• Villa make is successive first division wins as they overcome the terror of a 1980's plastic pitch to beat Luton and climb to 10th in the table under Graham Taylor.

• Villa win for the third time in nine top flight games after a slow start to the campaign.  

• Midfielder Mark Blake, 18, makes his debut in a Villa after coming through the youth ranks to become the 666th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

  • Derek Mountfield scores for the second successive game to make it 6 Goals in a Villa shirt on his 44th appearance (42 Starts), W15 D10 L19, 6 Goals and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

Graham Taylor’s Villa win consecutive games for the first time this season and make it four wins in ten top flight games. Villa climb to 9th in the Division One table as a result.

Graham Taylor’s Villa can only manage a goal-less draw with Second Division side West Ham in the League Cup third round.

• Villa make it three successive League wins as a David Platt brace helps them to 7th in the table under Graham Taylor.

• Centre forward Ian Ormondroyd contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 18th appearance (9 Starts) but his goalless streak now extends to 15 games to make it W3 D5 L10, 1 Goal and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

• Villa hammer Everton at Villa Park as they cruise to a 6-0 lead before conceding a couple of sloppy goals but nothing can detract from Villa's most thrilling performance for many a season as they rise to 4th place in the first division.

• Villa make it four successive League wins and secure their biggest win of the season under Graham Taylor.

• Ian Olney contributes his 10th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 33rd appearance (20 Starts) to make it W12 D10 L11, 9 Goals and 1 Assist at a goal invilvement per game rate of one for every 3.30 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

• Kent Nielsen scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 12th appearance (9 Starts) to make it W5 D4 L3 so far in his Villa career.

• Having scored his first assist in a Villa shirt on his previous appearance, centre forward Ian Ormondroyd contributes his second assist in 19 appearances (10 Starts) but his goalless streak now extends to 16 games to make it W4 D5 L10, 1 Goal and 2 Assists so far in his Villa career.

• Villa lose in Division One for the first time in six games as they fall back to 5th place in the table under Graham Taylor.

• Villa lose to a vibrant Norwich side at Carrow Road as the Birmingham Evening Mail plays the age old card of building them up to knock 'em down.

• The Evening Mail, champions of every negative thought about Villa and eager to drain any semblance of optimism surrounding the club were at it again. Like wild animals to fresh meat, a defeat away to a top 6 rival was too juicy to ignore. How could they? This was their bread and butter with a slice of sizzling steal. 

• After having called Villa’s relegation as early as the fourth game of the season, then damning Taylor’s side with the faintest of praise - whilst inflating the credentials of just about every opposition team - a defeat in the League Cup in the previous game was just too salivating. 

• The defeat to West Ham was not “unlucky” but “embarrassing”. If that was an over-reaction and mis-reading of a cold night in East London, just days needed to be waited for them to fire up another damning indictment on B6’s pretensions. 

• No longer tipping Villa for relegation they were certainly “still not fooled” by Villa’s achievements in 1989-90 and now could proudly confine a title challenge to the waste bin besides their cigarette smoke infested desks. 

• One defeat, a first in six League games that had seen Villa climb to fourth, was enough to set the poison pen letters to B6 ablaze once again. 

• We were told Villa’s “strengths were exaggerated” and “weaknesses” ignored. 

• If that wasn’t enough we were reliably informed Villa didn’t score enough. Despite having failed to score in the League for the first time in seven games and only the second time this season and no matter that in the last six League games Villa had scored twelve goals. No matter that Villa had won five of those six games. 

• Worse was to come.. the goals conceded “were a joke”. Was that irony? Did they mean they were literally laughably unfortunate? or were they serious when they claimed Villa’s internationals were more bothered about playing Malta and Romania than winning the League? 

• Yet the contradictions abounded with their own goal descriptions of “dreadfully unlucky” and “going into the net off the centre-half’s backside” simply did not chime with all the vitriol that followed. 

• Was it wilful contradiction or just an inability to ever say anything positive about the club they were paid to follow? Just what were these self appointed ‘Judges’ watching? What were they thinking? Why report on a club when any potential objectivity, or even support, or - whisper it quietly - partisan tribalism, as displayed by the Liverpool Echo or Manchester Evening News, was total anathema to them? 

• Doubtless in time they came to love the club in their strange way. Doubtless they soon told us how they believed in Villa all along and had played an instrumental ‘tough love’ role in driving them to a top two berth once again. 

• But supporters? Never. The sad fact is it didn’t start in November 1989 and neither did it end. They had form through good times and bad. Always unhelpful, always prompting a new ‘crisis’. 

• This, not the worst example or the most vicious, was certainly the most detached from reality given what supporters had witnessed over the last three months under Graham Taylor. 

• Promoted the previous season to successfully fight for survival, just 12 months later the same team were troubling the top 6 of the League but even then we couldn’t count on the Evening Mail’s support and encouragement. Shameful.

• Centre forward Ian Ormondroyd extends his goalless streak to 18 games to make it 21 Appearances, 12 Starts, W4 D5 L11, 1 Goal and 2 Assists so far in his Villa career.

  • Derek Mountfield makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (48 Starts) to make it W18 D11 L21, 6 Goals and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

• Villa are kicked all over the park and are muzzled by Millwall's aggression as a lenient refereeing performance offers no protection.

• Villa suffer a first League defeat in six as they lose to 17th place Millwall, as a result Villa fall to joint third alongside Norwich and are now three points behind Liverpool and five points behind leaders Arsenal.

• Gordon Cowans makes his 400th start in a Villa shirt (417 Appearances) to make it W187 D100 L130, 55 Goals and 69 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.36 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

• 10,000 travelling fans witness Villa lose at Old Trafford in a game they should have been capable of winning as they remain second in the table, one point behind Liverpool who now have two games in hand after being given an extra day of rest by the League.

• Villa lose for the fifth time in ten League games and now have nineteen first division victories in twenty eight games under Graham Taylor.

• Derek Mountfield makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt (73 Starts) to make it W35 D13 L27, 11 Goals and 2 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 5.77 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

• Villa beat Millwall for their third 1-0 victory in their last four.

• Villa make it twenty first division victories in twenty eight games as they remain second, five points behind leaders Liverpool with two to play. 

• Villa need to win both their final two games, and Liverpool lose both of theirs to win their first League title in nine years.

• Kent Nielsen contributes his fifth assist to help secure his 25th win in a Villa shirt on his 46th appearance (43 Starts) to make it W25 D7 L14, 2 Goals and 5 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 6.57 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

• Villa end the season with a thrilling draw at Everton that should have been victory but for another deeply suspect refereeing performance from George Courtney. Those shenanigans however cannot take the shine off for the 5,000 Villa fans, players and staff who celebrate the end of a fine season on and off the pitch at Goodison Park. Sadly it would prove the end of an era too.

• Graham Taylor’s Villa end the season with a second successive three-all draw to finish second, nine points behind eventual title winners Liverpool. 

• The match however will long be remembered for the huge celebrations at Goodison Park as Villa’s fans and players gathered to thank one another and to wish outgoing boss Graham Taylor well in what would prove his final game before his move to the role of England manager. Taylor had brought smiles and belief back to Villa and laid the foundations for the next two decades. To this day the song ‘Spinksy and Birchy, Alan McInallyyyy’ resonates wherever Villa play in testament to the players Graham Taylor brought to the club and nurtured to new heights in his all too short reign of three seasons and 150 games. Sadly for Taylor he would never again achieve such success, including his return to Villa in the 2000s, but he will always be fondly remembered for his time with Villa between 1987 and 1990.

• Mark Blake contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 10th appearance (6 Starts) to make it W5 D2 L3 so far in his Villa career.

• Villa suffer a jarring defeat to lowly Luton as the season, which had begun with such promise, begins to unravel post Milan. 

• Villa fail to score for the sixth time in nine games and lose their third League game in four

• Villa fall to a fourth defeat in five games and fifth in eighteen under Jozef Vengloš to fall back to 14th in the first division table.

• Gordon Cowans makes his 450th start in a Villa shirt (467 Starts) to make it W213 D109 L145, 58 Goals and 85 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.27 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

• Villa miss out on a second consecutive victory as they are undone by a late goal once again - this time from the hated Steve Hodge who scores an 88' equaliser for Forest.

• Villa, who remain 13th, now have 13 wins and 9 defeats in 32 games under Jozef Vengloš.

• Paul McGrath contributes his 5th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 78th appearance to make it W35 D18 L25, 1 Goal, 4 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

• Derek Mountfield scores his 15th goal in a Villa shirt on his 105th appearances (103 Starts) to make it W48 D22 L35, 15 Goals and 2 Assists so far in his Villa career.

Jozef Vengloš' Villa lose for the first time in three and fall back to 14th place in the table.

• Villa win a second consecutive game as David Platt scores his twentieth of the season.

• Having scored six in two games and recorded consecutive top flight wins to climb to 14th in the table, the Birmingham Evening Mail decides to lead with the headline "CAS DOUBLE LIFTS VILLA GLOOM" as Villa record their fifteenth win in thirty six games under Jozef Vengloš (eleven defeats).

• Gary Penrice contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 3rd appearance to make it W2 D0 L1 so far in his Villa career.

• Derek Mountfield secures his 50th win in a Villa shirt on his 109th appearances (107 Starts) to make it W50 D22 L37, 16 Goals and 2 Assists so far in his Villa career.

• Villa recover from two goals down to hit an 89' equaliser and extend their unbeaten first division run to three and make it fifteen wins in thirty seven games under Jozef Vengloš (eleven defeats) as they climb to 13th in the table.

• Gordon Cowans contributes his 150th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 486th appearance (469 Starts) to make it W219 D116 L151, 59 Goals and 91 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.24 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Jozef Vengloš' Villa end a run of three unbeaten with a heavy defeat at Highbury. Already 0-3 behind, Villa lose 'keeper Nigel Spink to injury forcing Mark Blake to take on the gloves with no substitute goalkeeper available. Blake concedes a further two goals in the final 10 as Villa drop back to 16th in the table.

• Villa win for the first time in 9 and make it 16 wins and 16 defeats time in 45 games under a Jozef Vengloš now openly exasperated with his treatment by the local press.

• Second half substitute Dwight Yorke heads the winner that confirms Villa's top flight safety.

• Dwight Yorke contributes his 5th goal involvement and his 4th in his last 7 games in a Villa shirt on his 21st appearance (9 Starts) to make it W5 D6 L10, 2 Goals and 3 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 4.20 he has played so far in his Villa career.

• Villa record their first victory in 7 under Ron Atkinson thanks to a two minute second half brace with Kevin Richardson scoring his 2nd in 3, Dwight Yorke his first of the season and Mark Blake his first on his first appearance of the campaign.

• Villa concede a bizarre own goal just 12 seconds into the game after Shaun Teale hits the ball back to the 'keeper despite Nigel Spink having left his line. 

• Kevin Richardson scores his 3rd goal in his first 10 appearances in a Villa shirt to make it W3 D3 L4 so far in his Villa career.

• Dwight Yorke contributes his 5th assist in a Villa shirt on his 30th appearance (15 Starts) to make it W8 D9 L13, 3 Goals and 5 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.75 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

• Cyrille Regis makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt and contributes his 2nd assist to make it W3 D3 L4, 1 Goal and 2 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.33 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

• Mark Blake scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 18th appearance (13 Starts) to make it W8 D4 L6, 1 Goal and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.