The 2000–01 English football season was Aston Villa's 9th season in the Premier League and their 13th consecutive season in the top division of English football. 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 Premier League 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).
Premier League
Source:
Premier LeagueRules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.
Notes:
- 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
| Match | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 |
|---|
| Ground | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | H | H | A | H | A | H | A |
|---|
| Result | D | D | L | W | W | D | W | L | D | W | W | W | L | D | D | D | D | W | L | L | L | L | L | W | D | L | D | W | D | W | W | D | W | D | D | D | W | L |
|---|
| Position | 10 | 17 | 19 | 13 | 7 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
|---|
Win
Draw
Loss
Fixtures
League Cup
| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
|---|
| R3 | 1 November 2000 | Manchester City | H | 0–1 | 24,138 | |
Players
First-team squad
| # |
Name |
Position |
Nationality |
Place of birth |
Date of birth (age) |
Signed from |
Date signed |
Fee |
Apps |
Gls |
|---|
| Goalkeepers |
| 1 | David James | GK |  | Welwyn Garden City | (1970-08-01)1 August 1970 (aged 29) | Liverpool | 17 June 1999 | £1,700,000 | 39 | 0 |
| 13 | Neil Cutler | GK | | Perton | (1976-09-03)3 September 1976 (aged 23) | Chester City | 30 November 1999 | Free transfer | 1 | 0 |
| 39 | Peter Enckelman | GK |  | Turku | (1977-03-10)10 March 1977 (aged 23) | TPS | 1 February 1999 | £200,000 | 14 | 0 |
| 40 | Matthew Ghent | GK | | Burton upon Trent | (1980-09-05)5 September 1980 (aged 19) | Academy | 1 July 1997 | —N/a | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders |
| 2 | Mark Delaney | RB |  | Haverfordwest | (1976-05-13)13 May 1976 (aged 24) | Cardiff City | 9 March 1999 | £250,000 | 38 | 1 |
| 3 | Alan Wright | LB | | 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 | | Watford | (1970-09-03)3 September 1970 (aged 29) | Crystal Palace | 1 July 1995 | £3,500,000 | 207 | 7 |
| 5 | Ugo Ehiogu | CB | | Hackney | (1972-11-03)3 November 1972 (aged 27) | West Bromwich Albion | 12 July 1991 | £40,000 | 299 | 15 |
| 11* | Steve Staunton | LB |  | Dundalk | (1969-01-19)19 January 1969 (aged 31) | Liverpool | 6 December 2000 | Free transfer | 264 | 17 |
| 15 | Gareth Barry | LB | | Hastings | (1981-02-23)23 February 1981 (aged 19) | Academy | 1 January 1998 | —N/a | 83 | 3 |
| 16 | Alpay Özalan | CB |  | İzmir | (1973-05-30)30 May 1973 (aged 27) | Fenerbahçe | 28 July 2000 | £5,600,000 | - | - |
| 23 | Najwan Ghrayib | LB |  | Nazareth | (1974-01-30)30 January 1974 (aged 26) | Hapoel Haifa | 20 July 1999 | £1,000,000 | 6 | 0 |
| 30 | Jon Bewers | RB | | Kettering | (1982-09-10)10 September 1982 (aged 17) | Academy | 1 July 1999 | —N/a | 1 | 0 |
| 31 | Jlloyd Samuel | LB |  | San Fernando | (1981-03-29)29 March 1981 (aged 19) | Academy | 1 January 1999 | —N/a | 10 | 0 |
| 32 | Aaron Lescott | CB | | Birmingham | (1978-12-02)2 December 1978 (aged 20) | Academy | 1 July 1998 | —N/a | 1 | 0 |
| Midfielders |
| 6 | George Boateng | CM |  |  Nkawkaw | (1975-09-05)5 September 1975 (aged 24) | Coventry City | 20 July 1999 | £4,500,000 | 45 | 3 |
| 7 | Ian Taylor | CM | | Birmingham | (1968-06-04)4 June 1968 (aged 32) | Sheffield Wednesday | 21 December 1994 | £1,000,000 | 220 | 32 |
| 10 | Paul Merson | AM | | Harlesden | (1968-03-20)20 March 1968 (aged 32) | Middlesbrough | 8 September 1998 | £6,750,000 | 72 | 10 |
| 11 | Alan Thompson | LM | | 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 |  | Gassin | (1967-01-25)25 January 1967 (aged 33) | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 July 2000 | £3,000,000 | - | - |
| 17 | Lee Hendrie | RM | | Solihull | (1977-05-18)18 May 1977 (aged 23) | Academy | 1 July 1995 | —N/a | 109 | 10 |
| 18 | Steve Stone | RM | | Gateshead | (1971-08-20)20 August 1971 (aged 28) | Nottingham Forest | 11 March 1999 | £5,500,000 | 46 | 3 |
| 21 | Thomas Hitzlsperger | LM |  | Munich | (1982-04-05)5 April 1982 (aged 18) | Bayern Munich | 5 August 2000 | Free transfer | - | - |
| 24 | John McGrath | CM | | Limerick | (1980-03-27)27 March 1980 (aged 20) | Academy | 1 July 1999 | —N/a | 0 | 0 |
| 27 | Michael Standing | AM | | Shoreham-by-Sea | (1981-03-20)20 March 1981 (aged 19) | Academy | 1 July 1998 | —N/a | 0 | 0 |
| 28 | Gavin Melaugh | CM |  | Derry | (1981-07-09)9 July 1981 (aged 18) | Academy | 1 July 2000 | —N/a | - | - |
| 29 | Stephen Cooke | CM | | Walsall | (1983-02-15)15 February 1983 (aged 17) | Academy | 1 July 2000 | —N/a | - | - |
| Forwards |
| 8 | Juan Pablo Ángel | CF |  | Medellín | (1975-10-24)24 October 1975 (aged 24) |  River Plate | 13 January 2001 | £9,500,000 | - | - |
| 9 | Dion Dublin | CF | | Leicester | (1969-04-22)22 April 1969 (aged 31) | Coventry City | 5 November 1998 | £5,750,000 | 57 | 26 |
| 12 | Julian Joachim | CF | | Peterborough | (1974-09-20)20 September 1974 (aged 25) | Leicester City | 24 February 1996 | £1,890,000 | 146 | 36 |
| 19 | Richard Walker | CF | | Bloxwich | (1977-11-08)8 November 1977 (aged 22) | Academy | 1 July 1997 | —N/a | 8 | 2 |
| 20 | Luc Nilis | CF |  | Hasselt | (1967-05-25)25 May 1967 (aged 33) | PSV Eindhoven | 1 July 2000 | Free transfer | - | - |
| 22 | Darius Vassell | CF | | Birmingham | (1980-06-13)13 June 1980 (aged 20) | Academy | 1 January 1998 | —N/a | 28 | 2 |
| 25 | Gilles De Bilde | CF | | Zellik | (1971-06-09)9 June 1971 (aged 29) | Sheffield Wednesday | 3 January 2001 | Loan | - | - |
| 35 | Neil Tarrant | CF |  | Darlington | (1979-06-24)24 June 1979 (aged 21) | 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.
- Squad at end of season[2][3]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Left club during season
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Reserve squad
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
Statistics
Starting 11
- Considering starts in all competitions[4]
Transfers
Transferred out
| Date |
Pos |
Player |
To |
Fee |
|
|
|
|
|
| 1 July 2000 | CF |  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 |  Benito Carbone | Bradford City | Free transfer |
| 1 September 2000 | LM | Alan Thompson | 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 | Luc Nilis | Retired | —N/a |
| 26 January 2001 | CF | Mark DeBolla | Charlton Athletic | Free transfer |
| 13 February 2001 | LB | Najwan Ghrayib | Hapoel Haifa | £150,000 |
|
|
|
|
£14,750,000 |
Overall transfer activity
Expenditure
 £18,100,000
|
Income
 £14,750,000
|
Balance
£3,350,000
|
Notes
- 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.
- 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.
- Tarrant was born in Darlington, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and represented them at U-21 level.
- 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.
- 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.
- Nicolas was born in Westminster, England, but also qualified to represent Cyprus internationally and represented them at U-21 level.
- Stuart was born in York, England, but also qualified to represent Scotland internationally and represented them at U-18 level.
