Graham Taylor 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 takes change of Villa for the first time, after leaving First Division Watford - a team he had taken to ninth in the top flight the previous season - to take over freshly relegated. poorly resourced and run Villa under the dismantling regime of Herbert Douglas Ellis.. 

Villa open their second division campaign with a draw at Portman Road despite dominating as Simon Stainrod 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 misses a hat-trick of opportunities.

Graham Taylor 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 embarks on a major restructure of the club to remedy the multiple poor decisions on and off the pitch since Chairman Herbert Douglas Ellis took over the club after the European Cup triumph in 1982. 

Midfielder David Hunt 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 28 makes his debut in a Villa shirt after moving from Notts County 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 in June 1987 to become the 645th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Central defender Steve Sims 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 30 makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from Taylor's former club Watford 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 in June 1987 for a fee of £50,000 to become the 646th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Right back Kevin Gage 23 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 makes his debut in a Villa shirt after moving from Wimbledon 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 in July 1987 for a fee of £110,000 to become the 647th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

With 52 fouls and five bookings it was a typical derby game but Villa were well beaten by the grittier, more motivated side.

Graham Taylor's Villa lose to near neighbours Birmingham for the third time in four derby games having not lost just once in the previous eight against the St Andrew's outfit.

Villa old boy Pat Heard 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 scores the opening goal for Hull from the spot, whilst future Villa midfielder Garry Parker 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 sets up the Tigers' winner as Villa slump to 22nd in the 23 team second division.

Graham Taylor's 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Villa find life in the second tier a real struggle as they record two defeats and no wins in the first three games of the season.

Winger Mark Walters 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 makes his 🕒 200th appearance in a Villa shirt (182 Starts).

Graham Taylor's 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Villa remain winless in the second tier.

Villa put in an improved performance and take the lead through a 25 yarder from Kevin Gage 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 but are pegged back in the second half by fellow relegated side City to sit 20th in the second division table after four games.

Full back Kevin Gage 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 scores his ⚽ first goal in a Villa shirt on his 🕒 4th appearance.

Centre forward Simon Stainrod 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 28 makes his 82nd & final appearance in a Villa shirt (76 Starts) before moving on to Stoke City in December 1987 for £90,000 as Graham Taylor’s restructure began. Stainrod played for Villa between 1985-86 and 1987-88 and left with a record of 🟩 W20 🟨 D26 🟥 L36, ⚽ 26 Goals and 🔥 9 Assists.

Villa secure their 🟩 first win of the season as want-away winger Mark Walters 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 runs Leicester ragged and debut boy Mark Lillis 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 lobs the 'keeper to take three points from Filbert Street and climb to 16th in the second division table.

Graham Taylor's 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Villa 🟩 win for the first time in the second tier, and first time in five.

Midfielder Mark Lillis 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 27 makes a ⚽ goalscoring debut in a Villa shirt after joining from Derby County 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 for £130,000 to become the 649th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Centre forward Malcolm Allen 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 20 makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining on loan from Graham Taylor's 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 previous club Watford earlier this month to become the 648th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Villa follow their first win of the campaign with defeat to old Villa boy Bruce Rioch's Boro side who win courtesy of a second half strike from another former Villan, Paul Kerr. Villa sit 18th in the second division after 6 games.

Graham Taylor's Villa now have one win in their first six second tier games as an automatic return to the first division looks a long way off.

Villa record successive 🟩 wins for the first time this season and the first time under Graham Taylor 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 to climb to 11th in the second division table thanks to a 19' strike from bad boy against Barnsley, Steve Hunt.

Graham Taylor's 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Villa make it 🟩 three Division Two wins in nine.

Neale Cooper 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 23 makes his 🕒 22nd & final appearance (21 Starts) before moving on to Rangers in the summer of 1988 for a fee of £250,000. Villa had bought Cooper only 14 months earlier for £350,000 from Aberdeen and he would leave with a record of 🟩 W3 🟨 D10 🟥 L9, ⚽ 1 Goal and🔥 0 Assists.

Winger Steve Hunt 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt (71 Starts).

Villa make it three successive wins in all competitions as they beat Middlesbrough at Ayresome Park in the first leg of the League Cup second round.

Graham Taylor's Villa win for the third successive game and for the third consecutive away game as they add a victory in the League Cup to two League wins.

Graham Taylor's Villa 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 make it five games unbeaten as they recover from a difficult start to life in the second tier - 🟩 one win and 🟥 three losses in their first six. 

Kevin Gage 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 hits two swerving free kicks over the Sheffield United wall, one scoring the other rattling the bar before Villa concede a second half penalty as hot-headed Martin Keown 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 errs.

Villa survive to extend their unbeaten run to five to sit 10th in the table after 10 second division games.

Centre forward Malcolm Allen 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 20 makes his 4th & final appearance in a Villa shirt before returning to Watford after his loan spell ended without him scoring.

Graham Taylor's 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Villa make it six games unbeaten - 🟨 drawing three and 🟩 winning three.

Alan McInally 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 makes his much anticipated debut after six weeks out with injury since signing from Celtic 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 but Villa fail to 🟩 win at home for the sixth time this season as they climb a place to ninth in the second division table.

Centre forward Alan McInally 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 24 makes his debut in a Villa shirt following his move from Celtic 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 in July 1987 for a fee of £225,000 to become the 650th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Midfielder Warren Aspinall 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 after a slow start to his Villa career ⚽ scores his 8th goal in a Villa shirt to make it 10 goal involvements on his 🕒 23rd appearance at a rate of one every 2.30 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Villa take a second minute lead for the third time in five games as Palace are destroyed by a Mark Walters 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 hat-trick to send Villa 5th in the second division table.

Graham Taylor's Villa 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 make it eleven games unbeaten as they hammer Palace at Villa Park to record their 🟩 seventh win in ten. 

Winger Steve Hunt 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 31 makes his 81st & final appearance in a Villa shirt (77 Starts) before retiring from football. Hunt had played for Villa in two spells in 1975-76 and 1986-88 and left with a record of 🟩 W25 🟨 D24 🟥 L32, ⚽ 9 Goals and 🔥 6 Assists.

Winger Mark Walters 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 ⚽ scores his first ever hat-trick in a Villa shirt and scores two or more goals in a game for the 5th time in 214 appearances (196 Starts).

Graham Taylor's Villa make it twelve games unbeaten.

Villa extend their unbeaten run to twelve as they climb to fourth in the second division table but are held at the Victoria Ground as tempers fray off the pitch as the Chairman once again is accused of idiotic interference in team matters.

Villa beat top flight Spurs 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 in a rousing League Cup third round performance at Villa Park.

Graham Taylor's 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Villa make it thirteen games unbeaten as they record their eighth win in twelve. Villa's latest scalp is Tottenham 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 who sit in eighth place in Division One.

Centre forward Alan McInally 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 scores his ⚽ first goal in a Villa shirt on his 🕒 7th appearance.

Villa extend their unbeaten run to thirteen as Andy Blair scores after a 14-month lay off with injury to help secure victory over Reading as Villa remain fourth in the second division table.

Graham Taylor's Villa make it fourteen games unbeaten as they record their ninth win in thirteen. 

Meanwhile, Mark Burke made his final appearance for Villa aged 18 before moving on to Middlesbrough in December 1987 for a fee of £50,000. Burke played for Villa in 1986-87 and 1987-88 making 7 appearances.

Villa 🟥 lose successive games to leave them 14th in the table but still on 39 points and still only three clear of the relegation places with one to play. 

With a superior goal difference Villa cannot realistically go down as they face a Coventry side who have never won at Villa Park. But technically, in a very tight First Division, any one of five clubs - including Villa - could be relegated on the final day of the season. 

Graham Taylor's 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Villa lose despite David Platt 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 opening the scoring at the Baseball Ground and 

Defender Darry Duffy 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 18 makes his 🕒 sole appearance for Villa after joining from school football in March 1985 to become the 661st player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football. Duffy would move on to Moor Green in February 1993. 

Midfielder Mark Lillis 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 29 makes his 🕒 38th & final appearance in a Villa shirt before moving on to Scunthorpe United 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 in September 1989 for a fee of £40,000. Lillis played for Villa in 1987-88 and 1988-89 following his £130,000 move from Derby 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 and left with a record of 🟩 W8 🟨 D7 🟥 L11, ⚽ 4 Goals and 🔥 2 Assists.

Midfielder David Hunt 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 30 makes his 🕒 15th & final appearance in a Villa shirt before moving on to Mansfield in June 1988. Hunt played for Villa in 1987-88 and 1988-89 following his move from Notts County and left with a record of 🟩 W6 🟨 D5 🟥 L4, ⚽ 0 Goals and 🔥 0 Assists.