# 2005–06 Aston Villa F.C. season

During the 2005–06 season, Aston Villa competed in the FA Premier League.
After the previous seasons tenth placed finish Villa never recovered from a poor start which left them at times close to the bottom 3 and despite some impressive wins which ultimately kept Villa in the league discontent among the fans at an uncomfortable relegation battle grew and lead to manager David O'Leary being sacked after the end of the season.
There were debut appearances for Gabriel Agbonlahor (341), James Milner (100), Wilfred Bouma (83), Craig Gardner (59), Aaron Hughes (54), Milan Baroš (42), Patrik Berger (29), Gary Cahill (28), Kevin Phillips (23), Eirik Bakke (14), and Stuart Taylor (12).

## Kit

| Kit Supplier | Sponsor |
| Hummel | DWS Investments |

## Transfers
### Transferred in

| Date | Pos | Player | From | Fee |
| 20 May 2005 | RB | Aaron Hughes | Newcastle United | £1,000,000 |
| 27 June 2005 | GK | Stuart Taylor | Arsenal | £1,000,000 |
| 29 June 2005 | CF | Kevin Phillips | Southampton | £1,000,000 |
| 1 July 2005 | LM | Patrik Berger | Portsmouth | Free transfer |
| 23 August 2005 | CF | Milan Baroš | Liverpool | £6,500,000 |
| 30 August 2005 | LB | Wilfred Bouma | PSV Eindhoven | £3,500,000 |
| | | | | £13,000,000 |

### Loaned in

| Date | Pos | Player | From | Loan End |
| 31 August 2005 | RM | James Milner | Newcastle United | 31 May 2006 |
| 31 August 2005 | CM | Eirik Bakke | Leeds United | 17 January 2006 |

### Transferred out

| Date | Pos | Player | To | Fee |
| 1 July 2005 | CM | Stephen Cooke | Bournemouth | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2005 | LM | Thomas Hitzlsperger | Stuttgart | Free transfer |
| 1 July 2005 | CF | Stefan Moore | Queens Park Rangers | Free transfer |
| 27 July 2005 | CF | Darius Vassell | Manchester City | £2,000,000 |
| 31 August 2005 | RM | Nolberto Solano | Newcastle United | £1,500,000 |
| 6 January 2006 | GK | Stefan Postma | Wolverhampton Wanderers | £500,000 |
| 20 January 2006 | GK | Wayne Henderson | Brighton & Hove Albion | £60,000 |
| 31 August 2005 | CM | Steven Foley-Sheridan | Bournemouth | £20,000 |
| | | | | £4,080,000 |

### Loaned out

| Date | Pos | Player | To | Loan End |
| 19 August 2005 | GK | Stefan Postma | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 5 January 2006 |
| 25 August 2005 | CM | Mathieu Berson | Auxerre | 31 May 2006 |
| 14 September 2005 | RM | Peter Whittingham | Notts County | 19 November 2005 |
| 22 September 2005 | CF | Gabriel Agbonlahor | Watford | 22 October 2005 |
| 28 October 2005 | CF | Gabriel Agbonlahor | Sheffield Wednesday | 28 december 2005 |
| 20 January 2006 | CF | Sam Williams | Wrexham | 31 May 2006 |

### Overall transfer activity
## Final league table

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
| 14 | Middlesbrough | 38 | 12 | 9 | 17 | 48 | 58 | −10 | 45 | |
| 15 | Manchester City | 38 | 13 | 4 | 21 | 43 | 48 | −5 | 43 | |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 38 | 10 | 12 | 16 | 42 | 55 | −13 | 42 | |
| 17 | Portsmouth | 38 | 10 | 8 | 20 | 37 | 62 | −25 | 38 | |
| 18 | Birmingham City (R) | 38 | 8 | 10 | 20 | 28 | 50 | −22 | 34 | Relegation to the Football League Championship |

## Pre-season

| Date | Opponents | Home/ Away | Result F – A | Competition |
| 18 July 2005 | Wycombe Wanderers | A | 2 – 0 | Friendly |
| 20 July 2005 | Gallstad FK | A | 14 – 0 | Friendly |
| 23 July 2005 | Jonkopings Sodra | A | 1 – 1 | Friendly |
| 26 July 2005 | GAIS | A | 3 – 3 | Friendly |
| 30 July 2005 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | A | 1 – 2 | Friendly |
| 2 August 2005 | Walsall | A | 3 – 0 | Friendly |
| 5 August 2005 | Utrecht | A | 2 – 1 | Friendly |

## Results

Aston Villa's score comes first

### Legend

| Win | Draw | Loss |

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: 8 October 2021. Source: 11v11

#### Results per matchday

| Matchday | 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 | H | A | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | H | A | A | H | A | H | H | A | H | A | H |
| Result | D | L | D | W | D | L | L | L | W | L | L | L | W | W | D | D | L | W | D | D | W | L | D | D | W | L | D | W | L | L | D | L | D | W | L | L | L | W |
| Position | 5 | 12 | 13 | 8 | 14 | 11 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 15 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 16 | 16 | 16 |

### FA Premier League

| Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Scorers |
| 13 August 2005 | Bolton Wanderers | H | 2–2 | 38,026 | Phillips, Davis |
| 20 August 2005 | Manchester United | A | 0–1 | 67,934 | |
| 23 August 2005 | Portsmouth | A | 1–1 | 19,778 | Hughes (own goal) |
| 27 August 2005 | Blackburn Rovers | H | 1–0 | 31,010 | Baroš |
| 12 September 2005 | West Ham United | A | 0–4 | 29,582 | |
| 17 September 2005 | Tottenham Hotspur | H | 1–1 | 33,686 | Milner |
| 24 September 2005 | Chelsea | A | 1–2 | 42,146 | Moore |
| 2 October 2005 | Middlesbrough | H | 2–3 | 29,719 | Moore, Davis |
| 16 October 2005 | Birmingham City | A | 1–0 | 29,312 | Phillips |
| 22 October 2005 | Wigan Athletic | H | 0–2 | 32,294 | |
| 31 October 2005 | Manchester City | A | 1–3 | 42,069 | Ridgewell |
| 5 November 2005 | Liverpool | H | 0–2 | 42,551 | |
| 19 November 2005 | Sunderland | A | 3–1 | 39,707 | Phillips, Barry, Baroš |
| 26 November 2005 | Charlton Athletic | H | 1–0 | 30,023 | Davis |
| 3 December 2005 | Newcastle United | A | 1–1 | 18,255 | McCann |
| 10 December 2005 | Bolton Wanderers | A | 1–1 | 23,646 | Angel |
| 17 December 2005 | Manchester United | H | 0–2 | 37,128 | |
| 26 December 2005 | Everton | H | 4–0 | 32,432 | Baroš (2), Delaney, Angel |
| 28 December 2005 | Fulham | A | 3–3 | 20,446 | Moore, Ridgewell (2) |
| 31 December 2005 | Arsenal | H | 0–0 | 37,114 | |
| 2 January 2006 | West Bromwich Albion | A | 2–1 | 27,073 | Davis, Baroš (pen) |
| 14 January 2006 | West Ham United | H | 1–2 | 36,700 | Hendrie |
| 21 January 2006 | Tottenham Hotspur | A | 0–0 | 36,243 | |
| 1 February 2006 | Chelsea | H | 1–1 | 38,562 | Moore |
| 4 February 2006 | Middlesbrough | A | 4–0 | 27,299 | Moore (3), Phillips |
| 11 February 2006 | Newcastle United | H | 1–2 | 37,140 | Moore |
| 25 February 2006 | Charlton Athletic | A | 0–0 | 26,594 | |
| 4 March 2006 | Portsmouth | H | 1–0 | 30,194 | Baroš |
| 11 March 2006 | Blackburn Rovers | A | 0–2 | 21,932 | |
| 18 March 2006 | Everton | A | 1–4 | 36,507 | Agbonlahor |
| 25 March 2006 | Fulham | H | 0–0 | 32,605 | |
| 1 April 2006 | Arsenal | A | 0–5 | 38,183 | |
| 9 April 2006 | West Bromwich Albion | H | 0–0 | 33,303 | |
| 16 April 2006 | Birmingham City | H | 3–1 | 40,158 | Baroš (2), Cahill |
| 18 April 2006 | Wigan Athletic | A | 2–3 | 17,330 | Angel, Ridgewell |
| 25 April 2006 | Manchester City | H | 0–1 | 26,422 | |
| 29 April 2006 | Liverpool | A | 1–3 | 44,479 | Barry |
| 7 May 2006 | Sunderland | H | 2–1 | 33,820 | Barry, Ridgewell |

### FA Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R3 | 7 January 2006 | Hull City | A | 1–0 | 17,051 | Barry |
| R4 | 28 January 2006 | Port Vale | H | 3–1 | 30,434 | Baroš (2), Davis |
| R5 | 19 February 2006 | Manchester City | H | 1–1 | 23,847 | Baroš |
| R5R | 14 March 2006 | Manchester City | A | 1–2 | 33,006 | Davis |

### League Cup

| Round | Date | Opponent | Venue | Result | Attendance | Goalscorers |
| R2 | 20 September 2005 | Wycombe Wanderers | A | 8–3 | 5,365 | Davis (2), Baroš, Milner (2), Easton (own goal), Barry (2, 1 pen) |
| R3 | 22 October 2005 | Burnley | H | 1–0 | 26,872 | Phillips |
| R4 | 29 November 2005 | Doncaster Rovers | A | 0–3 | 10,590 | |

## Players
### First-team squad

    Squad at end of 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 |
| 1 | GK | DEN | Thomas Sørensen |
| 2 | DF | WAL | Mark Delaney |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Jlloyd Samuel |
| 4 | DF | SWE | Olof Mellberg |
| 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 | FW | CZE | Milan Baroš |
| 11 | MF | ENG | James Milner (on loan from Newcastle United) |
| 12 | MF | NIR | Steven Davis |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Stuart Taylor |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 14 | MF | CMR | Eric Djemba-Djemba |
| 15 | DF | ECU | Ulises de la Cruz |
| 16 | DF | NED | Wilfred Bouma |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Peter Whittingham |
| 18 | DF | NIR | Aaron Hughes |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Liam Ridgewell |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Kevin Phillips |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Gary Cahill |
| 22 | FW | ENG | Luke Moore |
| 23 | MF | CZE | Patrik Berger |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Craig Gardner |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Gabriel Agbonlahor |

### 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 |
| 11 | MF | PER | Nolberto Solano (to Newcastle United) |
| 16 | MF | FRA | Mathieu Berson (on loan to Auxerre) |
| 24 | MF | NOR | Eirik Bakke (on loan from Leeds United) |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 25 | GK | IRL | Wayne Henderson (to Brighton & Hove Albion) |
| — | GK | NED | Stefan Postma (to Wolverhampton Wanderers) |
| — | MF | IRL | Steven Foley (to AFC Bournemouth) |

### 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 |
| — | DF | ENG | Steven Clancy |
| — | DF | ENG | Lee Grant |
| — | DF | ENG | Paul Green |
| — | DF | ENG | Matthew Roome |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | BEL | Christian Tshimanga Kabeya |
| — | FW | ENG | Shane Paul |
| — | FW | NIR | Jamie Ward |
| — | | | Daniel Bridges |

### 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 |
| 39 | GK | AUT | Bobby Olejnik |
| — | GK | IRL | Lee Boyle |
| — | GK | IRL | Stephen Henderson |
| — | DF | ENG | Ciaran Clark |
| — | DF | ENG | Jordan Collins |
| — | DF | IRL | Danny Earls |
| — | DF | IRL | Shane Lowry |
| — | DF | IRL | Stephen O'Halloran |
| — | DF | SWE | Erik Lund |
| — | MF | ENG | Marc Albrighton |
| — | MF | ENG | Morgan Evans |
| — | MF | ENG | Phil Green |
| — | MF | ENG | Jonathan Hogg |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | ENG | Dan McDonald |
| — | MF | ENG | Isaiah Osbourne |
| — | MF | HUN | Zoltán Stieber |
| — | MF | AUS | Chris Herd |
| — | FW | ENG | Scott Bridges |
| — | FW | ENG | Sam Williams |
| — | FW | NIR | Adam McGurk |
| — | FW | SWE | Tobias Mikaelsson |
| — | DF | | Seyi Morgan |
| — | DF | | Matt Saunders |
| — | | | Lee McGuire |
| — | | | Lee Mussell |
| — | | | Reuben Reid |

### 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 | ENG | Elliot Parish |
| — | DF | ENG | Jordan Collins |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| — | MF | | Rowan Caney |
| — | | | Ashley Carew |

## Statistics
### Appearances and goals

    As of end of season
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Total | Total | Premiership | Premiership | FA Cup | FA Cup | League Cup | League Cup |
| No. | Pos | Nat | Player | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||||
| 1 | GK | DEN | Thomas Sørensen | 43 | 0 | 36 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 13 | GK | ENG | Stuart Taylor | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Defenders ||||||||||||
| 2 | DF | WAL | Mark Delaney | 16 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | TRI | Jlloyd Samuel | 24 | 0 | 14+5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | DF | SWE | Olof Mellberg | 33 | 0 | 27 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 5 | DF | DEN | Martin Laursen | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | DF | ECU | Ulises de la Cruz | 8 | 0 | 4+3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 16 | DF | NED | Wilfred Bouma | 21 | 0 | 20 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | NIR | Aaron Hughes | 41 | 0 | 35 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | DF | ENG | Liam Ridgewell | 37 | 5 | 30+2 | 5 | 1+1 | 0 | 3 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | ENG | Gary Cahill | 8 | 1 | 6+1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Midfielders ||||||||||||
| 6 | MF | ENG | Gareth Barry | 42 | 6 | 36 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| 7 | MF | ENG | Lee Hendrie | 19 | 1 | 7+9 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 |
| 8 | MF | ENG | Gavin McCann | 38 | 1 | 32 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | ENG | James Milner | 33 | 3 | 27 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 |
| 12 | MF | NIR | Steven Davis | 42 | 8 | 34+1 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 14 | MF | CMR | Eric Djemba-Djemba | 4 | 0 | 0+4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Peter Whittingham | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | MF | CZE | Patrik Berger | 9 | 0 | 3+5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 26 | MF | ENG | Craig Gardner | 9 | 0 | 3+5 | 0 | 0+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Forwards ||||||||||||
| 9 | FW | COL | Juan Pablo Ángel | 37 | 4 | 12+19 | 3 | 2+1 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | CZE | Milan Baroš | 30 | 11 | 24+1 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 20 | FW | ENG | Kevin Phillips | 27 | 5 | 20+3 | 4 | 1+1 | 0 | 1+1 | 1 |
| 22 | FW | ENG | Luke Moore | 32 | 8 | 16+11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0+2 | 0 |
| 30 | FW | ENG | Gabriel Agbonlahor | 9 | 1 | 3+6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Players who left club during season ||||||||||||
| 11 | MF | PER | Nolberto Solano | 3 | 0 | 2+1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 24 | MF | NOR | Eirik Bakke | 14 | 0 | 8+6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Last updated: 31 June 2006 Source: Competitions