# 1994–95 Aston Villa F.C. season

The 1994-95 season was Aston Villa's 120th professional season, their 84th season in the top flight and their 7th consecutive season in the top tier of English football (the third in the Premier League).
Two seasons earlier, Aston Villa narrowly missed out on the league title. The season after that, they dipped to 10th place in the league but still had success as League Cup winners. But the decline continued into 1994–95 and Ron Atkinson paid with his job in November. Within days, former Villa favourite Brian Little was back at the club. Little managed to keep Villa clear of the drop.
Before the season was over, a new era was already in the making at Villa Park. A number of players now past their best were off-loaded to new clubs; these included Ray Houghton, Garry Parker, Kevin Richardson and Earl Barrett. The close season saw more players from the Atkinson era pass through the Villa Park exit door: Shaun Teale, Dalian Atkinson, Dean Saunders and John Fashanu.
Little brought in younger players like Alan Wright (260), Ian Taylor (233), Mark Draper (120), Gary Charles (107), Savo Milosevic (90), Nii Lamptey (10), and Carl Tiler (12) to give some much-needed strength to a side of fading stars, as well as giving such much-needed hope to fans of a club which had been rescued from the threat of a rapid decline. Defender Tiler was sold to Sheffield United for £500,000 after just 18 months at the club, having played just 12 league games due to injury.

## Kit

| Kit Supplier | Sponsor |
| << Asics >> | Müller* |
*Aston Villa's kits were amended to include "yogurt" under Müller for their matches televised on Sky Sports.

## Transfers
### Transferred in

| Date | Pos | Player | From | Fee |
| 1 August 1994 | LB | Phil King | Sheffield Wednesday | £200,000 |
| 3 August 1994 | AM | Nii Lamptey | PSV Eindhoven | £200,000 |
| 4 August 1994 | CF | John Fashanu | Wimbledon | £1,350,000 |
| 21 December 1994 | CM | Ian Taylor | Sheffield Wednesday | £1,000,000 |
| 6 January 1995 | RB | Gary Charles | Derby County | £1,450,000 |
| 6 January 1995 | CF | Tommy Johnson | Derby County | £1,450,000 |
| 10 February 1995 | CF | Franz Carr | Leicester City | £250,000 |
| 10 March 1995 | LB | Alan Wright | Blackburn Rovers | £1,000,000 |
| | | | | £6,900,000 |

### Loaned in

| Date | Pos | Player | From | Loan End |

### Transferred out

| Date | Pos | Player | To | Fee |
| 6 July 1994 | RW | Tony Daley | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £1,250,000 |
| 1 July 1994 | AM | Stefan Beinlich | Hansa Rostock | £190,000 |
| 1 July 1994 | AM | Matthias Breitkreutz | Hansa Rostock | £190,000 |
| 11 July 1994 | LW | Steve Froggatt | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £1,000,000 |
| 14 July 1994 | RB | Dariusz Kubicki | Sunderland | £100,000 |
| 19 July 1994 | RB | Neil Cox | Middlesbrough | £1,000,000 |
| 21 December 1994 | CF | Guy Whittingham | Sheffield Wednesday | £700,000 |
| 30 January 1995 | RB | Earl Barrett | Everton | £1,700,000 |
| 10 February 1995 | CM | Garry Parker | Leicester City | £300,000 |
| 16 February 1995 | CM | Kevin Richardson | Coventry City | £300,000 |
| 23 March 1995 | CM | Ray Houghton | Crystal Palace | £300,000 |
| 24 March 1995 | CB | Chris Boden | Derby County | £150,000 |
| | | | | £7,180,000 |

### Loaned out

| Date | Pos | Player | To | Loan End |
| 9 September 1994 | LB | Bryan Small | Birmingham City | 9 November 1994 |
| 21 March 1995 | LM | Gareth Farrelly | Rotherham United | 31 May 1995 |

### Overall transfer activity
## Squad
### First Team

| # | Name | Position | Place of birth | Date of birth (Age) | Signed from | Date signed | Fee | Apps | Gls |
| Goalkeepers |||||||||||
| 1 | Nigel Spink | GK | Chelmsford | (1958-08-08)8 August 1958 (aged 35) | Chelmsford City | 4 January 1977 | £4,000 | 432 | 0 |
| 13 | Mark Bosnich | GK | Liverpool | (1972-01-13)13 January 1972 (aged 22) | Sydney Croatia | 28 February 1992 | Free transfer | 60 | 0 |
| 30 | Michael Oakes | GK | Northwich | (1973-10-30)30 October 1973 (aged 20) | Academy | 1 July 1991 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders |||||||||||
| 2 | Earl Barrett | RB | Rochdale | (1967-04-28)28 April 1967 (aged 27) | Oldham Athletic | 25 February 1992 | £1,700,000 | 116 | 2 |
| 2* | Alan Wright | LB | Ashton-under-Lyne | (1971-09-28)28 September 1971 (aged 22) | Blackburn Rovers | 10 March 1995 | £1,000,000 | - | - |
| 3 | Steve Staunton | LB | Dundalk | (1969-01-19)19 January 1969 (aged 25) | Liverpool | 7 August 1991 | £1,100,000 | 126 | 7 |
| 4 | Shaun Teale | CB | Southport | (1964-03-10)10 March 1964 (aged 30) | Bournemouth | 25 July 1991 | £300,000 | 147 | 5 |
| 5 | Paul McGrath | CB | Greenford | (1959-12-04)4 December 1959 (aged 34) | Manchester United | 3 August 1989 | £400,000 | 219 | 8 |
| 15 | Phil King | LB | Bristol | (1967-12-28)28 December 1967 (aged 26) | Sheffield Wednesday | 1 August 1994 | £200,000 | - | - |
| 16 | Ugo Ehiogu | CB | Hackney | (1972-11-03)3 November 1972 (aged 21) | West Bromwich Albion | 12 July 1991 | £40,000 | 33 | 0 |
| 20 | Bryan Small | LB | Birmingham | (1971-11-15)15 November 1971 (aged 22) | Academy | 1 July 1990 | — | 38 | 0 |
| 22* | Gary Charles | RB | Newham | (1970-04-13)13 April 1970 (aged 24) | Derby County | 6 January 1995 | £1,450,000 | - | - |
| 24 | Chris Boden | CB | Wolverhampton | (1973-10-13)13 October 1973 (aged 20) | Academy | 1 January 1992 | — | 0 | 0 |
| Midfielders |||||||||||
| 6 | Kevin Richardson (c) | CM | Newcastle upon Tyne | (1962-12-04)4 December 1962 (aged 31) | Real Sociedad | 6 August 1991 | £450,000 | 155 | 10 |
| 7 | Ray Houghton | RM/CM | Glasgow | (1962-01-09)9 January 1962 (aged 32) | Liverpool | 28 July 1992 | £900,000 | 87 | 9 |
| 11 | Andy Townsend | CM | Maidstone | (1963-07-26)26 July 1963 (aged 30) | Chelsea | 26 July 1993 | £2,100,000 | 47 | 4 |
| 12 | Nii Lamptey | AM | Tema | (1974-12-10)10 December 1974 (aged 19) | PSV Eindhoven | 3 August 1994 | £200,000 | - | - |
| 14 | Garry Parker | CM | Oxford | (1965-09-07)7 September 1965 (aged 28) | Nottingham Forest | 29 November 1991 | £650,000 | 99 | 13 |
| 17 | Ian Taylor | CM | Birmingham | (1968-06-04)4 June 1968 (aged 26) | Sheffield Wednesday | 21 December 1994 | £1,000,000 | - | - |
| 19 | Graham Fenton | AM | Whitley Bay | (1974-05-22)22 May 1974 (aged 20) | Academy | 1 July 1993 | — | 14 | 1 |
| 21 | David Farrell | CM | Birmingham | (1971-11-11)11 November 1971 (aged 22) | Redditch United | 6 January 1992 | £45,000 | 6 | 0 |
| Forwards |||||||||||
| 8 | John Fashanu | CF | Kensington | (1962-09-18)18 September 1962 (aged 31) | Wimbledon | 4 August 1994 | £1,350,000 | - | - |
| 9 | Dean Saunders | CF | Swansea | (1964-06-21)21 June 1964 (aged 30) | Liverpool | 19 July 1991 | £2,300,000 | 96 | 34 |
| 10 | Dalian Atkinson | CF | Shrewsbury | (1968-03-21)21 March 1968 (aged 26) | Real Sociedad | 11 July 1991 | £1,600,000 | 92 | 29 |
| 14* | Franz Carr | RW | Preston | (1966-09-24)24 September 1966 (aged 27) | Leicester City | 10 February 1995 | £250,000 | - | - |
| 18 | Dwight Yorke | CF | Canaan | (1971-11-03)3 November 1971 (aged 22) | Signal Hill | 19 July 1991 | £120,000 | 103 | 29 |
| 22 | Guy Whittingham | CF | Evesham | (1964-11-10)10 November 1964 (aged 29) | Portsmouth | 3 August 1993 | £1,300,000 | 21 | 3 |
| 25 | Tommy Johnson | CF | Gateshead | (1971-01-15)15 January 1971 (aged 23) | Derby County | 6 January 1995 | £1,450,000 | - | - |
*squad number was re-used following a players departure. Note: Stats and ages are correct as of July 1, 1994.

## Results
### Premier League

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 16 | Coventry City | 42 | 12 | 14 | 16 | 44 | 62 | −18 | 50 | |
| 17 | Manchester City | 42 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 53 | 64 | −11 | 49 | |
| 18 | Aston Villa | 42 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 51 | 56 | −5 | 48 | |
| 19 | Crystal Palace (R) | 42 | 11 | 12 | 19 | 34 | 49 | −15 | 45 | Relegation to Football League First Division |
| 20 | Norwich City (R) | 42 | 10 | 13 | 19 | 37 | 54 | −17 | 43 | Relegation to Football League First Division |

#### Results by round

| 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 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 |
| Ground | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | H | H | A | A | A | H | A | H | H | A |
| Result | D | D | D | W | W | L | L | L | L | D | L | L | L | L | W | D | D | D | L | D | W | D | D | W | W | W | L | W | W | D | L | L | D | L | W | D | L | L | L | D | W | D |
| Position | 7 | 12 | 13 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 14 | 11 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 15 | 13 | 11 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 15 | 18 |

#### Matches
### UEFA Cup
## Statistics
### Appearances

| Rank | # | Nat | Player | Pos | Apps | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup | Total | Total |
| Rank | # | Nat | Player | Pos | Apps | XI | Sub | XI | Sub | XI | Sub | XI | Sub | XI | Sub |
| 1 | 5 | | Paul McGrath | CB | 49 | 36 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 45 | 4 |
| 2 | 9 | | Dean Saunders | CF | 48 | 39 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 48 | 0 |
| 3 | 16 | | Ugo Ehiogu | CB | 48 | 38 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 47 | 1 |
| 4 | 3 | | Steve Staunton | LB | 47 | 35 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 43 | 4 |
| 5 | 18 | | Dwight Yorke | CF | 43 | 33 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 39 | 4 |
| 6 | 11 | | Andy Townsend | CM | 40 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 40 | 0 |
| 7 | 13 | | Mark Bosnich | GK | 34 | 30 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 0 |
| 8 | 2 | | Earl Barrett | RB | 34 | 24 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| 9 | 4 | | Shaun Teale | CB | 32 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 32 | 0 |
| 10 | 7 | | Ray Houghton | CM | 32 | 19 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 24 | 8 |
| 11 | 17 | | Ian Taylor | CM | 24 | 22 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 0 |
| 12 | 6 | | Kevin Richardson | CM | 23 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 1 |
| 13 | 15 | | Phil King | LB | 23 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 3 |
| 14 | 10 | | Dalian Atkinson | CF | 21 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 16 | 5 |
| 15 | 14 | | Garry Parker | CM | 20 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 16 | 4 |
| 16 | 25 | | Graham Fenton | AM | 20 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 12 |
| 17 | 1 | | Nigel Spink | GK | 18 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 17 | 1 |
| 18 | 22* | | Gary Charles | RB | 16 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 2 |
| 19 | 8 | | John Fashanu | CF | 16 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14 | 2 |
| 20 | 25 | | Tommy Johnson | CF | 15 | 11 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 |
| 21 | 22 | | Guy Whittingham | CF | 12 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 5 |
| 22 | 12 | | Nii Lamptey | AM | 9 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
| 23 | 2* | | Alan Wright | LB | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 |
| 24 | 20 | | Bryan Small | LB | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 |
| 25 | 21 | | David Farrell | CM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 26 | 14* | | Franz Carr | RW | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 27 | 30 | | Michael Oakes | GK | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | 24 | | Chris Boden | CB | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |

### Goals Involvements

| Rank | # | Nat | Player | Pos | Apps | Goal Inv. | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup | Total | Total |
| Rank | # | Nat | Player | Pos | Apps | Goal Inv. | Goals | Assists | Goals | Assists | Goals | Assists | Goals | Assists | Goals | Assists |
| 1 | 9 | | Dean Saunders | CF | 48 | 20 | 15 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 3 |
| 2 | 18 | | Dwight Yorke | CF | 43 | 14 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 6 |
| 3 | 3 | | Steve Staunton | LB | 47 | 12 | 5 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 7 |
| 4 | 10 | | Dalian Atkinson | CF | 21 | 9 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 |
| 5 | 11 | | Andy Townsend | CM | 40 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 |
| 6 | 25 | | Tommy Johnson | CF | 15 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 7 | - | - | Own Goal | - | - | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 8 | 16 | | Ugo Ehiogu | CB | 48 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| 9 | 22 | | Guy Whittingham | CF | 12 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 10 | 19 | | Graham Fenton | AM | 20 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 11 | 7 | | Ray Houghton | CM | 32 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 12 | 17 | | Ian Taylor | CM | 24 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 |
| 13 | 8 | | John Fashanu | CF | 16 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 14 | 14 | | Garry Parker | CM | 20 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 15 | 12 | | Nii Lamptey | AM | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 16 | 4 | | Shaun Teale | CB | 32 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| 17 | 2 | | Earl Barrett | RB | 34 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 18 | 22* | | Gary Charles | RB | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 19 | 15 | | Phil King | LB | 23 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 20 | 6 | | Kevin Richardson | CM | 23 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |

### Clean Sheets

| Rank | # | Nat | Player | Apps | Conceded | Clean Sheets | Premier League | Premier League | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup | UEFA Cup | UEFA Cup |
| Rank | # | Nat | Player | Apps | Conceded | Clean Sheets | Con | CS | Con | CS | Con | CS | Con | CS |
| 1 | 13 | | Mark Bosnich | 34 | 49 | 8 | 44 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 1 | | Nigel Spink | 18 | 13 | 8 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 |
| 3 | 30 | | Michael Oakes | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |

## Honours & Awards

| Award | Recipient |
| Manager of the Month (Jan 1995) | Brian Little |