Villa recover from 1-3 down against Wycombe to score seven second half goals to reach the third round of the League Cup after another cup humiliation under David O'Leary looks on the cards. 

At half time former Villa trainee Tommy Mooney puts League Two side Wycombe 3-1 up at half time, but Villa respond in style in the second 45’. 

Centre back Gary Cahill, 19, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after coming through the ranks and signing professional forms with the club in July 2004 to become the 786th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Although it only comes against a League Two side, Milan Baroš, creates 2 and scores 1 to contribute his 5th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on just his 4th appearance to make it W2 D1 L1, 2 Goals, 3 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Steven Davis contributes his 5th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 36th appearance (26 Starts) to make it W11 D10 L15, 4 Goals, 1 Assist and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Lee Hendrie contributes his 31st assist in a Villa shirt on his 290th appearance (234 Starts) to make it W115 D73 L102, 31 Goals, 31 Assists, 58 Bookings and 4 Red Cards at a goal involvement rate of one for every 4.75 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Liam Ridgewell makes his 25th start in a Villa shirt (37 Appearances) to make it W14 D8 L15, 1 Assist, 3 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Meanwhile another takeover approach is received and another bout of diminishment is triggered from Herbert Douglas Ellis.

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 return to losing ways and David O'Leary had now overseen 17 losses in the last 40 games, winning just 9. With a record like that, unsurprisingly, O'Leary swerved the post match interview once again only for his assistant Roy Aitken to take on the mantle of preposterous comment by claiming: “We needed more quality this season. The quality has been short in vital areas - at both ends of the pitch.” Now if only we knew who had been in charge of the club for the last three years. 

Villa lose at high-flying Wigan to leave them with five defeats in their last eight games and just nine wins in thirty five games under David O'Leary.

Right back Ulises de la Cruz, 31, makes his 99th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (74 Starts) as a substitute before moving on to Reading on a free transfer in July 2006. To the shock of nobody de la Cruz was not actually the “Ecuadorian David Beckham” as then manager Graham Taylor had described him on his £2,430,000 signing from Hibs in 2002 and over his 4 seasons with the club, a remarkable length of time, he recorded W36 D25 L38, 2 Goals, 9 Assists and 6 Bookings.

Juan Pablo Ángel makes his 175th appearance in a Villa shirt (134 Starts) to make it W62 D46 L67, 55 Goals, 16 Assists and 11 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.46 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Liam Ridgewell contributes his 5th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 66th appearance (51 Starts) to make it W22 D16 L28, 4 Goals, 1 Assist, 7 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Gabriel Agbonlahor contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 6th appearance (2 Starts) to make it W1 D2 L3, 1 Goal and 1 Assist.

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. 

Villa bounce back from their League Cup disappointment to make it successive Premier League wins and one defeat in 12 Premier League matches under Martin O'Neill as they rise to 4th in the early table. 

Chris Sutton scores his 1st goal in a Villa shirt on his 5th appearance (2 Starts) to make it W3 D1 L1, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Isaiah Osbourne contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 4th appearance to make it W2 D1 L1 and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

Olof Mellberg makes his 200th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W69 D56 L75, 6 Goals, 6 Assists and 23 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Juan Pablo Ángel secures his 70th win in a Villa shirt on his 151st start (193 Appearances) to make it W70 D52 L71, 61 Goals, 19 Assists and 13 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.91 starts so far in his Villa career.

Wilfred Bouma makes his 25th start in a Villa shirt (26 Appearances) to make it W9 D6 L11 and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa are held to a goalless draw at Wigan but extend their run under Martin O'Neill to just one defeat in thirteen Premier League games drawing 7 and winning 5 five as  O'Neill takes David O'Leary’s 2005-06 squad, plus Stiliyan Petrov and transforms a squad that had lost 8 of their last 13 games under O’Leary. 

Winger Peter Whittingham, 22, makes his 66th and final appearance (39 Starts) for Villa before moving on to Cardiff City for a fee of £473,000 in January 2007. Whittingham had come through the ranks as a schoolboy and made his debut aged 18 in the final game of the 2002-03 season under Graham Taylor before a 25 game run as a starter under David O’Leary. Inexplicably thereafter O’Leary relegated Whittingham to a substitute role. Following his ‘demotion’ Whittingham scored a single goal in 30 games under O’Leary having contributed 5 goal involvements in his first 22 starts. Whittingham would leave with a record of W26 D18 L22, 2 Goals, 5 Assists and 6 Bookings from his 5 seasons with Villa. Tragically Whittingham died after a fall at the age of 35 in March 2020. 

Winger Didier Agathe, 31, makes his 6th and final appearance for Villa (0 Starts) before moving on to Saint-Pierroise on a free transfer in January 2007. Agathe had joined Villa as a free agent earlier in the 2006-07 season and would leave with a record of W2 D3 L1 across his 6 substitute appearances.

Villa survive one of the most laughably bad offside decisions ever seen to recover a draw against Middlesbrough and extend their run to a single defeat in fourteen Premier League games under Martin O'Neill.

Gareth Barry scores his fourth penalty of the season after a shocking offside decision gifts Gareth Southgate's struggling Middlesbrough side the opener.

Stuart Taylor keeps his first clean sheet in a Villa shirt on his 5th appearance (4 Starts) to make it W2 D2 L1, 7 Goals Conceded and 1 Clean Sheet so far in his Villa career.

Milan Baroš makes it 15 games without a goal in a Villa shirt and 29 games without an assist as he is yet to be involved in a goal in his 13 appearances under Martin O’Nell. His record of W13 D16 L13, 12 Goals, 6 Assists and 6 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.33 games he has played so far in his Villa career looks very different from his first 20 starts - a run that had brought 15 goal involvements at a rate of 1.40 per game.

Villa are beaten for only the second time in fifteen Premier League games as the notoriously goal shy former Villain Darius Vassell scores his fifth goal against his old club.

Martin O'Neill suffers his 1st home defeat as Villa boss but only his 2nd Premier League loss in 15 games means Villa remain 5th in the table.

Stuart Taylor concedes his 10th goal in a Villa shirt on his 6th appearance (5 Starts) to make it W2 D2 L2, 10 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.67 goals per game and 1 Clean Sheet so far in his Villa career.

Gavin McCann scores his 5th goal in a Villa shirt on his 110th appearance to make it W43 D34 L33, 5 Goals, 3 Assists, 24 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Villa bounce back from their second defeat in fifteen Premier League games under Martin O'Neill but can only draw with Portsmouth in a game the opposition should have been reduced to nine.

Gareth Barry scores his fifth penalty of the season but Villa are held to a draw in a game where former Villa 'keeper David James controversially survives a first half dismissible offence to save his new side.

Villa draw for the 9th time in 16 Premier League under Martin O’Neill.

Juan Pablo Ángel contributes his 80th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 197th appearance (154 Starts) to make it W70 D55 L72, 62 Goals, 18 Assists and 13 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.46 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Villa draw for the second successive game to extend their run to two defeats in seventeen Premier League games under Martin O'Neill.

Villa record their 10th draw in 17 Premier League games under Martin O'Neill.

Stiliyan Petrov scores his first goal in a Villa shirt after just 76 seconds of his 16th appearance to make it W5 D8 L3, 1 Goal and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

Milan Baroš scores for the first time in 18 games in a Villa shirt to make it 45 appearances (36 Starts), W13 D18 L14, 13 Goals, 6 Assists and 7 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.37 games he has played so far in his Villa career

Villa are hit by more poor officiating as they lose at home to Bolton to make it three Premier League defeats in eighteen under Martin O'Neill but without a recognised goalkeeper to call on the Christmas period takes on a challenging air.

Villa drop to 9th in the table after losing their 2nd game in 4 under Martin O’Neill to extend their winless run to 6 as Thomas Sörensen and Stuart Taylor are ruled out with injury, forcing Villa to field second tier reserve 'keeper Gábor Király who had arrived on an emergency loan earlier in the week on a short term loan from Crystal Palace. 

Gábor Király makes his debut in a Villa shirt to become the 795th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Steven Davis makes his 75th start in a Villa shirt (91 Appearances) to make it W29 D30 L32, 9 Goals, 5 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose consecutive games for the first time this season and the first time under Martin O'Neill.

Following the end of the reprehensible policy under the Doug Ellis of ostracising legendary players and managers from the League and European Cup winning side of the ’80’s, Randy Lerner rightfully restores the greats to centre stage with Villa boss Ron Saunders receiving a half time standing ovation on his first return to Villa Park in over 20 years. 

Sadly the result on the pitch didn’t do justice to the great man as Villa lost a second successive game for the first time this season and are now without a win in 7, drawing 4 and losing 3. 

Centre forward Chris Sutton, 33, makes his 9th and final appearance for Villa (6 Starts)) before retiring from football due to an eye injury. Similar to the effect of fellow veteran John Fashanu under Ron Atkinson, Sutton had a dynamic effect on Villa’s play and added a welcome hardened edge to the team. Sutton would have undoubtedly contributed more had injury not prevented it but he would leave prematurely with a record of W3 D3 L3, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 2 Bookings from his short Villa career.

Juan Pablo Ángel makes his 200th appearance in a Villa shirt (154 Starts) to make it W70 D56 L74, 62 Goals, 18 Assists and 13 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.50 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Gavin McCann collects his 25th booking in a Villa shirt on his 114th appearance to make it W43 D36 L35, 5 Goals, 3 Assists, 25 Bookings and 2 Red Cards at a rate of a card every 4.18 games so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for a third consecutive game with their stand-in 'keeper as the years of under investment under former Chairman Doug Ellis leaves Martin O'Neill with a threadbare squad.

Villa, without a first team 'keeper are now without a win in their last 8 Premier League games under Martin O'Neill but remain 10th in the table with a record for his debut season of P20 W5 D10 L5.

Gary Cahill collects his 5th booking in a Villa shirt on his 17th appearance (16 Starts) to make it W4 D5 L8, 1 Goal and 5 Bookings at a rate of a card every 3.40 games so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for a fourth consecutive game with their stand-in 'keeper to end 2006 in a difficult run of form after such a solid start to life under Martin O'Neill.

Villa end 2006 with a 4th successive defeat having had to play without a first team 'keeper for the 4th consecutive match, losing Gareth Barry to a red card and conceding an injury time winner. As a result Villa fell to a season low of 12th in the table and the early optimism under Martin O'Neill faced its first rigorous examination.

Juan Pablo Ángel suffers his 75th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 201st appearance (155 Starts) to make it W70 D56 L75, 60 Goals, 18 Assists and 13 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.51 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Villa stop a run of four consecutive Premier League defeats with a hard fought draw against title chasing Chelsea as stand in 'keeper Gábor Király keeps his first clean sheet for Villa.

Villa however are winless in 10 Premier League games under Martin O'Neill and fall to 13th in the table.

Villa lose their annual FA Cup third round tie with Manchester United to an injury time goal. 

Emergency 'keeper Gábor Király makes his 6th and final appearance in a Villa shirt before returning to Championship side Crystal Palace's reserve team and leaving with a record of W0 D1 L5, 10 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.67 goals per game and 1 Clean Sheet (17%).

Gary Cahill contributes his 1st goal assist in a Villa shirt on his 20th appearance (19 Starts) to make it W4 D6 L10, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 6 Bookings at a rate of a card every 3.33 games so far in his Villa career.

Goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik, 20, makes his 11th and final squad appearance for Villa as an unused substitute before moving on to Falkirk in June 2007.

Villa lose for the fifth time in six Premier League games.

Villa play Manchester United for the second game in succession and the third time in six matches and have now lost all three.

Villa are out of the Cups and without a Premier League win in 11 games under Martin O’Neill and have dropped from 5th place 6 weeks previously to 15th today.

Gabriel Agbonlahor contributes his 10th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 36th appearance (30 Starts) to make it W9 D13 L14, 6 Goals, 4 Assists and 1 Booking at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.60 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Milan Baroš contributes an assist for the first time in 37 games in a Villa shirt to make it 50 appearances (39 Starts), W13 D19 L18, 13 Goals, 7 Assists and 7 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.50 games he has played so far in his Villa career. Baroš first 25 appearances had delivered 10 Goals and 6 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.56 games.

Liam Ridgewell makes his 75th start in a Villa shirt (92 Starts) to make it W29 D27 L36, 6 Goals, 2 Assists, 11 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Villa end a run of 11 games without a win with two late goals to beat Watford.

Since the turn of the year, and the return of their first team goalkeepers, Villa have a win, a draw and a loss in the League and as a result climb back up to 14th place. 

Villa win for the first time in twelve Premier League games and the first time since November as Martin O'Neill's side beat Watford to sit 14th - having been 4th in the table when they last won.

Meanwhile a swathe of changes to the Villa squad are underway with the transfer window now open. 

Right back Phil Bardsley makes his Villa debut aged 21 after joining on loan from Manchester United for the remainder of the season to become the 796th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Full back Jlloyd Samuel, 25, makes his 200th and final appearance in a Villa shirt before moving on to Bolton Wanderers on a free transfer in July 2007. Jlloyd had made his debut aged 18 under John Gregory and over his 9 seasons with Villa had a record of W71 D52 L77, 3 Goals, 10 Assists, 26 Bookings and 1 Red Card. Tragically Jlloyd was killed in a car accident aged just 37 in May 2018. 

Forward Milan Baroš, 25, is put out of his misery as he makes his 51st and final appearance in a Villa shirt (40 Starts) before moving on to Olympique Lyonnais in an exchange deal that brings Villa legend John Carew to the club. Baroš had joined Villa in August 2005 from Liverpool for a fee of £7,960,000 and started with great success with his first 25 appearances delivering 10 Goals and 6 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.56 games. Thereafter however things worsened, considerably. Baroš would score three times and create one assist in his second 25 appearances to leave with a record of W14 D19 L18, 13 Goals, 7 Assists and 7 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.55 games. His actual performance across those final 26 appearances was one goal involvement every 6.50 games.

Steven Davis secures his 30th win in a Villa shirt on his 97th appearance (80 Starts) to make it W30 D31 L36, 9 Goals, 5 Assists and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Gabriel Agbonlahor secures his 10th win and 11th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 37th appearance (31 Starts) to make it W10 D13 L14, 7 Goals, 4 Assists and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Wilfred Bouma secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 36th appearance (33 Starts) to make it W10 D10 L16 and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Olof Mellberg collects his 25th booking in a Villa shirt on his 212th appearance to make it W70 D61 L81, 6 Goals, 6 Assists and 25 Bookings at a rate of a card every 8 games so far in his Villa career.

Villa suffer a narrow defeat to make it six defeats in eight Premier League games under Martin O'Neill as the squad sees exciting new arrivals in Ashley Young and John Carew.

A debut goal from Ashley Young and a fine bow from fellow new boy John Carew are not enough to stop Villa falling to defeat as Villa are made painfully aware of what they missed out on with Newcastle's off season shenanigans as James Milner opens the scoring. 

Legendary Villa centre forward Juan Pablo Ángel, 31, makes his 205th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (158 Starts) ahead of his move to the New York Red Bulls in April 2007. Ángel epitomised everything the Villa faithful love in a player - dedication, triumph through adversity, more than a little skill and a strong no. 9. Ángel played for Villa between 2000-01 and 2006-07 leaving with a record of W71 D57 L77, 62 Goals, 18 Assists and 13 Bookings.

Centre forward John Carew makes his debut aged 27 after joining in the swap deal that took Milan Baroš to Olympique Lyonnais. As one Villa legend departed, another arrived - Carew would go on to be one of the greatest cult heroes in the club’s history. 

Winger Ashley Young makes his Villa debut aged 21 after joining from Watford for a fee of £11,880,000 earlier this month to become the 797th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football. Young’s signature was something of a coup for Villa and his arrival showed a new, reinvigorated impetus to drive Villa up the league with an attacking football philosophy. Young would return to Villa in 2021, now a veteran, after a stellar 10 year trophy winning career. 

For all its problems, disappointments and false dawns, the Gregory/Taylor/O'Leary/O'Neill era had now produced not one, not two, not three but seven bona fide club legends in Olof Mellberg, James Milner, Ashley Young, Martin Laursen, Stiliyan Petrov, Juan Pablo Ángel and John Carew. 

Stiliyan Petrov collects his first booking in a Villa shirt on his 23rd appearance to make it W5 D9 L9, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Thomas Sørensen suffers his 50th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 145th appearance to make it W53 D42 L50, 184 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.27 goals per game and 44 Clean Sheets (33%) so far in his Villa career.

Villa win for the second time in three Premier League games to climb back to 13th in the table under Martin O'Neill.

John Carew scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his second appearance to make it W1 D0 L1 and 1 Goal so far in his Villa career. 

Ashley Young contributes his first assist on his second appearance in a Villa shirt to make it 1 Goal and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career. 

Liam Ridgewell, 22, makes his 93rd and final appearance in a Villa shirt aged 22 before moving on to Birmingham City for £2,700,000 in August 2007. Ridgewell, who made his Villa debut aged 18 under Graham Taylor, left with a record of W30 D27 L36, 6 Goals, 2 Assists, 11 Bookings and 1 Red Card.

Villa lose for the second time in three Premier League games but once again out-play the opposition only to be beaten as Martin O'Neill's new charges continue to bed in.

Martin O'Neill's side recover from their torrid 'keeper-less and win-less form of December 2006 to stabilise results in the new year after an excellent opening 15 games but results continued to be of a topsy turvy nature with the last 5 games delivering a run of LWLWL however the continued bedding in of Ashley Young and John Carew meant hopes were high that greater point accumulating consistency could be found to the end of the season.

Shaun Maloney, 24, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from Celtic for £1,350,000 in January 2007 to become the 799th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Stiliyan Petrov makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W6 D9 L10, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Gary Cahill makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (24 Starts) to make it W6 D6 L13, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 6 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa get a fortunate opener to claim a point at Fulham as John Carew scores his second goal in three games.

Gavin McCann collects his 30th card in a Villa shirt on his 124th appearance to make it W45 D38 L41, 5 Goals, 4 Assists, 28 Bookings and 2 Red Cards at a rate of a card every 4.10 games so far in his Villa career.

Villa suffer another narrow defeat to leave them winless in three Premier League games under Martin O'Neill to leave them with two wins, two draws and four league defeats in 2007.

Gavin McCann makes his 125th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W45 D38 L42, 5 Goals, 4 Assists, 28 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Gary Cahill makes his 25th start in a Villa shirt (27 Appearances) to make it W6 D7 L14, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 7 Bookings at a rate of a card every 3.57 games so far in his Villa career.

Villa earn a hard fought draw against Liverpool but it could have been more but for more poor officiating in 2006-07.

Martin O'Neill's Villa build on their unlucky and narrow defeat to Arsenal with a 2nd draw in 3 games under Martin O’Neill.

Lee Mason - a referee who would pain Villa continually over the following two decades - makes his presence known as he denies Villa a nailed on spot kick to save Liverpool from defeat.

Thomas Sørensen makes his 150th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W54 D44 L52, 188 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.25 goals per game and 50 Clean Sheets (33%) so far in his Villa career.

Villa make it successive draws but are winless in five Premier League games, losing twice and now have just two wins in their last twenty games in all competitions under Martin O'Neill.

Villa draw for the 3rd time in 4 under Martin O’Neill as some stability returns to a side that had found it difficult to get a foothold over the last three months.

Villa now have 3 wins in their last 20 games under Martin O’Neill and fall back to 14th place. 

David O'Leary had delivered 3 wins in his last 12 Premier League games, losing 7 and drawing 2. 

Martin O'Neill had now delivered 9 losses, 8 draws and just 3 wins during Villa’s current 20 game barren run.

Villa lose on the opening day as big spenders Liverpool win in the 87' at Villa Park.

Lucky, lucky Liverpool, just as Villa have an annual defeat to Manchester United in the FA Cup so they have a day dedicated to late Liverpool goals. And so it proved again. 

Midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker makes his Villa debut aged 23 after joining from West Ham United for a fee of £11,250,000 in July 2007 to become the 800th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Wilfred Bouma makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (47 Starts) to make it W15 D16 L19, 1 Assist and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Stiliyan Petrov collects his 5th booking in a Villa shirt on his 35th appearance to make it W9 D14 L12, 2 Goals, 1 Assist and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Stuart Taylor makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (8 Starts) to make it W2 D5 L3, 17 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.70 goals per game and 1 Clean Sheet so far in his Villa career.

A much changed team makes short work of Wrexham.

Centre back Gary Cahill, 22, makes his 31st and final appearance in a Villa shirt (28 Starts) before being sold to Bolton Wanderers for a fee of £5,400,000 in January 2008 in a move that stunned and shocked the fan base in equal measure. Cahill, like Peter Crouch, Steven Davis and Thomas Hitzlsperger before him was clearly of the class to make a long term career with Villa but Martin O'Neill deemed Cahill surplus to requirements as he had with Steven Davis and as his predecessor had done with Crouch and Hitzlsperger. Perhaps it was with Martin Laursen and Olof Mellberg being his first choice centre back pairing he saw no room for Cahill. But, given the injuries Laursen carried and the expectation that Mellberg would leave the club at the end of his contract the decision worried many. Rumours of strong personalities and playing demands clashing also shone a light on issues not previously public. That O’Neill subsequently recruited lesser players as Cahill’s de facto replacements made the move even more perplexing. As for Cahill himself, although his initial destination was curious, to the surprise of nobody he went on to be a Premier League winning captain and the first chink in the mighty Martin O’Neill armour was opened. Cahill left with a record of W7 D9 L15, 1 Goal, 2 Assists and 7 Bookings.

Shaun Maloney celebrates his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (6 Starts) with a brace against League Two side Wrexham (who would be relegated from the League at the end of the campaign) to make it W5 D4 L1, 4 Goals and 0 Assists so far in his Villa career.

Marlon Harewood scores his 1st goal and contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 2nd appearance (1 Start) to make it W2 D0 L0, 1 Goals and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.