Villa face LOSC Lille for the first time in competitive football, Lille become the 149th team that the Villa first team has played in League or Cup football, Villa’s 33rd continental European opponents and their third from France following their meetings with FC Girondins de Bordeaux and Stade Rennais F.C. in previous campaigns.

Villa score a crucial away goal through Ian Taylor but concede in the last minute to leave the tie in the balance. 

Goalkeeper Stefan Postma, 26, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from De Graafschap for £2,000,000 earlier this month to become the 762nd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Peter Crouch makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W3 D3 L4, 2 Goals and 3 Assists at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.00 games played so far in his Villa career.

In less positive news, Graham Taylor’s clear out of the Gregory era team continued as 30 year old midfielder Steve Stone is shown the door and follows Paul Merson to Portsmouth on a free transfer. Stone, seemingly underused by John Gregory despite his high fee signing from Forest, and then jettisoned early by Taylor, made 121 Appearances (86 Starts) across his 5 seasons with Villa to leave with a record of W42 D40 L39, 7 Goals, 13 Assists and 15 Bookings.

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 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 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 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 fourth successive game under Graham Taylor.

Villa have now failed score in 15 of 30 league matches under Graham Taylor.

Villa have now lost 21 of 43 Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa stop a run of four consecutive defeats to draw with Southampton but now have just 13 wins in 44 Premier League games under Graham Taylor. 

Without a goal in 18 games, Peter Crouch makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (18 Starts) to make it W6 D6 L13, 2 Goals, 4 Assists and 1 Booking at a goal involvement rate of one for every 4.17 games played so far in his Villa career as life under the struggling Graham Taylor proves more difficult than most for Crouch. This would prove to be Crouch's final appearance under Taylor with the player having to wait 4 months and for the arrival of David O'Leary before he would pull on a Villa shirt again.

At a time when Villa desperately needed quality, experience and leadership, left back Alan Wright, 31, makes his 329th and final appearance in a Villa shirt before being the latest player to move to Middlesbrough, this time on a free transfer in June 2003. An unsung hero of Villa, Wright had spent 9 seasons at the club and left with a record of W140 D87 L102, 5 Goals, 26 Assists and 24 Bookings.

Darius Vassell contributes his 40th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 133rd appearance (68 Starts) to make it W47 D31 L55, 31 Goals, 9 Assists, 12 Bookings and 1 Red Card at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.33 games played so far in his Villa career.

The truly woeful Graham Taylor reign comes to an end as Villa lose on the final day to leave them with twelve wins in thirty eight Premier League games and a 16th placed finish - their lowest since 1994-95. 

In truth it was an impossible task to expect a great man, wedded in a certain footballing ideal, to adjust to the modern footballing world.

Sadly the laziness, or incompetence, of the Villa board allowed the pain to continue far beyond its clear failure. 

With just 15 wins in 51 Premier League fixtures and 23 defeats, the football had not only been woeful but the results damaging. 

The inherited squad, ageing but occasionally still effervescent, was a shadow of itself within months, and but for the emergence of young prospects there was little to cheer. 

The unfathomable ostracism of players, not least Juan Pablo Ángel and Peter Crouch, robbed the squad of talent, and the bizarre recruitment policy burdened the team with players simply not up to the rigours and standards of Premier League football. 

Without question the worst season in over 25 years for Villa, the venerated Graham Taylor left with most people wishing to forget 2002-03 happened and with a desire to simply focus on that day at Goodison Park in May 1990. 

Midfielder and Villa great Ian Taylor, 34, makes his final appearance in a Villa shirt after 9 seasons with the club before moving on to Derby County on a free transfer in June 2003. Taylor was underused by his namesake in the final season of his Villa career despite a record of W120 D79 L92, 42 Goals, 17 Assists, 54 Bookings and 2 Red Cards between 1994-95 and 2002-03. Despite his age Taylor could still do a job for the club, like Merson, Stone, Kachloul, Wright and co. before him but Graham Taylor thought otherwise.

Midfielder Joey Guðjónsson, 22, makes his 11th and final appearance in a Villa shirt of his loan spell from Real Betis. Guðjónsson had brought ill-disciplined passion to Villa and proved both entertaining and flawed. In a better environment, surrounded by stronger team-mates and a more progressive manager, those raw characteristics may have been harnessed to create a good player however that wasn’t Villa in 2002-03 under Graham Taylor. Guðjónsson left with a record of W4 D2 L5, 2 Goals, 2 Assists, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card at a rate of a card for every 2.20 games he played.

Midfielder Stephen Cooke, 20, makes his 4th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (0 Starts) before moving on to Bournemouth on a free transfer in July 2005. Cooke made his debut in 2000 and waited nearly 3 years for his second appearance before his final outing 3 months later to leave with a record of W1 D0 L3.

Peter Whittingham makes his 1st start in a Villa shirt on his 4th appearance to make it W1 D1 L2 so far in his Villa career.

Stefan Postma concedes his 10th goal in a Villa shirt on his 9th appearance (8 Starts) to make it W3 D2 L4, 12 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.33 goals per game and 3 Clean Sheets (33%) so far in his Villa career.

Marcus Allbäck makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (12 Starts) to make it W10 D6 L9, 6 Goals, 1 Assist and 2 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.57 games played so far in his Villa career.

Villa draw for the second time in eight Premier League games to leave David O'Leary with three wins in all competitions in his first nine games.

Despite Juan Pablo Ángel scoring once again, Villa drop points in arguably their first home banker of the season, to leave David O’Leary’s side in 13th place after 8 games. 

The footballing equivalent of a natural disaster, centre back Alpay Özalan, 30, makes his 71st and final appearance in a Villa shirt (69 Starts) before having his contract terminated by the club. Özalan would play against England in Turkey on 12th October and “Once again there was provocation and confrontation and this time it led to a mass brawl in the tunnel at half-time. Alpay in particular causing trouble wherever he could.” As a result the club released a statement on 23rd October that read "In the light of recent events, it would have been difficult for Alpay to represent Aston Villa again in the future and the player himself was aware that life in England had become increasingly difficult for him and his family. Therefore, both parties agreed that the best course of action was for the immediate termination of his contract.” Özalan who signed from Fenerbahçe S.K. for a fee of £8,100,000 in July 2000 would move on to South Korean side Incheon United after multiple fallings out, controversies, angry interviews and ostracisms across his 4 seasons and 71 appearances for Villa that had delivered W27 D19 L25, 1 Goal and 17 Bookings.

Juan Pablo Ángel contributes his 35th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 56th start (73 Appearances) to make it W28 D16 L29, 27 Goals, 8 Assists and 7 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.60 starts so far in his Villa career.

Stefan Postma comes off the bench and replaces Thomas Sörensen to make his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (8 Starts) and make it W3 D3 L4, 13 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.30 goals per game and 3 Clean Sheets (30%) so far in his Villa career.

Villa win for the second time in three Premier League games to climb back to 16th in the table as they make if four wins in sixteen under David O'Leary.

Juan Pablo Ángel delivers for David O'Leary once again to secure Villa a third successive home win to scramble out of the relegation places.

Juan Pablo Ángel scores his 30th goal in a Villa shirt on his 65th start (82 Appearances) to make it W32 D19 L31, 30 Goals, 8 Assists and 7 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 1.71 starts so far in his Villa career.

Mark Delaney contributes his 5th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 132nd appearance (116 Starts) to make it W48 D40 L44, 1 Goal, 4 Assists, 17 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Dion Dublin makes his 175th appearance in a Villa shirt (140 Starts) to make it W65 D47 L63, 57 Goals, 19 Assists, 15 Bookings and 2 Red Cards at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.30 games played so far in his Villa career.

Thomas Hitzlsperger secures his 20th win in a Villa shirt on his 58th appearance (47 Starts) to make it W20 D13 L25, 6 Goals, 7 Assists and 6 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa are well beaten at the Valley to leave them with a first defeat of the season under David O'Leary. As a result Villa fall back to 10th place in the early table.

Jlloyd Samuel suffers his 50th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 136th appearance (116 Starts) to make it W50 D36 L50, 3 Goals, 9 Assists, 18 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Villa take the lead but are beaten by Arsenal for their second loss in nine Premier League games but drop to 13th in the table after recording just two wins and five draws under David O'Leary.

Carlton Cole contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 9th appearance (7 Starts) to make it W3 D4 L2, 2 Goals, 1 Assist and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.00 games he has played so far in his Villa career. 

Peter Whittingham makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (22 Starts) to make it W19 D15 L16, 1 Goal, 4 Assists and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Olof Mellberg collects his 10th booking in a Villa shirt on his 129th appearance to make it W44 D38 L47, 5 Goals, 4 Assists and 10 Booking at a rate of a card every 13 games so far in his Villa career.