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 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 are held for the fourth time in six Premier League games to make it four wins in fourteen under Graham Taylor.

Villa fail to score for the 9th time in 14 Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa, unbeaten in 4, now have 7 wins in 27 under Graham Taylor.

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.

Villa lose for the first time in 6 Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa's mini revival under Graham Taylor suffers a setback at leaders Arsenal to drop back to 15th place.

Ian Taylor makes his 250th start in a Villa shirt (282 Appearances) to make it W118 D76 L88, 42 Goals, 17 Assists, 53 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Thomas Hitzlsperger contributes his 5th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 24th appearance (19 Starts) to make it W7 D6 L11, 2 Goals, 3 Assists and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ulises de la Cruz contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 11th appearance (8 Starts) to make it W3 D1 L7, 2 Goals and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

Lee Hendrie makes his 200th appearance in a Villa shirt (154 Starts) to make it W82 D53 L65, 23 Goals, 19 Assists, 34 Bookings and 3 Red Cards at a goal involvement rate of one for every 4.87 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Ronny Johnsen makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (9 Starts) to make it W5 D2 L3 and 1 Booking 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.

Villa win for the first time in 3 Premier League games to make it 6 wins in 18 under Graham Taylor as they remain 15th in the table.

Villa secure their 9th win in 31 Premier League games under Graham Taylor courtesy of a last gasp Thomas Hitzlsperger special.

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, without a win in 6 under Graham Taylor, record successive draws to make it 13 wins in 45 Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Öyvind Leonhardsen contributes his 5th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 18th appearance (12 Starts) to make it W7 D5 L6, 2 Goals, 3 Assists and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Ronny Johnsen makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (24 Starts) to make it W10 D5 L10 and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa record a third consecutive draw and are now winless in 7 Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa, without a win in 7, can only draw with relegation side West Ham.

Villa now have just 13 wins in 46 Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Darius Vassell contributes his 10th assist in a Villa shirt on his 135th appearance (70 Starts) to make it W47 D33 L55, 32 Goals, 10 Assists, 12 Bookings and 1 Red Card at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.21 games played so far in his Villa career.

Olof Mellberg makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W21 D23 L31, 1 Goal, 3 Assists and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

As if from nowhere Villa conjure up a first win in eight against 4th placed Chelsea with Marcus Allbäck, a player who had hitherto looked less than likely to score, hit a brace to deliver Graham Taylor his 14th top flight win in 47 matches since his return.

Villa make it 11 wins in 34 Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Marcus Allbäck contributes his 5th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 21st appearance (8 Starts) to make it W9 D5 L7, 4 Goals, 1 Assist and 2 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 4.20 games played so far in his Villa career.

Ronny Johnsen makes his 25th start in a Villa shirt (26 Appearances) to make it W11 D5 L10 and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa extend their late season unbeaten run to five but draw for the fourth time to make it eleven wins in thirty five Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Villa now have 14 Premier League wins in 48 matches under Graham Taylor since his return to management in 2002. 

Winger Peter Whittingham, 18, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after coming through the ranks at Villa and signing professional forms in July 2002 to become the 770th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Villa lose for the first time in six to make it eleven wins in thirty six Premier League games under Graham Taylor.

Rob Edwards, 20, makes his 9th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (8 Starts) before moving on to Wolves for £203,000 in June 2004 having recorded W3 D3 L3 during his short Villa career. Edwards would go on to be a successful manager taking Luton Town from the third tier into the Premier League for the 2023-24 season.

Marcus Allbäck scores his 5th goal in a Villa shirt on his 23rd appearance (10 Starts) to make it W69 D6 L8, 5 Goals, 1 Assist and 2 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 3.83 games played so far in his Villa career.

Villa win for the second time in four and have now lost just once in their last seven under Graham Taylor to secure their Premier League safety with a game to spare.

Villa now have 12 wins in 37 top flight games under Graham Taylor this season.

Marcus Allbäck scores his 4th in 4 to earn Graham Taylor a 15th win in 50 Premier League games since replacing John Gregory. 

Steve Staunton, 34, makes his final appearance in a Villa shirt before moving on to Coventry City on a free transfer in August 2003. Staunton had played for Villa in two spells between 1991-92 and 2002-03 making a total of 348 appearances in a Villa shirt (332 Starts). That fantastic contribution to Villa however was sadly overshadowed by Staunton’s controversial decision to leave Villa on a Bosman free transfer in 1998. Without that there is no doubt Staunton would have been rated as one of the great Villa servants. As it is he will remain respected rather than admired for his record of W145 D92 L111, 20 Goals, 37 Assists, 28 Bookings and 2 Red Cards across his Villa career. Ironically, his career hiatus with Liverpool afforded him a significant increase in wealth but just 58 appearances across 3 seasons during which time in a Villa shirt he could realistically have moved into the top 10 all time appearance holders for Villa.   

Finnish goalkeeper Peter Enckelman, 26, keeps his 20th clean sheet on his 67th and final game in a Villa shirt before moving on to Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £194,000 in January 2004. Villa had paid TPS Turku £513,000 for Enckelman’s services in February 1999 and would prove a statistically strong ‘keeper but a less than confidence boosting presence between the sticks. Undoubtedly best known for the refereeing error he was on the end of in September 2002, Enckelman had the support of both his full time managers with Graham Taylor making him the club’s #1. Whether that was a good long term move or an accident waiting to happen is difficult to tell, what isn’t is that the incident at St Andrews’ meant Enckelman was always on borrowed time at Villa and his career stalled into a nose dive with just 45 appearances for Blackburn and Cardiff over the following 7 seasons. Enckelman left with a record of W23 D18 L26, 74 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.10 goals per game (1.19 in League football) and 20 Clean Sheets (20%) (25% League)

Midfielder Öyvind Leonhardsen, 32, makes his 23rd and final appearance in a Villa shirt before moving on to FC Lyn Oslo on a free transfer in July 2003. Leonhardsen was another of Taylor’s surprising signings and in truth he underwhelmed throughout his time with Villa to leave with a record of W9 D7 L7, 3 Goals, 2 Assists and 2 Bookings.

Joey Guðjónsson makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (8 Starts) to make it W4 D42 L4, 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.