2004–05 Aston Villa F.C. season

Main article: History of Aston Villa F.C. (1961–present)

The 2004–05 season in English football was Aston Villa F.C.'s 13th consecutive season in the FA Premier League, and their second season under the management of David O'Leary.

Aston Villa

2004–05 season
Chairman	Doug Ellis
Manager	David O'Leary
FA Premier League	10th
FA Cup	Third round
League Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Nolberto Solano (8) All: Nolberto Solano Juan Pablo Ángel (9)
Home colours Away colours
← 2003–04 2005–06 →

Second City Derby

46--36--28

← 2003–04 2005–06 →

Villa went into the season with high hopes after finishing sixth during the 2003–04 FA Premier League season, despite an inconsistent start Villa soon begun to string wins together and threaten the top six but in the run up to Christmas Villas form dropped alarmingly and they fell away quickly, occasional wins put any relegation worry's astray as they underachieved and eventually secured a tenth-place finish.

There were debuts for Steven Davis (91), Martin Laursen (84), Carlton Cole (27), Mathieu Berson (11), and Eric Djemba-Djemba (11).^[1]

Kit

Kit Supplier	Sponsor
Hummel	DWS Investments

Transfers

Transferred in

Date	Pos	Player	From	Fee
21 May 2004	CB	Martin Laursen	Milan	£3,000,000
6 August 2004	CM	Mathieu Berson	Nantes	£1,600,000
31 January 2005	DM	Eric Djemba-Djemba	Manchester United	£1,350,000
				£5,950,000

Loaned in

Date	Pos	Player	From	Loan End
11 July 2004	CF	Václav Drobný	Strasbourg	31 May 2005

Transferred out

Date	Pos	Player	To	Fee
1 July 2004	CF	Dion Dublin	Leicester City	Free transfer
1 July 2004	AM	Hassan Kachloul	-	Released
9 July 2004	CF	Peter Crouch	Southampton	£2,000,000
20 July 2004	LB	Rob Edwards	Wolverhampton Wanderers	£150,000
27 August 2004	CF	Marcus Allbäck	Hansa Rostock	Free transfer
16 September 2004	CB	Ronny Johnsen	Newcastle United	Free transfer
				£2,150,000

Loaned out

Date	Pos	Player	To	Loan End
3 August 2004	CF	Stefan Moore	Millwall	3 October 2004
10 August 2004	GK	Wayne Henderson	Notts County	15 October 2004
9 November 2004	CB	Gary Cahill	Burnley	9 November 2004
2 December 2004	GK	Wayne Henderson	Notts County	26 January 2005
9 December 2004	CM	Stephen Cooke	Wycombe Wanderers	9 January 2005
14 February 2005	RM	Peter Whittingham	Burnley	16 March 2005
11 March 2005	CF	Stefan Moore	Leicester City	31 May 2005

Overall transfer activity

Expenditure £5,950,000

Income £2,150,000

Balance £3,800,000

Final league table

Main article: 2004–05 FA Premier League

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
8	Manchester City	38	13	13	12	47	39	+8	52
9	Tottenham Hotspur	38	14	10	14	47	41	+6	52
10	Aston Villa	38	12	11	15	45	52	−7	47
11	Charlton Athletic	38	12	10	16	42	58	−16	46
12	Birmingham City	38	11	12	15	40	46	−6	45

Source: ^[2]
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) goal difference; 3) number of goals scored.

Results

Premier League

^[3]

Aston Villa v Southampton

14 August 2004 1	Aston Villa	2–0	Southampton	Birmingham
	Vassell 12' Cole 34'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 36,690

West Bromwich Albion v Aston Villa

22 August 2004 2	West Bromwich Albion	1–1	Aston Villa	West Bromwich
	Clement 38'		Mellberg 4'	Stadium: The Hawthorns Attendance: 26,485

Charlton Athletic v Aston Villa

25 August 2004 3	Charlton Athletic	3–0	Aston Villa	London
	Jeffers 29', 34' Young 39'			Stadium: The Valley Attendance: 26,161

Aston Villa v Newcastle United

28 August 2004 4	Aston Villa	4–2	Newcastle United	Birmingham
	Mellberg 4' Cole 53' Barry 71' Ángel 82'		Kluivert 28' O'Brien 36'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 36,305

Aston Villa v Chelsea

11 September 2004 5	Aston Villa	0–0	Chelsea	Birmingham
				Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 36,691

Norwich City v Aston Villa

18 September 2004 6	Norwich City	0–0	Aston Villa	Norwich
				Stadium: Carrow Road Attendance: 23,805

Aston Villa v Crystal Palace

25 September 2004 7	Aston Villa	1–1	Crystal Palace	Birmingham
	Hendrie 36'		Johnson 6'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 34,843

Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa

2 October 2004 8	Blackburn Rovers	2–2	Aston Villa	Blackburn
	Ferguson 29' Emerton 63'		Ángel 25' Mellberg 80'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 20,502

Arsenal v Aston Villa

16 October 2004 9	Arsenal	3–1	Aston Villa	London
	Pires 19' (pen.), 71' Henry 45+1'		Hendrie 3'	Stadium: Highbury Attendance: 38,137

Aston Villa v Fulham

23 October 2004 10	Aston Villa	2–0	Fulham	Birmingham
	Solano 29' Hendrie 75'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 34,460

Everton v Aston Villa

30 October 2004 11	Everton	1–1	Aston Villa	Liverpool
	Bent 32'		Hendrie 26'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 37,816

Aston Villa v Portsmouth

6 November 2004 12	Aston Villa	3–0	Portsmouth	Birmingham
	Whittingham 18' Ángel 25' Solano 40'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 32,633

Bolton Wanderers v Aston Villa

13 November 2004 13	Bolton Wanderers	1–2	Aston Villa	Bolton
	Diouf 21'		McCann 41' Hitzlsperger 88'	Stadium: Reebok Stadium Attendance: 25,779

Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur

22 November 2004 14	Aston Villa	1–0	Tottenham Hotspur	Birmingham
	Solano 57'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 35,702

Manchester City v Aston Villa

27 November 2004 15	Manchester City	2–0	Aston Villa	Manchester
	Macken 29' Wright-Phillips 37'		Hendrie  90+1'	Stadium: City of Manchester Stadium Attendance: 45,805

Aston Villa v Liverpool

4 December 2004 16	Aston Villa	1–1	Liverpool	Birmingham
	Solano 44'		Kewell 16'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 42,593

Aston Villa v Birmingham City

12 December 2004 17	Aston Villa	1–2	Birmingham City	Birmingham
	Barry 90+2'		Morrison 9' Dunn 18'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 41,329

Middlesbrough v Aston Villa

18 December 2004 18	Middlesbrough	3–0	Aston Villa	Middlesbrough
	Hasselbaink 20' Job 69' Reiziger 88'			Stadium: Riverside Stadium Attendance: 31,338

Chelsea v Aston Villa

26 December 2004 19	Chelsea	1–0	Aston Villa	London
	Duff 30'			Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 41,988

Aston Villa v Manchester United

28 December 2004 20	Aston Villa	0–1	Manchester United	Birmingham
			Giggs 41'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 42,593

Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers

1 January 2005 21	Aston Villa	1–0	Blackburn Rovers	Birmingham
	Solano 88'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 34,265

Crystal Palace v Aston Villa

3 January 2005 22	Crystal Palace	2–0	Aston Villa	London
	Johnson 33', 65' (pen.)			Stadium: Selhurst Park Attendance: 24,140

Aston Villa v Norwich City

15 January 2005 23	Aston Villa	3–0	Norwich City	Birmingham
	Ridgewell 9' Hendrie 27' Solano 76'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 34,265

Manchester United v Aston Villa

22 January 2005 24	Manchester United	3–1	Aston Villa	Manchester
	Ronaldo 8' Saha 69' Scholes 70'		Barry 53'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 67,859

Fulham v Aston Villa

2 February 2005 25	Fulham	1–1	Aston Villa	London
	Clark 90+4'		Ángel 54'	Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 17,624

Aston Villa v Arsenal

5 February 2005 26	Aston Villa	1–3	Arsenal	Birmingham
	Ángel 73'		Ljungberg 10' Henry 14' Cole 28'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 42,593

Portsmouth v Aston Villa

12 February 2005 27	Portsmouth	1–2	Aston Villa	Portsmouth
	Yakubu 23' (pen.)		de Zeeuw 17' (o.g.) Hitzlsperger 73'	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 20,160

Aston Villa v Everton

26 February 2005 28	Aston Villa	1–3	Everton	Birmingham
	Solano 46'		Osman 17', 67' Cahill 48'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 40,248

Aston Villa v Middlesbrough

5 March 2005 29	Aston Villa	2–0	Middlesbrough	Birmingham
	Laursen 64' Moore 79'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 34,201

Birmingham City v Aston Villa

20 March 2005 30	Birmingham City	2–0	Aston Villa	Birmingham
	Heskey 52' Gray 89'			Stadium: St Andrews Attendance: 29,382

Newcastle United v Aston Villa

2 April 2005 31	Newcastle United	0–3	Aston Villa	Newcastle upon Tyne
	Taylor  73' Dyer  81' Bowyer  82'		Ángel 4' Barry 73' (pen.), 80' (pen.)	Stadium: St James' Park Attendance: 52,306

Aston Villa v West Bromwich Albion

10 April 2005 32	Aston Villa	1–1	West Bromwich Albion	Birmingham
	Vassell 27' Ridgewell  61'		Greening  61' Robinson 90+3'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 39,402

Southampton v Aston Villa

16 April 2005 33	Southampton	2–3	Aston Villa	Southampton
	Phillips 4' Crouch 13'		Cole 55' Solano 70' Davis 72'	Stadium: St Mary's Attendance: 31,926

Aston Villa v Charlton Athletic

20 April 2005 34	Aston Villa	0–0	Charlton Athletic	Birmingham
				Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 31,312

Aston Villa v Bolton Wanderers

23 April 2005 35	Aston Villa	1–1	Bolton Wanderers	Birmingham
	Hierro 26' (o.g.)		Speed 53'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 36,053

Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa

1 May 2005 36	Tottenham Hotspur	5–1	Aston Villa	London
	Kanouté 6', 27' King 19' Reid 67' Kelly 90'		Barry 45' (pen.)	Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 36,101

Aston Villa v Manchester City

7 May 2005 37	Aston Villa	1–2	Manchester City	Birmingham
	Ángel 61'		Wright-Phillips 5' Musampa 12'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 39,645

Liverpool v Aston Villa

15 May 2005 38	Liverpool	2–1	Aston Villa	Liverpool
	Cissé 20' (pen.), 27'		Barry 67'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 43,406

FA Cup

Main article: 2004–05 FA Cup

Sheffield United v Aston Villa

8 January 2005 Round 3	Sheffield United	3–1	Aston Villa	Sheffield
	Cullip 55' Liddell 82', 83'		Barry 47'	Stadium: Bramall Lane Attendance: 14,003

League Cup

Main article: 2004–05 Football League Cup

Aston Villa v Queens Park Rangers

22 September 2004 Round 2	Aston Villa	3–1	Queens Park Rangers	Birmingham
	Vassell 29' Ángel 38' Solano 78'		McLeod 48'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 26,975

Burnley v Aston Villa

26 October 2004 Round 3	Burnley	3–1	Aston Villa	Burnley
	Branch 9' Camara 65' Valois 86'		Ángel 81'	Stadium: Turf Moor Attendance: 11,184

Players

First-team squad

Squad at end of season^[4]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  DEN Thomas Sørensen 2 DF  WAL Mark Delaney 3 DF  ENG Jlloyd Samuel[notes 1] 4 DF  SWE Olof Mellberg (captain) 5 DF  DEN Martin Laursen 6 MF  ENG Gareth Barry 7 MF  ENG Lee Hendrie 8 MF  ENG Gavin McCann 9 FW  COL Juan Pablo Ángel 10 MF  ENG Darius Vassell 11 MF  PER Nolberto Solano

No. Pos. Nation Player 12 MF  GER Thomas Hitzlsperger 13 GK  NED Stefan Postma 14 MF  CMR Eric Djemba-Djemba 15 DF  ECU Ulises de la Cruz 16 MF  FRA Mathieu Berson 17 MF  ENG Peter Whittingham 18 FW  ENG Carlton Cole (on loan from Chelsea) 19 DF  ENG Liam Ridgewell 22 FW  ENG Luke Moore 24 MF  NIR Steven Davis 26 FW  ENG Stefan Moore

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.

No. Pos. Nation Player 14 FW  SWE Marcus Allbäck (to Hansa Rostock)

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  NOR Ronny Johnsen (to Newcastle United)

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.

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 DF  CZE Václav Drobný (on loan from Strasbourg) 25 GK  IRL Wayne Henderson 30 FW  ENG Gabriel Agbonlahor — DF  ENG Stuart Bridges — DF  ENG Gary Cahill — DF  ENG James O'Connor

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  IRL Kevin Mulcahy — MF  ENG Stephen Cooke — MF  ENG Kyle Nix[notes 2] — MF  IRL Stephen Foley-Sheridan — FW  NIR Jamie Ward[notes 3] — FW  FIN Mika Ääritalo

Youth 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.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  IRL Stephen Henderson — GK  AUT Bobby Olejnik — GK  FIN Jon Masalin — DF  ENG Ashley Edkins — DF  ENG Paul Green — DF  ENG Michael Tuohy — DF  IRL Stephen O'Halloran — DF  DEN Magnus Troest — MF  ENG Morgan Evans — MF  ENG Phil Green — MF  ENG Jonathan Hogg — MF  ENG Isaiah Osbourne — MF  IRL John Paul Kelly (on trial)

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  BEL Christian Tshimanga Kabeya[notes 4] — FW  ENG Sam Baldock (on trial from Milton Keynes Dons) — FW  ENG Scott Bridges — FW  ENG Shane Paul — FW  ENG Sam Williams — FW  NIR Adam McGurk — FW  CIV Amadou Kouman — DF   Seyi Morgan — DF   Matt Saunders — MF   Rowan Caney —   Ashley Carew —   Andrew Malpass

Other players

The following players did not play for any Aston Villa 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.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  IRL David Bevan — GK  IRL Lee Boyle — DF  ENG Jordan Collins — DF  ENG Lee Grant (on loan to York City)

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  AUS Shane Lowry[notes 5] — MF  ENG Nathan Jackson — MF  ENG Dan McDonald — MF  AUS Chris Herd

Statistics

Appearances and goals

As of end of season^[5]

No.	Pos	Nat	Player	Total		Premiership		FA Cup		League Cup
				Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Goalkeepers
1	GK	DEN	Thomas Sørensen	39	0	36	0	1	0	2	0
13	GK	NED	Stefan Postma	3	0	2+1	0	0	0	0	0
Defenders
2	DF	WAL	Mark Delaney	32	0	30	0	1	0	1	0
3	DF	TRI	Jlloyd Samuel	38	0	34+1	0	1	0	2	0
4	DF	SWE	Olof Mellberg	33	3	30	3	1	0	2	0
5	DF	DEN	Martin Laursen	12	1	12	1	0	0	0	0
15	DF	ECU	Ulises de la Cruz	35	0	30+4	0	0	0	1	0
19	DF	ENG	Liam Ridgewell	17	0	12+3	0	1	0	1	0
Midfielders
6	MF	ENG	Gareth Barry	36	8	33+1	7	1	1	1	0
7	MF	ENG	Lee Hendrie	32	5	25+4	5	1	0	2	0
8	MF	ENG	Gavin McCann	23	1	20	1	1	0	2	0
11	MF	PER	Nolberto Solano	39	9	32+4	8	1	0	2	1
12	MF	GER	Thomas Hitzlsperger	30	2	17+11	2	0	0	0+2	0
14	MF	CMR	Eric Djemba-Djemba	6	0	4+2	0	0	0	0	0
16	MF	FRA	Mathieu Berson	13	0	7+4	0	0+1	0	0+1	0
17	MF	ENG	Peter Whittingham	15	1	5+8	1	0	0	2	0
24	MF	NIR	Steven Davis	29	1	19+9	1	0+1	0	0	0
Forwards
9	FW	COL	Juan Pablo Ángel	38	9	30+5	7	1	0	2	2
10	FW	ENG	Darius Vassell	22	3	17+4	2	0	0	1	1
18	FW	ENG	Carlton Cole	30	3	18+9	3	1	0	1+1	0
22	FW	ENG	Luke Moore	27	1	5+20	1	0+1	0	0+1	0
26	FW	ENG	Stefan Moore	1	0	0+1	0	0	0	0	0

Last updated: 31 June 2005
Source: Competitions

Starting 11

No.	Pos.	Nat.	Name	MS	Notes
1	GK		Thomas Sorensen	39
2	RB		Mark Delaney	32
4	CB		Olof Mellberg	33
3	CB		Jlloyd Samuel	37
15	LB		Ulises de la Cruz	31
11	RM		Nolberto Solano	35
7	CM		Lee Hendrie	28
8	CM		Gavin McCann	23
6	LM		Gareth Barry	35
9	CF		Juan Pablo Angel	33
18	CF		Carlton Cole	20

Pre-season

Date	Opponents	Home/ Away	Result F – A	Scorers	Competition
21 July 2005	Kungshamns IF	A	6 – 0		Friendly
22 July 2004	Kungsbacka BI	A	7 – 2		Friendly
24 July 2004	Jonkopings Sodra	A	3 – 0		Friendly
27 July 2004	Orgryte	A	0 – 0		Friendly
30 July 2004	Walsall	A	1 – 2		Friendly
31 July 2004	Tamworth	A	3 – 0		Friendly
3 August 2004	Derby	A	1 – 2		Friendly
7 August 2004	AZ Alkmaar	A	1 – 0		Friendly