Villa miss two penalties and concede an injury time equaliser to draw with Fulham and leave them with two wins in their last eleven Premier League games under David O'Leary. 

Meanwhile, O'Leary again ducks the post match press conference once again to leave Roy Aitken to hang Juan Pablo Ángel out to dry. A curious motivational policy as a manager who has bemoaned his lack of 'firepower' all season.

Midfielder Eric Djemba Djemba makes his debut in a Villa shirt after his barely credible signing from Manchester United for a fee of £2,290,000 in January 2005. Djemba Djemba had been a figure of mirth at his previous club but somehow David O’Leary not only took Alex Ferguson’s word that the player had qualities but actually got the club to pay for his services. Anyone who had seen Djemba Djemba play would attest to the fact that the player was not endowed with any such talent and the acquisition was met by most fans with head in hands. That Djemba Djemba had neither scoring ability or the quality to perform was shown to be all the greater a folly given Villa already boasted the likes of Gareth Barry, Thomas Hitzlsperger, Steven Davis, Gavin McCann, Lee Hendrie and Mathieu Berson ahead of the Cameroonian chancer.

Lee Hendrie makes his 225th start in a Villa shirt (277 Appearances) to make it W110 D71 L96, 31 Goals, 29 Assists, 55 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.

Thomas Hitzlsperger makes his 75th start in a Villa shirt (104 Appearances) to make it W41 D26 L37, 11 Goals, 16 Assists and 9 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Liam Ridgewell makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (14 Starts) to make it W10 D5 L10 and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the ninth time in thirteen games in all competitions under David O'Leary but remain 11th in the Premier League table.

Juan Pablo Ángel scores his 50th goal in a Villa shirt on his 109th start (131 Appearances) to make it W50 D31 L50, 50 Goals, 13 Assists and 9 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.73 starts so far in his Villa career.

Luke Moore remains without a goal on his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (2 Starts) to make it W10 D6 L9, 0 Goals, 1 Assist and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Mathieu Berson makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (5 Starts) to make it W2 D2 L6 and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa win for the second time in five Premier League games to make it three wins in thirteen under David O'Leary but move up to 10th in the table.

Eric Djemba Djemba makes his 2nd start in a Villa shirt (3rd appearance) and is witnessed to be utterly bewildered in midfield, stationary, with wide eyed panic unable to receive the ball with his new team-mates seemingly unwilling to pass to him. Djemba Djemba was proving worse than even the most committed naysayers predicted.

Villa follow up a battling win at Portsmouth with a tenth defeat in fourteen Premier League games under David O'Leary as his curious signing Eric Djemba Djemba still fails to last 90' and once again is carded.

Thomas Sørensen makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W30 D19 L26, 93 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.24 goals per game and 25 Clean Sheets (33%) so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose successive games to make it six wins in twenty three Premier League games under David O'Leary as yet more dribbling drivel gushes forth.

Villa make it 12 defeats in the last 24 League games under David O'Leary as the Villa boss claims he is yet to have been able to put his preferred XI out on the pitch after 40 games. 

His protestations however have more than a feint air of ridiculousness about it as this defeat marks the final game for Villa of the talented Thomas Hitzlsperger. Just as a year previously O'Leary had got rid of Peter Crouch and so he would again with Hitzlsperger in what was one of the most ill-conceived player sales for a very long time. 

Meanwhile O'Leary had reintegrated the prodigiously untalented Eric Djemba-Djemba back into the matchday squad.

Thomas Hitzlsperger, 23, makes his 114th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (82 Starts) before joining VfB Stuttgart on a free transfer in a move that bewildered and enraged in equal measure. Hitzlsperger scored 12 goals, mostly of the spectacular variety, and contributed 17 assists in a struggling side. That he had to contend with a new country, language and two deeply unsatisfactory managers it is little short of a miracle that he produced the development levels and performances that he did in delivering W44 D28 L42 and 10 Bookings over his 4 seasons in the Villa team.

Eric Djemba Djemba makes his first appearance since February 2005 and only his 5th in a Villa shirt (3 Starts) since joining the club in January to make it W1 D1 L3, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Lee Hendrie suffers his 100th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 287th appearance (233 Starts) to make it W114 D73 L100, 31 Goals, 29 Assists, 58 Bookings and 4 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Jlloyd Samuel makes his 150th start in a Villa shirt (170 Appearances) to make it W62 D45 L63, 3 Goals, 9 Assists, 22 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Thomas Sørensen concedes his 100th goal in a Villa shirt on his 83rd appearance to make it W33 D22 L28, 101 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.22 goals per game and 28 Clean Sheets (34%) so far in his Villa career.

Villa end the season with a third successive loss to make it 13 defeats in their last 25 League games under David O'Leary. 

Villa end the season fittingly on three consecutive defeats to leave them with just six wins in twenty four Premier League games under a manager so detached from reality that their are concerns for his sanity. A tenth placed finish however is nothing short of miraculous over the course of a season packed with far more lows than highs and a manager seemingly hell bent on demoralising an already limited squad.

And so a season ended that had been more notable for the acrimonious way in which O’Leary operated and his seeming desire, from early in the season, to distance himself from the club and his responsibilities, than for any particular footballing highlights. 

Villa had been poor for much of the season and the optimism that 2003-04 had unexpectedly was roundly dashed on the rocks of acrimony. 

Seemingly happy to publicly belittle and bemoan his squad both individually and collectively, O’Leary seemed to be aiming for underachievement. He succeeded. 

Indeed but for the form of (the admittedly excellent David O’Leary signing of) Nobby Solano and the continued class shown by Juan Pablo Ángel, Villa’s tumble down the table could have been much more severe. 

What was abundantly clear however was that under David O’Leary all was not harmonious. The defeats had come thick and fast and the myriad of changes made to the match day squad was at times as confusing as it was worrying. 

Admittedly Villa suffered from poor luck on occasion but that couldn’t explain away the issues. 

Coupled with poor form, his denigration of his team and a tendency to discard genuine prospects with alacrity, prospects for the future under O’Leary were not encouraging. 

And just as he had surprised many with his achievements the previous season, there were few surprises that the O’Leary many had feared on his appointment very much arrived in 2004-05. 

Admittedly key players like Martin Laursen and Olof Mellberg were often injured, as were influential and stabilising figures like Gavin McCann however equally it seemed that a haphazard and oft changing selection policy was also a destabilising factor in the failure of the team to find any consistent runs of form through the season. 

The obvious conclusion was that things needed to change ahead of the 2005-06 season if there was going to be material improvement under an unpopular manager and Chairman. 

At a minimum new additions to the squad were required as was a clear vision for the both the team and club. 

Nobody would be surprised if O’Leary wasn’t in post by the start of 2005-06 but few thought the same could be said of the problematic Chairman. 

Centre forward Carlton Cole, 21, makes his 30th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (20 Starts) before returning to Chelsea at the end of his season long loan. In truth Cole hadn’t been a success, despite starting with some promise it became clear quickly that he was not the goalscorer Villa needed and would leave with a record of W10 D10 L10, 3 Goals, 4 Assists and 1 Booking at a goal involvement rate of one for every 4.29 games he played, 

Forward Darius Vassell, 24, makes his 201st and final appearance in a Villa shirt before moving on to Manchester City for a fee of £3,240,000 in July 2005. Vassell had come through the youth set up and been a squad fixture for eight seasons but his development was incredibly slow. With just 5 starts in his first 50 appearances between 1998 and 2001 it was almost as if John Gregory had no trust in the player, by that point Vassell had scored 5 and created another 4 at a goal contribution rate of one every 5.56 games. However, taken against his rare starts, the figure was one every 0.56 games. The question was which was the true Vassell? Still No one seemed to know after 3 years in the side. By 100 appearances, Vassell had 20 goals and 7 assists, with 18 coming in his second 50 games, compared to his 9 in his first 50, still though he could hardly be described as prolific - contributing once every 3.70 games. By 150 games, it was 33 goals and 11 assists as he added 17 goal involvements in his third lot of 50 games. By his final appearance and under his third manager, Vassell had added another 12 goals and 3 assists to leave with a record of W75 D52 L74, 45 Goals, 14 Assists, 15 Bookings and 1 Red Card at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.41 games played.

Villa suffer a narrow defeat at Old Trafford to leave them winless in their first two Premier League games of the season under David O'Leary as his sniping at his own players immediately comes to the fore.

Olof Mellberg collects his 15th booking in a Villa shirt on his 154th appearance to make it W53 D42 L59, 5 Goals, 5 Assists and 15 Booking at a rate of a card every 10 games so far in his Villa career.

Villa open the scoring but fall to defeat at Stamford Bridge to leave them with one win in seven Premier League games this season under David O'Leary.

Despite taking the lead and putting in a performance, Villa lose for the 6th time in 12 to fall to 15th in the table.

Juan Pablo Ángel makes his 125th start in a Villa shirt (148 Appearances) to make it W54 D37 L57, 52 Goals, 15 Assists and 9 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.86 starts so far in his Villa career.

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 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.

Villa open the season with a performance as far removed from the past four seasons as could be imagined as Martin O'Neill takes charge for the first time.

What a difference a change of manager makes, not the result but the attitude “I’m still trying to get to know my players, but I thought they were terrific it’s a great result." 

Martin O’Neill’s appointment had literally met with wild excitement of the sort few had previously witnessed. 

This renowned motivator had changed the outlook of the club already and confidence for the future was sky high. 

Coupled with new owner Randy Lerner it offered no embarrassment when the club launched their ‘Proud History, Bright Future’ tagline. 

The squad of course was broadly as was and overnight miracles weren’t expected but a totally different mindset had enveloped the club. Martin O’Neill might still be “getting to know” his players but he was already chopping the squad.

Lee Hendrie, 29, makes his 308th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (243 Starts) before moving on to Sheffield United on a free transfer in June 2007. For all his undoubted talent, Hendrie would never be the sort of player Martin O’Neill would have any truck with and it is a source of real regret for many that a player who should have achieved much more at Villa allowed off field distractions to prevent him realising his potential. Perhaps the largesse he was provided by successive managers earlier in his career was his ultimate undoing or perhaps his heart was never in it in the first place. Regardless his productivity was no match for what his talent should have contributed across his appearances and he left, to tread the football wilderness, with a record of W120 D70 L109, 32 Goals, 34 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 4.67 games played, 59 Bookings and 4 Red Cards at a rate of a card every 4.88 games he played.

Eric Djemba-Djemba, 25, makes his 11th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (4 Starts) before moving on to Qatar SC on a free transfer in July 2007. Prodigiously untalented, David O’Leary had nonsensically paid Manchester United £2,290,000 for a player who looked poor from the moment he arrived in English football. Incredibly O’Leary not only played Djemba-Djemba on 10 occasions but he allowed far more competent players to leave ahead of him. Martin O’Neill by contrast took one look at him as a substitute and ended his Villa career immediately, with this his 11th appearance coming 10 months since his last. Djemba-Djemba, who never looked like even a moderately capable Sunday League player, left with a record of W2 D2 L7, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 2 Bookings.

Martin Laursen plays for the first time since August 2005 after missing all but one of the fixtures in 2005-06 due to another long term injury. Laursen’s return means it is now 14 Appearances (13 Starts), W4 D5 L5, 1 Goal and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career. In total Laursen has now missed 72 of the 86 matches played since his arrival in July 2004.

Steven Davis contributes his 5th assist in a Villa shirt on his 72nd appearance (61 Starts) to make it W23 D21 L28, 9 Goals, 5 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Luke Moore makes his 25th start in a Villa shirt (67 Appearances) to make it W23 D19 L25, 8 Goals, 5 Assists and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Gabriel Agbonlahor makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (4 Starts) to make it W2 D3 L5, 1 Goals and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.