2000–01 Aston Villa F.C. season

Aston Villa
2000–01 season
ChairmanDoug Ellis
ManagerJohn Gregory
StadiumVilla Park
Premiership8th
FA CupFourth round
League CupThird round
Intertoto CupSemi-finals
Top goalscorerLeague: Dublin (8)
All: Dublin (9)
Highest home attendance41,366 vs Liverpool
(13 Jan 2001, Premier League)
Lowest home attendance22,310 vs Bradford City
(16 Sep 2000, Premier League)
Average home league attendance31,597

During the 2000–01 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the Premier League (known as the FA Carling Premiership for sponsorship reasons). Another season of decent (but rarely exciting) form saw Villa secure another top-10 finish, though this time they dipped slightly into eighth place after occupying sixth place a year earlier. Villa proved themselves as one of the hardest Premiership teams to beat, with only the top three sides suffering fewer defeats than Villa's 10, but a mere 13 wins and a staggering 15 draws ended any hopes of a title bid or even a top-six finish.

Juan Pablo Ángel (175) signed Villa on 12 January 2001, becoming the club's record signing at £9.5 million. Angel made his debut away to Manchester United in a 0-2 loss on 20 January 2001.[1] Other debuts included Steve Staunton (208), Thomas Hitzlsperger (99), Alpay Özalan (58), David Ginola (41), Gilles De Bilde (4), and Luc Nilis (3).

Diary of Season

9 Sep 2000: In a league match against Ipswich Town, Luc Nilis was involved in a clash with goalkeeper Richard Wright[2] that left him with a double compound fracture of his right shin ending his career.[3] This was only Nilis's third match for Villa, having scored in both previous games.

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Transfers

Transferred in

Date Pos Player From Fee
1 July 2000 CF Belgium Luc Nilis Netherlands PSV Eindhoven Free transfer
28 July 2000 CB Turkey Alpay Özalan Turkey Fenerbahçe £5,600,000
30 July 2000 LM France David Ginola Tottenham Hotspur £3,000,000
5 August 2000 LM Germany Thomas Hitzlsperger Germany Bayern Munich Free transfer
6 December 2000 LB Republic of Ireland Steve Staunton Liverpool Free transfer
13 January 2001 CF Colombia Juan Pablo Ángel Argentina River Plate £9,500,000
£18,100,000

  Record

Loaned in

Date Pos Player From Loan End
10 October 2000 CF Belgium Gilles De Bilde Sheffield Wednesday 3 January 2001

Transferred out

Date Pos Player To Fee
1 July 2000 CF Jamaica Darren Byfield Walsall Free transfer
4 July 2000 RB Steve Watson Everton £2,500,000
17 July 2000 CM Mark Draper Southampton £1,250,000
9 August 2000 SS Italy Benito Carbone Bradford City Free transfer
1 September 2000 LM Alan Thompson Scotland Celtic £2,750,000
3 October 2000 LB Aaron Lescott Sheffield Wednesday £100,000
20 October 2000 CB Ugo Ehiogu Middlesbrough £8,000,000
2 December 2000 GK Matthew Ghent Lincoln City Free transfer
24 January 2001 CF Belgium Luc Nilis Retired
26 January 2001 CF Mark DeBolla Charlton Athletic Free transfer
13 February 2001 LB Israel Najwan Ghrayib Israel Hapoel Haifa £150,000
£14,750,000

Loaned out

Date Pos Player To Loan End
19 October 2000 CF Scotland Neil Tarrant York City 19 December 2000
15 December 2000 GK Neil Cutler Oxford United 27 February 2001
7 February 2001 CF Richard Walker Blackpool 31 May 2001

Overall transfer activity

Squad

First Team

# Name Position Nationality Place of birth Date of birth (Age) Signed from Date signed Fee Apps Gls
Goalkeepers
1 David James GK England Welwyn Garden City (1970-08-01)1 August 1970 (aged 29) Liverpool 17 June 1999 £1,700,000 39 0
13 Neil Cutler GK England Perton (1976-09-03)3 September 1976 (aged 23) Chester City 30 November 1999 Free transfer 1 0
39 Peter Enckelman GK Finland Turku (1977-03-10)10 March 1977 (aged 23) Finland TPS 1 February 1999 £200,000 14 0
40 Matthew Ghent GK England Burton upon Trent (1980-09-05)5 September 1980 (aged 19) Academy 1 July 1997 0 0
Defenders
2 Mark Delaney RB Wales Haverfordwest (1976-05-13)13 May 1976 (aged 24) Wales Cardiff City 9 March 1999 £250,000 38 1
3 Alan Wright LB England Ashton-under-Lyne (1971-09-28)28 September 1971 (aged 28) Blackburn Rovers 10 March 1995 £1,000,000 242 4
4 Gareth Southgate (c) CB England Watford (1970-09-03)3 September 1970 (aged 29) Crystal Palace 1 July 1995 £3,500,000 207 7
5 Ugo Ehiogu CB England Hackney (1972-11-03)3 November 1972 (aged 27) West Bromwich Albion 12 July 1991 £40,000 299 15
11* Steve Staunton LB Republic of Ireland Dundalk (1969-01-19)19 January 1969 (aged 31) Liverpool 6 December 2000 Free transfer 264 17
15 Gareth Barry LB England Hastings (1981-02-23)23 February 1981 (aged 19) Academy 1 January 1998 83 3
16 Alpay Özalan CB Turkey İzmir (1973-05-30)30 May 1973 (aged 27) Turkey Fenerbahçe 28 July 2000 £5,600,000 - -
23 Najwan Ghrayib LB Israel Nazareth (1974-01-30)30 January 1974 (aged 26) Israel Hapoel Haifa 20 July 1999 £1,000,000 6 0
30 Jon Bewers RB England Kettering (1982-09-10)10 September 1982 (aged 17) Academy 1 July 1999 1 0
31 Jlloyd Samuel LB Trinidad and Tobago San Fernando (1981-03-29)29 March 1981 (aged 19) Academy 1 January 1999 10 0
32 Aaron Lescott CB England Birmingham (1978-12-02)2 December 1978 (aged 20) Academy 1 July 1998 1 0
Midfielders
6 George Boateng CM Netherlands Ghana Nkawkaw (1975-09-05)5 September 1975 (aged 24) Coventry City 20 July 1999 £4,500,000 45 3
7 Ian Taylor CM England Birmingham (1968-06-04)4 June 1968 (aged 32) Sheffield Wednesday 21 December 1994 £1,000,000 220 32
10 Paul Merson AM England Harlesden (1968-03-20)20 March 1968 (aged 32) Middlesbrough 8 September 1998 £6,750,000 72 10
11 Alan Thompson LM England Newcastle upon Tyne (1973-12-22)22 December 1973 (aged 26) Bolton Wanderers 5 June 1998 £4,500,000 55 5
14 David Ginola LM France Gassin (1967-01-25)25 January 1967 (aged 33) Tottenham Hotspur 30 July 2000 £3,000,000 - -
17 Lee Hendrie RM England Solihull (1977-05-18)18 May 1977 (aged 23) Academy 1 July 1995 109 10
18 Steve Stone RM England Gateshead (1971-08-20)20 August 1971 (aged 28) Nottingham Forest 11 March 1999 £5,500,000 46 3
21 Thomas Hitzlsperger LM Germany Munich (1982-04-05)5 April 1982 (aged 18) Germany Bayern Munich 5 August 2000 Free transfer - -
24 John McGrath CM Republic of Ireland Limerick (1980-03-27)27 March 1980 (aged 20) Academy 1 July 1999 0 0
27 Michael Standing AM England Shoreham-by-Sea (1981-03-20)20 March 1981 (aged 19) Academy 1 July 1998 0 0
28 Gavin Melaugh CM Northern Ireland Derry (1981-07-09)9 July 1981 (aged 18) Academy 1 July 2000 - -
29 Stephen Cooke CM England Walsall (1983-02-15)15 February 1983 (aged 17) Academy 1 July 2000 - -
Forwards
8 Juan Pablo Ángel CF Colombia Medellín (1975-10-24)24 October 1975 (aged 24) Argentina River Plate 13 January 2001 £9,500,000 - -
9 Dion Dublin CF England Leicester (1969-04-22)22 April 1969 (aged 31) Coventry City 5 November 1998 £5,750,000 57 26
12 Julian Joachim CF England Peterborough (1974-09-20)20 September 1974 (aged 25) Leicester City 24 February 1996 £1,890,000 146 36
19 Richard Walker CF England Bloxwich (1977-11-08)8 November 1977 (aged 22) Academy 1 July 1997 8 2
20 Luc Nilis CF Belgium Hasselt (1967-05-25)25 May 1967 (aged 33) Netherlands PSV Eindhoven 1 July 2000 Free transfer - -
22 Darius Vassell CF England Birmingham (1980-06-13)13 June 1980 (aged 20) Academy 1 January 1998 28 2
25 Gilles De Bilde CF Belgium Zellik (1971-06-09)9 June 1971 (aged 29) Sheffield Wednesday 3 January 2001 Loan - -
35 Neil Tarrant CF Scotland England Darlington (1979-06-24)24 June 1979 (aged 21) Scotland Ross County 28 April 1998 £250,000 0 0

*squad number was re-used following a players departure.
Note: Stats and ages are correct as of July 1, 2000.

Final league table

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts Qualification or relegation
6 Chelsea 38 17 10 11 68 45 +23 61 Qualification for the UEFA Cup first round[a]
7 Sunderland 38 15 12 11 46 41 +5 57
8 Aston Villa 38 13 15 10 46 43 +3 54 Qualification for the Intertoto Cup third round
9 Charlton Athletic 38 14 10 14 50 57 −7 52
10 Southampton 38 14 10 14 40 48 −8 52
Source: Premier League
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
  1. ^ Since Liverpool won the League Cup and qualified for the Champions League, their UEFA Cup place went to fifth-placed Ipswich Town. Since both FA Cup finalists, Liverpool and Arsenal, qualified for the Champions League, the berth in the UEFA Cup went to sixth-placed Chelsea. Both Ipswich and Chelsea were the highest-ranked team not already qualified for a European competition.
Results summary
Overall Home Away
Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts W D L GF GA GD W D L GF GA GD
38 13 15 10 46 43  +3 54 8 8 3 27 20  +7 5 7 7 19 23  −4
Results by matchday
Match1234567891011121314151617181920212223242526272829303132333435363738
GroundAHAAHAHAHHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAHHHAHAHA
ResultDDLWWDWLDWWWLDDDDWLLLLLWDLDWDWWDWDDDWL
Position1017191379561175456789791113131312131414121211108877888
Source: 11v11.com: 2000-01 Aston Villa results
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Results

Aston Villa's score comes first[4]

Legend

Win Draw Loss

FA Premier League

Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Scorers
19 August 2000 Leicester City A 0–0 21,455
27 August 2000 Chelsea H 1–1 27,057 Nilis 10'
6 September 2000 Liverpool A 1–3 43,360 Stone 83'
9 September 2000 Ipswich Town A 2–1 22,065 Hendrie 28', Dublin 54'
16 September 2000 Bradford City H 2–0 27,849 Southgate 5', Dublin (pen) 75'
23 September 2000 Middlesbrough A 1–1 27,556 Joachim 74'
30 September 2000 Derby County H 4–1 26,534 Joachim 28, 87, Merson 37', Wright 54'
14 October 2000 Arsenal A 0–1 38,042
22 October 2000 Sunderland H 0–0 27,215
28 October 2000 Charlton Athletic H 2–1 27,461 Taylor 33', Merson 41'
5 November 2000 Everton A 1–0 27,670 Merson 90'
11 November 2000 Tottenham Hotspur H 2–0 33,608 Taylor 22', 57'
18 November 2000 Southampton A 0–2 14,979
25 November 2000 Coventry City A 1–1 21,464 Dublin 8'
2 December 2000 Newcastle United H 1–1 34,255 Dublin 4'
9 December 2000 West Ham United A 1–1 25,888 Hendrie 37'
16 December 2000 Manchester City H 2–2 29,281 Dublin 71', Ginola 86'
23 December 2000 Leeds United A 2–1 39,714 Southgate 43', Boateng 88'
26 December 2000 Manchester United H 0–1 40,889
1 January 2001 Chelsea A 0–1 33,159
13 January 2001 Liverpool H 0–3 41,366
20 January 2001 Manchester United A 0–2 67,533
24 January 2001 Leeds United H 1–2 29,335 Merson 24'
3 February 2001 Bradford City A 3–0 19,591 Vassell 50', 58', Joachim 87'
10 February 2001 Middlesbrough H 1–1 28,912 Stone 38'
24 February 2001 Derby County A 0–1 27,289
5 March 2001 Sunderland A 1–1 47,196 Joachim 52'
10 March 2001 Ipswich Town H 2–1 28,216 Joachim 53', 71'
18 March 2001 Arsenal H 0–0 36,111
31 March 2001 Manchester City A 3–1 34,247 Merson 14', Dublin 45', Hendrie 65'
4 April 2001 Leicester City H 2–1 29,043 Dublin 30', Hendrie 72'
7 April 2001 West Ham United H 2–2 31,432 Ginola 71', Hendrie 78'
14 April 2001 Everton H 2–1 31,272 Dublin 2', Taylor 81'
17 April 2001 Charlton Athletic A 3–3 20,043 Ginola 59', Vassell 75', Hendrie 90'
21 April 2001 Southampton H 0–0 29,336
28 April 2001 Tottenham Hotspur A 0–0 36,096
5 May 2001 Coventry City H 3–2 39,761 Vassell 61', Ángel 81', Merson 86'
19 May 2001 Newcastle United A 0–3 51,506

FA Cup

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 7 January 2001 Newcastle United A 1–1 37,682 Stone 54'
R3R 17 January 2001 Newcastle United H 1–0 25,387 Vassell 50'
R4 27 January 2001 Leicester City H 1–2 26,283 Joachim 76'

League Cup

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 1 November 2000 Manchester City H 0–1 24,138

Intertoto Cup

Round Date Opponent Venue Result Attendance Goalscorers
R3 1st Leg 16 July 2000 FK Marila Příbram Czech Republic A 0–0 7,852
R3 2nd Leg 22 July 2000 FK Marila Příbram Czech Republic H 3–1 (won 3–1 on agg) 8,200 Dublin 8', Taylor 56', Nilis 62'
SF 1st Leg 26 July 2000 Celta de Vigo Spain A 0–1 14,000
SF 2nd Leg 2 August 2000 Celta de Vigo Spain H 1–2 (lost 1–3 on agg) 11,909 Barry (pen) 45'

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season[5][6]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
1 GK England ENG David James
2 DF Wales WAL Mark Delaney
3 DF England ENG Alan Wright
4 DF England ENG Gareth Southgate (captain)
6 MF Netherlands NED George Boateng[notes 1]
7 MF England ENG Ian Taylor
8 FW Colombia COL Juan Pablo Ángel
9 FW England ENG Dion Dublin
10 MF England ENG Paul Merson
11 DF Republic of Ireland IRL Steve Staunton
12 FW England ENG Julian Joachim
No. Pos. Nation Player
14 MF France FRA David Ginola
15 DF England ENG Gareth Barry
16 DF Turkey TUR Alpay Özalan
17 MF England ENG Lee Hendrie
18 MF England ENG Steve Stone
19 FW England ENG Richard Walker
21 MF Germany GER Thomas Hitzlsperger
22 FW England ENG Darius Vassell
24 MF Republic of Ireland IRL John McGrath
29 MF England ENG Stephen Cooke
31 DF England ENG Jlloyd Samuel[notes 2]

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
5 DF England ENG Ugo Ehiogu (to Middlesbrough)
11 MF England ENG Alan Thompson (to Celtic)
19 FW England ENG Richard Walker (on loan to Blackpool)
20 FW Belgium BEL Luc Nilis (retired)
23 DF Israel ISR Najwan Ghrayib (to Hapoel Haifa)
No. Pos. Nation Player
25 FW Belgium BEL Gilles De Bilde (to Sheffield Wednesday)
32 DF England ENG Aaron Lescott (to Sheffield Wednesday)
35 FW Scotland SCO Neil Tarrant[notes 3] (on loan to York City)
40 GK England ENG Matthew Ghent (to Lincoln City)

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
27 MF England ENG Michael Standing
28 MF Northern Ireland NIR Gavin Melaugh
35 FW Scotland SCO Neil Tarrant
39 GK Finland FIN Peter Enckelman
GK England ENG Neil Cutler
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Sweden SWE David Curtolo
MF Norway NOR Jone Samuelsen (on trial from Haugesund)
FW England ENG Stephen Evans
FW Finland FIN Ville Harittu (on trial from TPS)

Under-19s

The following players spent most of the season playing for the under-19s, but may have also appeared for the reserves or under-17s.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
30 MF England ENG Jon Bewers
GK England ENG Boaz Myhill[notes 4]
DF England ENG Rob Edwards[notes 5]
DF England ENG Liam Folds
DF England ENG Danny Haynes
DF England ENG Leon Hylton
DF England ENG Danny Jackman
DF England ENG Ben Willets
DF Republic of Ireland IRL Seán Dillon
MF England ENG David Berks
MF England ENG Alexis Nicolas[notes 6]
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF England ENG Jay Smith
MF Republic of Ireland IRL Keith Fahey
MF Australia AUS Andrew Packer (on trial)
FW England ENG Mark DeBolla
FW England ENG David Goldsmith
FW England ENG Stefan Moore
FW Netherlands NED Maiko Alberink (on trial from SV Zwolle)
FW Finland FIN Jan Lomski (on trial)
MF   John Malpass
  Adam A. Smith

Under-17s

The following players spent most of the season playing for the under-17s, but may have also appeared for the reserves or under-19s.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK Republic of Ireland IRL Wayne Henderson
DF England ENG Ryan Amoo
DF England ENG David Andrewartha
DF England ENG Stuart Bridges
DF England ENG Scott Cormell
DF England ENG Liam Ridgewell
DF England ENG Cameron Stuart[notes 7]
DF England ENG James O'Connor
DF England ENG Andy Wells
DF England ENG Oliver Williams
DF Republic of Ireland IRL Pierre Ennis
DF Sweden SWE Fredrik Stoor (on trial from Hammarby IF)
DF Norway NOR Trond Erik Bertelsen (on trial from Haugesund)
MF England ENG James Beaumont (on trial)
MF England ENG James Pawley
MF England ENG Joshua Walker (on trial from Manchester United)
MF England ENG Peter Whittingham
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF Sweden SWE Nadir Benchenaa (on trial from Hammarby IF)
MF Sweden SWE Acke Steen (on trial from Öster)
FW England ENG Mark Atkinson
FW England ENG Michael Husbands
FW England ENG Lee McGuire
FW England ENG Luke Moore
FW Republic of Ireland IRL Peter Hynes
MF   Adam Baptist
MF   Jamie Cunnington
MF   David Nolan
  Colin Doyle (on trial)
  Michael Johnson (on trial)
  Robert Jones (on trial)
  Danny Meade
  Robert Milner (on trial)
  Ryan Poole

Other players

The following players were signed to the club on unknown contractual terms, and did not appear for any team this season.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
DF Wales WAL Stuart Thornley (to Flexsys Cefn Druids)
MF England ENG Lloyd Dyer
MF England ENG Duncan McArthur (on trial from Hastings United)
MF Brazil BRA Fernando Pelado (on trial from Treviso)
No. Pos. Nation Player
FW Honduras HON Milton Núñez (on trial from Sunderland)
DF   Wesley Meacham (to Bromsgrove Rovers)
  Stuart Lewis

Statistics

Starting 11

Considering starts in all competitions[7]
No.
Pos.
Nat.
Name
MS Notes
1 GK England David James 46
3 RB England Alan Wright 43
16 CB Turkey Alpay Özalan 36
4 CB England Gareth Southgate 36
15 LB England Gareth Barry 36
26 RM England Steve Stone 41
7 CM England Ian Taylor 31
6 CM Netherlands George Boateng 37
10 LM England Paul Merson 45
12 CF England Julian Joachim 13 Lee Hendrie has 29 starts
9 CF England Dion Dublin 35

Notes

  1. ^ Boateng was born in Nkawkaw, Ghana, but also qualified to represent the Netherlands internationally and represented them at U-21 level before making his international debut for the Netherlands in November 2001.
  2. ^ Samuel was born in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, but also qualified to represent England internationally and would represent them at U-21 level and be called up to senior team before switching his international allegiance to Trinidad and Tobago and making his international debut for Trinidad and Tobago in September 2009.
  3. ^ Tarrant was born in Darlington, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and represented them at U-21 level.
  4. ^ Myhill was born in Modesto, California, United States, but was raised in England from the age of 1, qualifying to represent any of the home nations. He represented England at U-17, U-18, and U-20 level before making his international debut for Wales in March 2008.
  5. ^ Edwards was born in Madeley, England, and represented them at U-16 level, but also qualified to represent Wales internationally through his parents and would make his international debut for Wales in March 2003.
  6. ^ Nicolas was born in Westminster, England, but also qualified to represent Cyprus internationally and represented them at U-21 level.
  7. ^ Stuart was born in York, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and represented them at U-18 level.

References

  1. ^ "Villa to complete Angel deal". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 12 January 2001. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  2. ^ "Nilis injury mars Villa win at Ipswich". BBC Sport. 9 September 2000. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  3. ^ Peter O'Rourke. "Nilis making good progress". Sky Sports. Retrieved 5 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Aston Villa 2000-2001 Results - statto.com". Archived from the original on 23 March 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2012.
  5. ^ "FootballSquads - Aston Villa - 2000/01".
  6. ^ "Aston Villa Player Database".
  7. ^ "All Aston Villa players: 2001".