# 1991–92 Aston Villa F.C. season

During the 1991–92 English football season, Aston Villa competed in the Football League First Division. Ron Atkinson took charge of the team taking over from Josef Venglos.
Aston Villa improved on the previous season's poor 17th-place finish to finish 7th, under new manager Ron Atkinson. This came despite an horrendous run of form from New Year's Day, which saw them win just one game and score only two goals in twelve league matches.
Villa's new manager made many new signings in the months following his June 1991 arrival at Villa Park, including new goalkeeper Les Sealey, teenage defender Ugo Ehiogu, striker Dalian Atkinson and mid-season signing Earl Barrett. Other debuts included Steve Staunton, Shaun Teale, Paul Mortimer, Kevin Richardson, Cyrille Regis, Dariusz Kubicki, Bryan Small, Alan McLoughlin, Neil Cox, Stefan Beinlich, Martin Carruthers, Garry Parker, Steve Froggatt, Matthias Breitkreutz and Mark Bosnich.
Top scorer was Trinidadian striker Dwight Yorke, who scored 11 times in the First Division and 17 times in all competitions.

## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 5 | Manchester City | 42 | 20 | 10 | 12 | 61 | 48 | +13 | 70 | |
| 6 | Liverpool | 42 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 47 | 40 | +7 | 64 | Qualification for the European Cup Winners' Cup first round |
| 7 | Aston Villa | 42 | 17 | 9 | 16 | 48 | 44 | +4 | 60 | |
| 8 | Nottingham Forest | 42 | 16 | 11 | 15 | 60 | 58 | +2 | 59 | |
| 9 | Sheffield United | 42 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 65 | 63 | +2 | 57 | |

## Results

Aston Villa's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

### Football League First Division

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 17 August 1991 | Sheffield Wednesday | A | 3–2 | 36,749 | Atkinson 42', Regis 51', Staunton 85' |
| 21 August 1991 | Manchester United | H | 0–1 | 39,995 | |
| 24 August 1991 | Arsenal | H | 3–1 | 29,684 | Staunton (pen) 40', Penrice 53', Daley 76' |
| 28 August 1991 | West Ham United | A | 1–3 | 23,644 | Daley 49' |
| 31 August 1991 | Southampton | A | 1–1 | 16,161 | Richardson 2' |
| 4 September 1991 | Crystal Palace | H | 0–1 | 20,740 | |
| 7 September 1991 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–0 | 33,096 | |
| 14 September 1991 | Liverpool | A | 1–1 | 38,400 | Richardson 25' |
| 18 September 1991 | Chelsea | A | 0–2 | 17,182 | |
| 21 September 1991 | Nottingham Forest | H | 3–1 | 28,506 | Blake 48', Richardson 62', Yorke 63' |
| 28 September 1991 | Coventry City | A | 0–1 | 17,851 | |
| 5 October 1991 | Luton Town | H | 4–0 | 18,722 | Richardson 3', Regis 46', Yorke 59', Mortimer 80' |
| 19 October 1991 | Everton | A | 2–0 | 27,688 | Regis 32', Daley 66' |
| 26 October 1991 | Wimbledon | H | 2–1 | 16,928 | Olney 9', Yorke 29' |
| 2 November 1991 | Queens Park Rangers | A | 1–0 | 10,642 | Yorke 44' |
| 16 November 1991 | Notts County | H | 1–0 | 23,020 | Yorke 29' |
| 24 November 1991 | Leeds United | H | 1–4 | 23,713 | Yorke 67' |
| 30 November 1991 | Oldham Athletic | A | 2–3 | 15,370 | Blake 10', Regis 58' |
| 7 December 1991 | Manchester City | H | 3–1 | 26,265 | Regis 26', Yorke 40', Daley 70' |
| 14 December 1991 | Sheffield United | A | 0–2 | 18,401 | |
| 26 December 1991 | West Ham United | H | 3–1 | 31,959 | Yorke 33', Daley 42', Richardson 90' |
| 28 December 1991 | Southampton | H | 2–1 | 23,094 | Regis 16', Yorke 87' |
| 1 January 1992 | Norwich City | A | 1–2 | 15,318 | Regis 74' |
| 11 January 1992 | Arsenal | A | 0–0 | 31,413 | |
| 18 January 1992 | Sheffield Wednesday | H | 0–1 | 28,036 | |
| 22 January 1992 | Manchester United | A | 0–1 | 45,022 | |
| 2 February 1992 | Everton | H | 0–0 | 17,451 | |
| 8 February 1992 | Wimbledon | A | 0–2 | 5,534 | |
| 22 February 1992 | Oldham Athletic | H | 1–0 | 20,509 | Regis 52' |
| 29 February 1992 | Manchester City | A | 0–2 | 28,268 | |
| 3 March 1992 | Leeds United | A | 0–0 | 28,896 | |
| 10 March 1992 | Notts County | A | 0–0 | 8,389 | |
| 14 March 1992 | Queens Park Rangers | H | 0–1 | 19,630 | |
| 21 March 1992 | Crystal Palace | A | 0–0 | 15,368 | |
| 28 March 1992 | Norwich City | H | 1–0 | 16,985 | Staunton 79' |
| 31 March 1992 | Sheffield United | H | 1–1 | 15,745 | Regis 89' |
| 4 April 1992 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 5–2 | 26,370 | Richardson 20', Olney 31', Yorke 58', Daley 86', Regis 90' |
| 11 April 1992 | Liverpool | H | 1–0 | 35,755 | Daley 65' |
| 18 April 1992 | Nottingham Forest | A | 0–2 | 22,800 | |
| 20 April 1992 | Chelsea | H | 3–1 | 19,269 | Staunton 32', McGrath 64', Parker 89' |
| 25 April 1992 | Luton Town | A | 0–2 | 11,178 | |
| 2 May 1992 | Coventry City | H | 2–0 | 31,984 | Regis 1', Yorke 36' |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 5 January 1992 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 0–0 | 29,316 | |
| R3R | 14 January 1992 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 1–0 | 25,462 | Yorke 11' |
| R4 | 5 February 1992 | Derby County | A | 4–3 | 22,452 | Yorke 8', 19', 40', Parker 23' |
| R5 | 16 February 1992 | Swindon Town | A | 2–1 | 16,402 | Yorke 39', Froggatt 63' |
| QF | 8 March 1992 | Liverpool | A | 0–1 | 29,109 | |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 1st leg | 25 September 1991 | Grimsby Town | A | 0–0 | 13,835 | |
| R2 2nd leg | 9 October 1991 | Grimsby Town | H | 1–1 (lost on away goals) | 15,338 | Teale 70' |

### Full Members Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| SR2 | 23 October 1991 | Coventry City | A | 2–0 | 6,447 | Olney 52', Yorke 62' |
| SQF | 26 November 1991 | Nottingham Forest | H | 0–2 | 7,858 | |

## 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 |
| — | GK | AUS | Mark Bosnich |
| — | GK | ENG | Les Sealey |
| — | GK | ENG | Nigel Spink |
| — | DF | ENG | Earl Barrett |
| — | DF | ENG | Neil Cox |
| — | DF | ENG | Ugo Ehiogu |
| — | DF | POL | Dariusz Kubicki |
| — | DF | IRL | Paul McGrath |
| — | DF | ENG | Chris Price |
| — | DF | ENG | Bryan Small |
| — | DF | IRL | Steve Staunton |
| — | MF | GER | Stefan Beinlich |
| — | MF | ENG | Trevor Berry |
| — | MF | ENG | Mark Blake |
| — | MF | GER | Matthias Breitkreutz |
| — | MF | ENG | Tony Daley |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | David Farrell |
| — | MF | IRL | Gareth Farrelly |
| — | MF | ENG | Steve Froggatt |
| — | MF | IRL | Ray Houghton |
| — | MF | IRL | Alan McLoughlin |
| — | MF | ENG | Garry Parker |
| — | MF | ENG | Kevin Richardson (captain) |
| — | MF | ENG | Shaun Teale |
| — | FW | ENG | Dalian Atkinson |
| — | FW | ENG | Martin Carruthers |
| — | FW | ENG | Neil Davis |
| — | FW | ENG | Graham Fenton |
| — | FW | ENG | Ian Olney |
| — | FW | ENG | Cyrille Regis |
| — | FW | TRI | Dwight Yorke |

### 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 |
| — | DF | ENG | Derek Mountfield (to Wolves) |
| — | DF | DEN | Kent Nielsen (to AGF) |
| — | MF | ENG | Gordon Cowans (to Blackburn Rovers) |
| — | MF | ENG | Kevin Gage (to Sheffield United) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Paul Mortimer (to Crystal Palace) |
| — | FW | ENG | Ian Ormondroyd (to Derby County) |
| — | FW | ENG | Gary Penrice (to Queen's Park Rangers) |

## 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 |
| — | GK | ENG | Michael Oakes |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Lee Williams |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | Pos | Name | From | Fee |
| 2 July 1991 | FW | Cyrille Regis | Coventry City | Free transfer |
| 11 July 1991 | FW | Dalian Atkinson | Real Sociedad | £1,600,000 |
| 12 July 1991 | DF | Ugo Ehiogu | West Bromwich Albion | £40,000 |
| 19 July 1991 | GK | Les Sealey | Manchester United | Free transfer |
| 24 July 1991 | MF | Paul Mortimer | Charlton Athletic | £350,000 |
| 25 July 1991 | MF | Shaun Teale | Bournemouth | £300,000 |
| 6 August 1991 | MF | Kevin Richardson | Real Sociedad | £450,000 |
| 7 August 1991 | DF | Steve Staunton | Liverpool | £1,100,000 |
| 28 August 1991 | DF | Dariusz Kubicki | Legia Warsaw | £200,000 |
| 29 November 1991 | MF | Garry Parker | Nottingham Forest | £650,000 |
| 6 January 1992 | MF | David Farrell | Redditch United | £45,000 |
| 25 February 1992 | DF | Earl Barrett | Oldham Athletic | £1,700,000 |
| 28 February 1992 | GK | Mark Bosnich | Manchester United | Free transfer |
| 3 April 1992 | MF | Trevor Berry | Bournemouth | £50,000 |

### Out

| Date | Pos | Name | To | Fee |
| 18 July 1991 | FW | Tony Cascarino | Celtic | £1,100,000 |
| 20 July 1991 | MF | David Platt | Bari | £5,500,000 |
| 22 July 1991 | GK | Lee Butler | Barnsley | £165,000 |
| 1 August 1991 | DF | Craig Liddle | Blyth Spartans | Free transfer |
| 6 August 1991 | MF | Gareth Williams | Barnsley | £200,000 |
| 8 August 1991 | DF | Andy Comyn | Derby County | £200,000 |
| 19 September 1991 | FW | Ian Ormondroyd | Derby County | £350,000 |
| 18 October 1991 | MF | Paul Mortimer | Crystal Palace | £500,000 |
| 29 October 1991 | FW | Gary Penrice | Queens Park Rangers | £625,000 |
| 7 November 1991 | DF | Derek Mountfield | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £150,000 |
| 15 November 1991 | MF | Kevin Gage | Sheffield United | £150,000 |
| 28 November 1991 | MF | Gordon Cowans | Blackburn Rovers | £200,000 |
    Transfers in: £2,290,000
    Transfers out: £9,140,000
    Total spending: £7,150,000