Assist and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Off the pitch Villa confirm a takeover approach however Herbert Douglas Ellis does his level best to diminish any possible chance of progress.

David O'Leary's 100th game in charge of Villa sees him lose for the fifth time in six League games this season and a 10th time in 17 Premier League overall having accumulated just 2 wins over that period so presumably the manager didn't really know "what's needed to put it right".

Villa though are somewhat hard done by against Liverpool yet again, as they tumble to 17th in the table - their lowest position of the season and now relegation looks a distinct possibility if the woeful form under O'Leary continues.

James Milner makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W3 D1 L6, 3 Goals and 1 Assist at a goal involvement rate of one every 2.50 games played so far in his Villa career.

Juan Pablo Ángel suffers his 60th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 153rd appearance (127 Starts) to make it W56 D37 L60, 52 Goals, 16 Assists and 9 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.25 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Steven Davis suffers his 20th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 43rd appearance (33 Starts) to make it W13 D10 L20, 5 Goals, 1 Assist and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa win for the 3rd time in 18 games under David O'Leary but in truth failure to win - against a side bottom of the League and without a win in 17 - would surely have spelt the end for the now barely tolerated Villa boss. Despite the animosity however, O'Leary's Villa climbed to 15th in the table, two points clear of the relegation zone.

James Milner contributes his 5th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 11th appearance to make it W4 D1 L6, 3 Goals and 2 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one every 2.20 games played so far in his Villa career.

Kevin Phillips makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W4 D3 L4, 4 Goals and 2 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.67 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Thomas Sørensen concedes his 125th goal in a Villa shirt on his 98th appearance to make it W38 D25 L35, 125 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.28 goals per game and 31 Clean Sheets (32%) so far in his Villa career.

Meanwhile O'Leary dodges his post match duties once again as he allegedly contracts flu during the game whilst his own players have to put up a pretence that the manager has not lost the dressing room.

Villa win successive League games for the first time this season but the discontent rises as David O'Leary swerves the post match press conference yet again to leave Roy Aitken to claim Villa were in a 'false position' before this win. 

Villa win for a second successive game to make it as many victories in two Premier League matches as David O'Leary had managed in the previous thirteen. Quite how that added up to a "false position" few are sure.

Following victory, Villa are in 15th place, 5 points above the relegation places and 22 points behind the leaders. 

Clearly the O’Leary delusion was infectious but the crowd weren't fooled.

David O'Leary plumbs new depths with performances and excuses as what little goodwill that remained is extinguished with a humiliating defeat to Doncaster.

It had been coming, another humiliating Cup defeat to lower league opposition under David O’Leary was nothing new, but this was on another level as the players he had spent the best part of his time as manager belittling and deriding simply gave up playing. It was almost as if they wanted him gone. The supporters certainly did and, before even the turn of December, the manager was a dead man walking. The only outstanding questions were when, and whether he would finally take the Chairman with him.

Thomas Sørensen makes his 100th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W39 D25 L36, 128 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.28 goals per game and 32 Clean Sheets (32%) so far in his Villa career.

Villa avoid another Cup upset as they beat League One Vale at Villa Park to reach the FA Cup fifth round but they can't make the breakthrough until the final twenty minutes.

David O'Leary makes it two Cup games without humiliation by lower league opposition to progress to the Fourth Round of the FA Cup.

Olof Mellberg makes his 175th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W61 D47 L67, 5 Goals, 6 Assists and 17 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Juan Pablo Ángel secures his 60th win in a Villa shirt on his 132nd start (165 Appearances) to make it W60 D42 L63, 54 Goals, 16 Assists and 11 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.89 starts so far in his Villa career.

Villa put in another strong performance against Chelsea to secure a point but a second successive draw means they have just six wins in twenty four Premier League games under David O'Leary. Villa rise to 14th.

Mark Delaney's mazy run into the box is rewarded as the full back's cross is bundled in by Luke Moore.

Aaron Hughes makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W9 D9 L7, 0 Goals, 4 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Gavin McCann collects his 15th booking in a Villa shirt on his 81st appearance to make it W33 D24 L24, 4 Goals, 3 Assists, 15 Bookings and 2 Red Cards at a rate of a card every 4.70 games so far in his Villa career.

Villa put in a second successive strong performance and a manager with a tendency for hyperbole unhinged from reality was for once correct to say “We were superior from the kick-off and in every department we were superior." as Villa recorded their seventh Premier League win in twenty five games this season.

Luke Moore's hat-trick delivers David O'Leary a 7th win in the last 30 Premier League games to move Villa up to 13th in the table.

Lee Hendrie makes his 300th appearance in a Villa shirt (239 Starts) to make it W119 D76 L105, 32 Goals, 33 Assists, 59 Bookings and 4 Red Cards at a goal involvement rate of one for every 4.69 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Steven Davis contributes his 10th goal involvement and secures his 20th win in a Villa shirt on his 59th appearance (48 Starts) to make it W20 D16 L23, 8 Goals, 2 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

James Milner contributes his 10th goal involvement to secure his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 25th appearance to make it W10 D6 L9, 3 Goals, 7 Assists and 3 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one every 2.50 games played so far in his Villa career.

Kevin Phillips scores his 5th goal in a Villa shirt on his 15th appearance (13 Starts) to make it W7 D3 L5, 5 Goals and 5 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.67 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Aaron Hughes secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 26th appearance to make it W10 D9 L7, 0 Goals, 4 Assists, 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa can't repeat their last two performances and are beaten by struggling Newcastle to leave them with seven wins in twenty six Premier League games as David O'Leary makes yet another new enemy.

Villa suffer their first defeat in 5 games in all competitions and only their 2nd League defeat in 9 under David O'Leary. 

Villa have just 7 wins in the last 31 Premier League fixtures under David O'Leary.

Craig Gardner contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 3rd appearance (1 Start) to make it W2 D0 L1 and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

Meanwhile, in a development celebrated by everyone but the fool who brought him, Eric Djemba-Djemba cannot feature as he fails to return from international duty. Hope springs eternal that he never will.

Villa draw at the Valley to make it just seven wins in twenty seven Premier League games under David O'Leary this season.

Villa now have just 7 wins in the last 32 Premier League fixtures under David O'Leary.

Steven Davis makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (61 Appearances) to make it W20 D18 L23, 8 Goals, 3 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa win for the first time in four games to make it eight wins in twenty eight Premier League matches under David O'Leary this season.

Villa win for only the 8th time in 33 Premier League games under David O’Leary but climb to 14th in the table.

Milan Baroš continues his strong run since his debut in August as he scores his 10th goal in a Villa shirt on his 23rd appearance (22 Starts) to make it W8 D9 L6, 10 Goals, 16 Assists and 5 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.44 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Villa's second successive defeat means it is now  8 wins in their last 34 games under David O’Leary but they remain 14th in the table, 10 points clear of the relegation places.

Villa lose for the second time in four to leave David O'Leary with just eight wins in twenty nine Premier League games this season with their FA Cup replay against Manchester City up next.

Villa fall to successive defeats for the first time since November and are beaten in the FA Cup 5th round replay prompting David O'Leary to dribble out more drivel that strongly suggested he was not too well.

Meanwhile, David O'Leary's limited grasp on reality continues as the first XI he fielded aged 29, 26, 28, 25, 21, 28, 32, 21, 20, 24 and 27 are described as "young lads ... the future of club ... they will learn from that”. If he didn't know the ages of his own team, what on earth did he also not understand?

Milan Baroš makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (24 Starts) to make it W8 D9 L8, 10 Goals, 6 Assists and 5 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.56 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Steven Davis suffers his 25th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 64th appearance (53 Starts) to make it W21 D18 L25, 9 Goals, 3 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa stop a run of three consecutive defeats to draw with struggling Fulham and make it just eight wins in thirty one Premier League games this season under David O'Leary.

Villa end a run of 3 defeats but now have just 8 Premier League wins in the last 36 games under O’Leary’s leadership as the barely hidden contempt within which the manager is held by a large swathe of the support breaks out into the open.

Thomas Sørensen keeps his 40th clean sheet in a Villa shirt on his 120th appearance to make it W44 D34 L42, 150 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.25 goals per game and 40 Clean Sheets (33%) so far in his Villa career.

Villa make it four defeats in five as they are hammered at Highbury to leave them with just eight wins in thirty two Premier League games this season under David O'Leary.

Villa have now lost 16 of the last 37 Premier League matches under David O'Leary, winning 8. 

Villa have taken 37 of the last 111 points available under David O’Leary.

David O’Leary however springs his own April Fool's joke as he claims that "our young players will learn from it [a 5-0 defeat]". 

O'Leary fielded a first XI aged, 29, 26, 25, 21, 28, 32, 28, 21, 20, 31 and 28. 

With O'Leary’s detachment from reality becoming ever more obvious the mutinous atmosphere amongst the away support is absolute and the concern within whose hands the club is in is now at a crisis point.

Villa are held to a goalless draw by Albion to make it just eight wins in thirty three Premier League games under David O'Leary.

Villa have now failed to score in their last 3 matches under David O’Leary.

Villa have won just 8 of 38 games under David O'Leary. 

Yet again O'Leary referred to his mythical "kids" counting them in his mind as "quite a few" having fielded one 19 year old, one 20 year old, and two 21 year olds with the latter two having played over 100 games between them. Nothing stacked up anymore.

Milan Baroš makes his 25th start in a Villa shirt (26 Starts) to make it W8 D10 L8, 10 Goals, 6 Assists and 5 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.56 starts he has made so far in his Villa career.

Whatever League, whatever form, Villa always have time to beat Birmingham. As a result David O'Leary records his ninth win in thirty four Premier League games this season.

Villa win for the 1st time in 7 and for the 9th time in their last Premier League games under David O’Leary to remain 15th.

Villa beat Birmingham home and away for the second time in the last 5 seasons in which the clubs have met in League footballl.

Villa now have 8 wins and 2 draws in their last 16 meetings with Birmingham stretching back to 1987.

Centre back Gary Cahill scores Villa’s goal of the season, his first in a Villa shirt, on his 4th appearance (3 Starts) to make it W2 D1 L1, 1 Goal and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Milan Baroš scores his 12th goal in a Villa shirt on his 27th appearance (26 Starts) to make it W9 D10 L8, 12 Goals, 6 Assists and 6 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.50 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Aaron Hughes contributes his 5th assist in a Villa shirt on his 37th appearance to make it W12 D13 L12, 0 Goals, 5 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Kevin Phillips contributes his 5th assist in a Villa shirt and his first in 9 games on his 24th appearance (21 Starts) to make it W9 D6 L9, 5 Goal and 5 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.40 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Liam Ridgewell makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (65 Appearances) to make it W22 D16 L27, 3 Goals, 1 Assist, 7 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Gavin McCann collects his 20th card in a Villa shirt on his 92nd appearance to make it W36 D28 L28, 4 Goals, 3 Assists, 18 Bookings and 2 Red Cards at a rate of a card every 4.55 games so far in his Villa career.

Villa record a second successive defeat and a sixth loss in nine to leave them with just nine wins in thirty six games under David O'Leary this season.

Villa lose to an opposition on a run of six consecutive defeats to leave David O'Leary with a record of 9 wins in the last 41 games. We are all angry and we need to be careful what we say.

Jlloyd Samuel suffers his 75th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 195th appearance (169 Starts) to make it W69 D51 L75, 3 Goals, 10 Assists, 25 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Thomas Sørensen makes his 125th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W45 D35 L45, 160 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.28 goals per game and 

41 Clean Sheets (33%) so far in his Villa career.

Villa make it three consecutive defeats to leave them with just nine wins in thirty seven games under David O'Leary this season.

Villa now have 19 defeats in their last 42 games under David O’Leary at a loss rate of 45%.

Villa now have 9 wins in their last 42 games under David O’Leary at a win rate of 21%.

O’Leary however uses his post-match interview to talk up his credentials for a fourth season in charge. Chutzpah, delusion and a total lack of self awareness make easy bedfellows in the O’Leary household it seems.

Villa end the season with a tenth Premier League victory in thirty eight games under David O'Leary as the disliked manager and his Chairman would exit the Villa stage during the summer as a new chapter dawned.

James Milner, 20, makes his final appearance in a Villa shirt as his season long loan from Newcastle United comes to an end. Although earmarked as one of Martin O’Neill and Randy Lerner’s first signings, and with a contract agreed, shenanigans from the notoriously amateurish Newcastle board prevented the transfer and left the player and club bereft. Milner would of course return, but for now he would leave with a record of W13 D8 L12, 3 Goals, 9 Assists and 4 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one every 2.75 games in a struggling Villa side.

Forward Kevin Phillips, 32, makes his final appearance in a Villa shirt after just one season with the club. Phillips had started well in claret in blue, contributing 5 goal involvements in his first 7 games and 9 in his first 15 but his final 12 produced just a single assist as the O’Leary effect clearly took his toll on the player’s form. Phillips would move on to West Bromwich Albion for a fee of £945,000 in August 2006 as new Villa boss Martin O’Neill deemed the veteran striker as surplus to requirements and he would leave with a record of W10 D6 L11, 5 Goals and 5 Assists.

Liam Ridgewell scores his 5th goal in a Villa shirt on his 68th appearance (53 Starts) to make it W23 D16 L29, 5 Goals, 1 Assist, 9 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Despite his protestations to the contrary and with his delusion still bubbling away this would indeed prove to be David O’Leary’s final game in charge of Villa. O’Leary would be removed from post as part of the deal that saw American Randy Lerner buy the club - a move that would also end Herbert Ellis’ long, oft debilitating control of the club. 

David O’Leary was not a popular appointment in 2003, by 2005 he was a pariah and by the end of his reign a figure of mirth. 

In truth O’Leary confounded the critics across a 6 month spell in 2003-04 and delivered a truly unexpected 6th placed finish, thereafter however Villa’s 10th and 16th placed finishes flattered their manager. However therein lay the paradox, O’Leary was often excellent in the transfer market, frequently unlucky with injuries and consistently blooding youth team talent. But O’Leary could demotivate any team that was in front of him and the kernel of a strong side was undermined by his rash comments, constant changes and willingness to dispose of talent far too early. 

Combined with a truly divisive personality and a dismissive attitude to the fans it was no surprise he got on well with his Chairman but equally no surprise that there was no warmth - or quarter given - to fall back on when things, as many had expected from the first day of his appointment, went wrong. 

Villa had, like any club, had underachieving managers before, and had appointed people out of their depth, unsuited or simply unlucky but never before had there been an individual subject to such a depth of dislike and distrust almost from day one. 

Did that stop O’Leary achieving his aims? Firstly, Villa had no aims during his reign, there was no plan and no goal, a managerial appointment in the image of the Chairman. 

Secondly, O’Leary had form, at Leeds as manager and at Arsenal as a player. This was not an appointment that would ever be a catalyst for harmony. 

Did Villa fans expect too much? Were they “sugarbags” after all? No, they just weren’t fooled by the man in the dugout and no-one else would be as O’Leary permanently disappeared from the management scene.