Villa lose for the 3rd consecutive game and 8th time in 15 league games under Graham Taylor as concerns mount about the season ahead. 2001-02 showed Taylor to be the wrong man at the wrong time and nothing so far makes that look like changing.

The continued trend for half time substitutions suggests one of 3 things. A lack of understanding or knowledge of the opposition’s tactics necessitating a change; panic in even the slightest adversity; or a tendency to field the wrong team in the first place. None of which give a feeling that the club is in the right hands.

Whatever is the cause the impact is disjointed performances and what seems like extreme tactical unfamiliarity for those thrown onto the pitch - not helped by the calibre of the new signings being brought into the club. 

Honest and uncomplicated attitudes may be a refreshing change but these are not additions that materially improve the playing quality of the squad and it is therefore difficult to see exactly what Taylor is trying to achieve.

Irish international midfielder Mark Kinsella, 30, makes his Villa debut after joining from Charlton Athletic for a fee of £1,040,000 in July 2002 to become the 764th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Meanwhile, off the pitch Olof Mellberg is already forced to disabuse rumours of major unrest at the direction of the club under the manager and Chairman.

Villa stop a run of three defeats as they win for the first time in five to secure their first Premier League win of the season by beating top-flight no hopers Manchester City, climbing to 13th under Graham Taylor.

Peter Schmiechel returns to Villa Park following his acrimonious departure under Graham Taylor.

Villa lose for the third time in four Premier League games under Graham Taylor and have failed to score in each of those defeats. 

This latest defeat, courtesy of Peter Enckleman conceding a second half penalty, came against bottom club Bolton as Villa tumbled back to 16th place.

Villa win for the second time in five Premier League games as Graham Taylor makes five changes in an attempt to inject life into Villa's poor start. 

Villa secure only their 5th win in 18 Premier League games under Graham Taylor but make it back to back victories at Villa Park. 

Villa score more than a single goal in a game for the first time this season.

Centre back Ronny Johnsen, 33, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after moving from Manchester United on a free transfer in July 2002 to become the 765th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Ulises de la Cruz surprises as he scores his 1st goal in a Villa shirt on only his 4th appearance (3 Starts) to make it W1 D0 L3 and 1 Goal so far in his Villa career.

Stefan Moore scores his 1st goal in a Villa shirt on his 3rd appearance (0 Starts) to make it W2 D0 L1, 1 Goal and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Jlloyd Samuel makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (31 Starts) to make it W16 D15 L19, 3 Assists, 7 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Alpay Özalan plays for the first time in a month after Graham Taylor has all but overlooked the Turkey international so far in 2002-03. Özalan secures his 25th win in a Villa shirt on his 62nd appearance to make it W25 D18 L19 and 16 Bookings.

Villa lose for the 10th time in 19 Premier League games under Graham Taylor, winning just 5. 

Villa fail to score for the 4th time in 6 League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa lose against Birmingham for the first time in 7 games and for the first time at St Andrews' since 1984.

This latest defeat however, despite the form of the team under Graham Taylor, was totally unexpected and represented Villa’s first reverse against their neighbours in over 15 years. 

The major talking point however was referee David Elleray’s decision to allow a goal that wasn’t. 

Olof Mellberg took a throw in with the intention of passing the ball back to ‘keeper Enckelman however Enckelman, for unknown reasons, failed to connect with and allowed the ball roll past his foot and into the net. 

As such the ball hadn’t been touched from the throw-in and was officially a dead ball. 

Obviously a dead ball meant no goal could be conceded.

Elleray however either misinterpreted the rules or misread the passage of play - he would never admit either - and erroneously awarded the goal to Birmingham. 

Few recall anything other than Enckelman but the the real mistake was Elleray’s seemingly forgotten misapplication of the rules. 

On the night however, despite a questionable offside decision ruling out a Villa equaliser, Graham Taylor’s side put in a performance of little quality that had become the norm over the previous six months and Birmingham, nearly two decades in the making, recorded a deserved win over their more decorated neighbours. 

Considered by many of the Blues’ persuasion to be the greatest night in their history, the victory triggered scenes of jubilation across Small Heath.

In 2023, in AVFC History’s conversation with Darius Vassell, the player whose goal Elleray incorrectly disallowed, the former Villa striker recollected in minute detail the validity of his goal and revealed that the real anger of that night amongst the Villa team was Elleray’s performance and his 57’ decision.

Steve Staunton makes his 325th appearance in a Villa shirt (313 Starts) to make it W134 D86 L105, 20 Goals, 36 Assists, 22 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Juan Pablo Ángel makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (42 Starts) to make it W19 D11 L20, 17 Goals, 6 Assists and 6 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.17 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Alpay Özalan plays successive games for the first time under Graham Taylor and first time since December 2001 to make it 63 appearances in a Villa shirt, W25 D18 L20 and 17 Bookings.

Villa recover from their St Andrew's embarrassment to beat Everton and record their third win in seven Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa win just their 6th League game in 20 under Graham Taylor (losing 10) but make it 3 successive home wins to climb to 10th in the early table.

Öyvind Leonhardsen, 32, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after signing on a free transfer from Tottenham Hotspur in July despite Graham Taylor believing the player had already retired. The latest leftfield, underwhelming and questionable Taylor signing becomes the 766th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Darius Vassell contributes his 30th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 109th appearance (48 Starts) to make it W40 D27 L42, 22 Goals, 8 Assists, 11 Bookings and 1 Red Card at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.63 games played so far in his Villa career.

Lee Hendrie secures his 80th win in a Villa shirt on his 193rd appearance (148 Starts) to make it W80 D51 L62, 22 Goals, 17 Assists, 32 Bookings and 3 Red Cards at a goal involvement rate of one for every 5.03 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the 5th time in 8 Premier League games under Graham Taylor as they are beaten by second from bottom Sunderland.

Villa fail to score for the 5th time in 8 League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa now have 11 losses in 21 Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa seek respite from their League troubles as they see off Second Division side Luton Town to reach the League Cup third round.

Darius Vassell makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (111 Appearances) to make it W41 D27 L43, 22 Goals, 8 Assists, 11 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.70 games played so far in his Villa career.

Lee Hendrie makes his 150th start in a Villa shirt (195 Appearances) to make it W81 D51 L63, 22 Goals, 18 Assists, 33 Bookings and 3 Red Cards at a goal involvement rate of one for every 5 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Marcus Allbäck makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (5 Starts) to make it W4 D1 L5 and 1 Goals at a goal involvement rate of one for every 10.00 games played so far in his Villa career.

Villa draw for the first time this season to leave them with just three wins in nine Premier League games under Graham Taylor as they fall to 14th in the table.

Villa fail to score for the 6th time in 9 League games under Graham Taylor.

Meanwhile, more questions are asked of the wisdom of Taylor's recent signings as Injury prone Ronny Johnsen, 33, leaves the field injured after 14’, to be replaced by Öyvind Leonhardsen, 32, who lasts 31 minutes before himself being subbed off at half time.

Villa lose for the 6th time in 10 Premier League games under Graham Taylor to fall to 15th in the table.

Villa fail to score for the 7th time in 10 Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa lose for the 12 time in 23 League games under Graham Taylor. 

Villa have now won 6 in 23 League games under Graham Taylor. 

Villa’s latest defeat under Graham Taylor comes against a Southampton side who had not won away from home since March 2002.

Olof Mellberg makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W14 D16 L20, 3 Assists and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ulises de la Cruz makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (8 Starts) to make it W3 D1 L6 and 2 Goals so far in his Villa career.

Mark Kinsella toils to his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W4 D1 L5, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 0 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Alpay Özalan features for the first time in over a month and for only the 4th time under Graham Taylor to make it 64 appearances in a Villa shirt, W25 D18 L21 and 17 Bookings.

Villa put in their best performance of the season, unrecognisable from recent fare, but are held at the last at Old Trafford to leave them with just three wins in eleven Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa score for the 1st time in 3 games under Graham Taylor.

Villa now have 6 Premier League wins in 24 under Graham Taylor.

Olof Mellberg scores his 1st goal in a Villa shirt on his 51st appearance to make it W14 D17 L20, 1 Goal, 3 Assists and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Mark Kinsella contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 11th appearance to make it W4 D2 L5, 0 Goals, 1 Assist and 0 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Stefan Moore makes his 1st start in a Villa shirt on his 7th appearance to make it W4 D1 L2, 1 Goal and 2 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Villa record their 3rd draw in 5 winless games to make it just 3 wins in 12 Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa fail to score for the 8th time in 12 games under Graham Taylor.

Villa now have 6 wins in 25 Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Peter Enckelman keeps his 10th Premier League clean sheet on his 44th appearance (31 League Games) to make it W15 D13 L6, 40 Goals Conceded at a rate of 0.91 goals per game and 16 Clean Sheets (36%) (32% League) so far in his Villa career.

Villa seek respite from their League troubles under Graham Taylor but still need a late cavalry charge to see off Third Division Oxford as things turn nasty off the pitch.

Ian Taylor collects his 50th booking in a Villa shirt on his 278th appearance (246 Starts) to make it W116 D75 L87, 42 Goals, 16 Bookings and 2 Red Cards at a rate of a card every 5.35 games so far in his Villa career.

Stefan Postma keeps his 1st clean sheet in a Villa shirt on his 3rd appearance to make it W1 D1 L1, 2 Goals Conceded at a rate of 0.67 goals per game and 1 Clean Sheet (33%) so far in his Villa career.

Dion Dublin secures his 50th win in a Villa shirt on his 137th appearance (111 Starts) to make it W50 D41 L46, 45 Goals, 15 Assists, 11 Bookings and 1 Red Card at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.28 games played so far in his Villa career.

Mark Delaney secures his 40th win in a Villa shirt on his 110th appearance (94 Starts) to make it W40 D34 L36, 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 13 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Juan Pablo Ángel secures his 20th win in a Villa shirt on his 54th appearance (43 Starts) to make it W20 D14 L20, 17 Goals, 6 Assists and 6 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.35 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Villa win for the first time in 6 Premier League games to make it 4 wins in 13 under Graham Taylor and climb back to 14th in the table.

Villa secure their 4th Premier League win of the season. 

Villa make it 7 wins in 26 League games under Graham Taylor. 

Villa score 3 or more goals for the 3rd time 26 League games under Graham Taylor.

Öyvind Leonhardsen scores his 1st goal and contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 8th appearance (4 Starts) to make it W4 D3 L1, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Marcus Allbäck contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 12th appearance (5 Starts) to make it W6 D1 L5, 2 Goals, 1 Assist and 1 Booking at a goal involvement rate of one for every 4.00 games played so far in his Villa career.

Jlloyd Samuel secures his 20th win in a Villa shirt on his 60th appearance (41 Starts) to make it W20 D18 L22, 3 Assists, 7 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Villa win for the 2nd time in 3 to make it 5 wins in 15 Premier League games under Graham Taylor as they climb to 11th in the table.

Villa have now won 8 of 28 Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa extend their unbeaten run to 5 games and make it 5 League wins so far this season under Graham Taylor. 

Villa have score 3 or more goals in only 4 of their last 28 League games under Graham Taylor. 

Dion Dublin scores his 100th Premier League goal. 

Lee Hendrie contributes his 42nd goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 199th appearance (153 Starts) to make it W82 D53 L64, 23 Goals, 19 Assists, 34 Bookings and 3 Red Cards at a goal involvement rate of one for every 4.85 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Steve Staunton makes his 325th start in a Villa shirt (338 Appearances) to make it W140 D90 L108, 20 Goals, 36 Assists, 25 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Darius Vassell scores a brace to collect his 25th goal in a Villa shirt on his 117th appearance (55 Starts) to make it W43 D29 L45, 25 Goals, 9 Assists, 12 Bookings and 1 Red Card at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.44 games played so far in his Villa career.

Juan Pablo Ángel contributes his 25th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 57th appearance (44 Starts) to make it W23 D14 L20, 19 Goals, 6 Assists and 6 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.28 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Thomas Hitzlsperger makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (20 Starts) to make it W8 D6 L11, 3 Goals, 3 Assists and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose consecutive Premier League games to make it five wins in seventeen under Graham Taylor as they fall back to 15th in the table.

Villa fail to score for the 10th time in 17 Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa suffer their 14th defeat in 30 League games under Graham Taylor.

Peter Enckelman makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (48 Starts) to make it W18 D14 L18, 46 Goals Conceded at a rate of 0.92 goals per game (1.06 in League football) and 18 Clean Sheets (36%) (31% League) so far in his Villa career.

Lee Hendrie collects his 35th booking in a Villa shirt on his 202nd appearance (156 Starts) to make it W83 D53 L66, 23 Goals, 19 Assists, 35 Bookings and 3 Red Cards at a rate of a card every 5.31 games so far in his Villa career.

Euphemistically called 'ticketing problems'. More accurately it was yet another example of the parsimonious and incompetent way the club was being run. An out of touch Chairman cut back on turnstiles to reduce costs. Cue queues. As unnecessary as it was embarrassing it was yet another sign that the 2002-03 season was a watershed one with incompetence prevalent on and off the pitch. As strange as it may sound the Ellis apologists, of whom there were still a few, began to waver in their support - not because of his myriad failures to support his managers and the fans' ambition - but because they were made to wait in the cold to watch another Villa capitulation under Graham Taylor.

Thomas Hitzlsperger scores his 5th goal in a Villa shirt on his 28th appearance (23 Starts) to make it W9 D6 L13, 5 Goals, 3 Assists and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Peter Enckelman concedes his 50th goal in a Villa shirt on his 52nd appearance (50 Starts) to make it W19 D14 L19, 51 Goals Conceded at a rate of 0.98 goals per game (1.05 in League football) and 18 Clean Sheets (35%) (30% League) so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the 3rd time in 4 in all competitions to leave them with 6 wins in q9 Premier League games under Graham Taylor as they remain 15th in the table.

Villa fail to score for the 11th time in 19 Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa fall to their 15th defeat in 32 League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa have now won 9 of their last 32 League games under Graham Taylor.

Dion Dublin suffers his 50th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 146th appearance (120 Starts) to make it W54 D42 L50, 47 Goals, 17 Assists, 14 Bookings and 1 Red Card at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.28 games played so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the 4th time in 5 in all competitions to leave them with 6 wins in 20 Premier League games under Graham Taylor as they fall to 16th in the table.

Villa lose for the 16th time in 33 League games under Graham Taylor, having won 6 top flight games this season.

Jlloyd Samuel makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (69 Appearances) to make it W23 D19 L27, 4 Assists, 8 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Mustapha Hadji makes his 25th start in a Villa shirt (39 Appearances) to make it W14 D8 L17, 3 Goals, 2 Assists and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa win for the 2nd time in 6 Premier League games to make it 7 wins in 21 Premier League games under Graham Taylor as they climb back to 14th in the table.

2002 ends with 10 wins in 34 Premier League matches under Graham Taylor.

Rob Edwards, 20, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after graduating from the youth team set up to become the 767th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Thomas Hitzlsperger secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 31st appearance (26 Starts) to make it W10 D6 L5, 5 Goals, 3 Assists and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa win consecutive Premier League games for the first time this season to make it eight wins in twenty two Premier League games under Graham Taylor but they remain 14th in the table.

Villa open the New Year with a win - their second in succession, and 3rd in 6 League games under Graham Taylor. 

Villa now have 11 wins and 16 defeats in 35 Premier League matches under Graham Taylor at a rate of 1.17 points per game. Taylor’s predecessor John Gregory left with a record of 1.58 points per game.

Dion Dublin scores his 50th goal in a Villa shirt on his 149th appearance (123 Starts) to make it W56 D42 L51, 50 Goals, 17 Assists, 14 Bookings and 1 Red Card at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.23 games played so far in his Villa career.

Juan Pablo Ángel secures his 25th win in a Villa shirt on his 46th start (63 Appearances) to make it W25 D14 L24, 19 Goals, 7 Assists and 6 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.77 starts so far in his Villa career.

Jlloyd Samuel secures his 25th win in a Villa shirt on his 71st appearance (52 Starts) to make it W25 D19 L27, 4 Assists, 9 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Mark Kinsella secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 22nd appearance (16 Starts) to make it W10 D3 L9, 0 Goals, 2 Assists and 0 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Stephen Cooke makes his second appearance in a Villa shirt 2 years, 10 months, and 24 days after his debut to make it W1 D0 L1 so far in his truncated Villa career.

Graham Taylor's difficult second coming continues as Villa are routed at home by Blackburn, even more embarrassing than the result was that the defeat was inspired by a shadow of his former self Dwight Yorke.

Liam Ridgewell, 18, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after graduating from the youth team to become the 768th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Juan Pablo Ángel scores his 20th goal in a Villa shirt but suffers his 25th defeat on his 47th start (64 Appearances) to make it W25 D14 L25, 20 Goals, 7 Assists and 6 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.77 starts so far in his Villa career.

Dion Dublin makes his 150th appearance in a Villa shirt (124 Starts) to make it W56 D42 L52, 50 Goals, 17 Assists, 14 Bookings and 1 Red Card at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.24 games played so far in his Villa career.

Darius Vassell suffers his 50th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 124th appearance (64 Starts) to make it W45 D29 L50, 28 Goals, 9 Assists, 12 Bookings and 1 Red Card at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.35 games played so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the second successive game and have now failed to score in 13 of 28 league matches under Graham Taylor this season.

As the fans finally lose patience, Graham Taylor records a 19th Premier League defeat in 41 games.

Alpay Özalan features for the first time in over 4 months and for only the 5th time in 50 games under Graham Taylor to belatedly make it 65 appearances in a Villa shirt, W25 D18 L22 and 17 Bookings. Özalan would not feature under Taylor again.

Alan Wright suffers his 100th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 326th appearance (321 Starts) to make it W140 D86 L100, 5 Goals, 26 Assists and 23 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

The jury is still out on David O’Leary as Villa extend their winless start to the campaign to 3 games to remain 17th in the table after defeat to an ebullient promoted side and collecting a single point against two potential title contenders.

Juan Pablo Ángel makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (67 Starts) to make it W25 D15 L27, 20 Goals, 7 Assists and 6 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.85 starts so far in his Villa career.

Mark Kinsella makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W10 D3 L12, 0 Goals, 2 Assists and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Lee Hendrie collects his 40th booking in a Villa shirt on his 222nd appearance (172 Starts) to make it W88 D58 L76, 24 Goals, 20 Assists, 40 Bookings and 3 Red Cards at a rate of a card every 5.16 games so far in his Villa career.

Villa draw for a third successive game and have now won once in their last four to leave them with two Premier League wins in ten under David O'Leary.

Villa’s 2nd successive game without scoring and 3rd successive draw sees another winnable game wasted as David O’Leary’s side sit 14th in the table with the goals drying up and little inspiration evident. 

Midfielder Mark Kinsella, 31, makes his 26th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (20 Starts) before moving on to West Bromwich Albion on a free transfer in January 2004. Across his 14 months with the club Kinsella recorded W10 D4 L12, 0 Goals, 2 Assists and 1 Booking.

Juan Pablo Ángel makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt (58 Starts) to make it W28 D18 L29, 27 Goals, 8 Assists and 7 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.14 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Thomas Hitzlsperger makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (43 Starts) to make it W16 D12 L22, 5 Goals, 6 Assists and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.