2006–07 Aston Villa F.C. season

During the 2006–07 English football season, Aston Villa F.C. competed in the FA Premier League. It was Villa's first season under the management of Northern Irishman Martin O'Neill, who was appointed as manager following the sacking of David O'Leary at the end of the previous season.

1 Season summary
2 First team squad
- 2.1 Left club during season
3 Starting 11
4 Pre-season
5 Results
6 Squad statistics
7 Premier League
- 7.1 Matches
8 Transfers
9 References

Season summary

Villa started life under Martin O'Neill strongly and were the last team in the Premier League to be beaten, going nine matches without defeat and taking points against the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea away before a 3-1 loss at Liverpool. A run of 11 games without victory during the middle of the season dragged Villa down to 14th place, putting paid to their early-season hopes of Champions League qualification, but Villa rallied and only lost 3 of their last 15 games to finish comfortably in 11th.

First team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Thomas Sorensen
2	DF	Mark Delaney
3	DF	Jlloyd Samuel
4	DF	Olof Mellberg
5	DF	Martin Laursen
6	MF	Gareth Barry
8	MF	Gavin McCann
10	FW	John Carew
11	MF	Stiliyan Petrov
12	MF	Steven Davis
13	GK	Stuart Taylor
15	FW	Gabriel Agbonlahor
16	DF	Wilfred Bouma

No.	Position	Player
17	FW	Ashley Young
18	DF	Aaron Hughes
19	DF	Liam Ridgewell
20	FW	Chris Sutton
21	DF	Gary Cahill
22	FW	Luke Moore
23	MF	Patrik Berger
24	DF	Phil Bardsley (on loan from Manchester United)
25	GK	Robert Olejnik
26	MF	Craig Gardner
27	MF	Isaiah Osbourne
28	MF	Shaun Maloney
29	DF	Stephen O'Halloran

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No.	Position	Player
7	MF	Lee Hendrie (on loan to Stoke City)
9	FW	Juan Pablo Angel (to New York Red Bulls)
10	FW	Milan Baros (to Lyon)
14	MF	Eric Djemba-Djemba (on loan to Burnley)
17	MF	Peter Whittingham (to Cardiff City)

No.	Position	Player
20	FW	Kevin Phillips (to West Bromwich Albion)
24	MF	Mathieu Berson (to Levante)
28	GK	Gabor Király (on loan from Crystal Palace)
31	DF	Didier Agathe (released)

Starting 11

GK: #1, Thomas Sorensen, 29
RB: #19, Liam Ridgewell, 19
CB: #20, Gary Cahill, 19
CB: #4, Olof Mellberg, 38
LB: #16, Wilfred Bouma, 23
RM: #12, Steven Davis, 17
CM: #11, Stiliyan Petrov, 30
CM: #8, Gavin McCann, 28
LM: #6, Gareth Barry, 35
CF: #15, Gabriel Agbonlahor, 31
CF: #10, Juan Pablo Angel, 18

Pre-season

Date	Opponents	Home/ Away	Result F – A	Scorers	Competition
21 July 2006	Walsall	A	5 – 0	Agbonlahor (2), Moore (2), Whittingham	Friendly
25 July 2006	Hull City	A	2 – 0	Davis, Gardner	Friendly
26 July 2006	Chesterfield	A	2 – 0	Bridges (2)	Friendly
29 July 2006	Wolves	H	3 – 0	Ridgewell, Barry	Friendly
5 August 2006	Hannover	A	0 – 0		Friendly
8 August 2006	NEC Nijmegen	A	1 – 2	Agbonlahor	Friendly
11 August 2006	Groningen	A	2 – 2	Moore, Ridgewell	Friendly

Results

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result F–A	Scorers	Competition	Attendance
19/08/2006	Arsenal	A	1–1	Mellberg	Premier League	60,023
23/08/2006	Reading	H	2–1	Angel (pen), Barry	Premier League	37,329
27/08/2006	Newcastle	H	2–0	Moore, Angel	Premier League	35,141
02/10/2006	West Ham	A	1–1	Ridgewell	Premier League	34,576
16/09/2006	Watford	A	0–0		Premier League	18,620
20/09/2006	Scunthorpe	A	2–1	Angel (2)	League Cup	6,502
23/09/2006	Charlton	H	2–0	Agbonlahor, Moore	Premier League	35,513
20/09/2006	Chelsea	A	1–1	Agbonlahor	Premier League	41,951
14/10/2006	Tottenham	H	1–1	Barry	Premier League	42,551
21/10/2006	Fulham	H	1–1	Barry (pen)	Premier League	30,919
24/10/2006	Leicester	A	3–2	Angel, Barry (pen), Agbonlahor	League Cup	27,288
28/10/2006	Liverpool	A	1–3	Agbonlahor	Premier League	44,117
05/11/2006	Blackburn	H	2–0	Barry (pen), Angel	Premier League	30,089
08/11/2006	Chelsea	A	0–4		League Cup	41,156
11/11/2006	Everton	A	1–0	Sutton	Premier League	36,276
19/11/2006	Wigan	A	0–0		Premier League	18,455
25/11/2006	Middlesbrough	H	1–1	Barry (pen)	Premier League	33,162
29/11/2006	Man City	A	1–3	McCann	Premier League	30,124
02/12/2006	Portsmouth	A	2–2	Barry (pen), Angel	Premier League	20,042
11/12/2006	Sheff Utd	A	2–2	Petrov, Baros	Premier League	30,957
16/12/2006	Bolton	H	0–1		Premier League	27,450
23/12/2006	Man Utd	H	0–3		Premier League	42,551
26/12/2006	Tottenham	A	1–2	Barry	Premier League	35,293
30/12/2006	Charlton	A	1–2	Barry (pen)	Premier League	26,699
02/01/2007	Chelsea	H	0–0		Premier League	41,006
07/01/2007	Man Utd	A	1–2	Baros	FA Cup	74,924
13/01/2007	Man Utd	A	1–3	Agbonlahor	Premier League	76,073
20/01/2007	Watford	H	2–0	Agbonlahor, Mahon (o.g)	Premier League	35,892
31/01/2007	Newcastle	A	1–3	Young	Premier League	49,201
03/02/2007	West Ham	H	1–0	Carew	Premier League	41,202
10/02/2007	Reading	A	0–2		Premier League	24,122
03/03/2007	Fulham	A	1–1	Carew	Premier League	24,552
14/03/2007	Arsenal	H	0–1		Premier League	39,968
18/03/2007	Liverpool	H	0–0		Premier League	42,551
02/04/2007	Everton	H	1–1	Agbonlahor	Premier League	36,407
07/04/2007	Blackburn	A	2–1	Berger, Agbonlahor	Premier League	24,211
09/04/2007	Wigan	H	1–1	Agbonlahor	Premier League	31,920
14/04/2007	Middlesbrough	A	3–1	Gardner, Moore, Petrov	Premier League	26,959
22/04/2007	Portsmouth	H	0–0		Premier League	31,745
28/04/2007	Man City	A	2–0	Carew, Maloney	Premier League	40,799
05/05/2007	Sheff Utd	H	3–0	Angel, Young, Agbonlahor	Premier League	42,551
13/05/2007	Bolton	A	2–2	Gardner, Moore	Premier League	26,255

Squad statistics

No.	Pos.	Name	League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
No.	Pos.	Name	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1	GK	Sorensen	29	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF	Delaney	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	DF	Samuel	2+2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	DF	Mellberg	38	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
5	DF	Laursen	12+2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	MD	Barry	35	8	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	FW	Carew	11	3	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	MF	McCann	28+2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
9	FW	Angel	18+5	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
10	FW	Baros	10+7	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	MF	Petrov	30	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
12	MF	Davis	17+11	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	GK	Taylor	4+2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	MF	Djemba-Djemba	0+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	DF	Bouma	23+2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	FW	Young	11+2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	MF	Whittingham	2+1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	DF	Hughes	15+4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	DF	Ridgewell	19+2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
20	FW	Sutton	6+2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
21	DF	Cahill	19+1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
22	FW	Moore	7+6	4	0	0	0	0	0	0
23	MF	Berger	5+8	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
24	DF	Bardsley	13	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
26	MF	Gardner	11+2	2	0	0	0	0	0	0
27	MF	Osbourne	6+5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
28	GK	Kiraly	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
29	MF	Maloney	5+3	1	0	0	0	0	0	0
30	FW	Agbonlahor	37+1	9	0	0	0	0	0	0
31	DF	Agathe	0+5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

^[1]

Premier League

Matches

1 19 August 2006	Arsenal	1–1	Aston Villa	Islington, London
	Gilberto 84'	Report	Mellberg 53'	Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 60,023 Referee: Graham Poll

2 23 August 2003	Aston Villa	2–1	Reading	Birmingham, West Midlands
	Ángel 34' (pen.) Barry 61'	Report	Doyle 4' Sonko 34'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 37,329 Referee: Lee Mason

3 27 August 2006	Aston Villa	2–0	Newcastle United	Birmingham, West Midlands
	Moore 3' Ángel 38'	Report		Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 35,141 Referee: Howard Webb

4 10 September 2006	West Ham United	1–1	Aston Villa	Newham, London
	Zamora 52'	Report	Ridgewell 4'	Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 34,576 Referee: Steve Bennett

5 16 September 2006	Watford	0–0	Aston Villa	Watford, Hertfordshire
		Report		Stadium: Vicarage Road Attendance: 18,620 Referee: Mike Dean

6 23 September 2006	Aston Villa	2–0	Charlton Athletic	Birmingham, West Midlands
	Agbonlahor 35' Moore 62'	Report		Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 35,513 Referee: Mike Riley

7	Chelsea	1–1	Aston Villa
	Drogba 3'		Agbonlahor 45'

8	Aston Villa	1–1	Tottenham Hotspur
	Barry 81'		Ángel 76' (o.g.)

9	Aston Villa	1–1	Fulham
	Barry 26' (pen.)		Volz 45'

10	Liverpool	3–1	Aston Villa
	Kuyt 31' Crouch 38' Luis García 44'		Agbonlahor 56'

11	Aston Villa	2–0	Blackburn Rovers
	Barry 41' (pen.) Ángel 50'

12	Everton	0–1	Aston Villa
			Sutton 42'

13	Wigan Athletic	0–0	Aston Villa

14	Aston Villa	1–1	Middlesbrough
	Barry 45' (pen.)		Christie 43'

15	Aston Villa	1–3	Manchester City
	McCann 66'		Vassell 18' Barton 32' Distin 75'

16	Portsmouth	2–2	Aston Villa
	Taylor 52', 80'		Barry 37' (pen.) Ángel 82'

17	Sheffield United	2–2	Aston Villa
	Quinn 50' Webber 64'		Petrov 2' Baroš 65'

18	Aston Villa	0–1	Bolton Wanderers
			Speed 75' (pen.)

19	Aston Villa	0–3	Manchester United
			C. Ronaldo 58', 85' Giggs 64'

20	Tottenham Hotspur	2–1	Aston Villa
	Defoe 67', 77'		Barry 81'

21	Charlton Athletic	2–1	Aston Villa
	D. Bent 57' Hughes 90'		Barry 40' (pen.)

22	Aston Villa	0–0	Chelsea

23	Manchester United	3–1	Aston Villa
	Park 11' Carrick 13' C. Ronaldo 35'		Agbonlahor 52'

24	Aston Villa	2–0	Watford
	Mahon 86' (o.g.) Agbonlahor 90'

25	Newcastle United	3–1	Aston Villa
	Milner 5' Dyer 7' Sibierski 90'		Young 25'

26	Aston Villa	1–0	West Ham United
	Carew 36'

27	Reading	2–0	Aston Villa
	Sidwell 16', 90'

28	Fulham	1–1	Aston Villa
	Bocanegra 23'		Carew 21'

29	Aston Villa	0–1	Arsenal
			Diaby 10'

30	Aston Villa	0–0	Liverpool

31	Aston Villa	1–1	Everton
	Agbonlahor 83'		Lescott 15'

32	Blackburn Rovers	1–2	Aston Villa
	McCarthy 24' (pen.)		Berger 34' Agbonlahor 73'

33	Aston Villa	1–1	Wigan Athletic
	Agbonlahor 50'		Heskey 21'

34	Middlesbrough	1–3	Aston Villa
	Rochemback 13'		Gardner 45' Moore 70' Petrov 77'

35	Aston Villa	0–0	Portsmouth

36	Manchester City	0–2	Aston Villa
			Carew 24' Agbonlahor 75'

37	Aston Villa	3–0	Sheffield United
	Agbonlahor 25' Young 42' Berger 55'

38	Bolton Wanderers	2–2	Aston Villa
	Speed 32' Davies 58'		Gardner 37' Moore 81'

Transfers

The season saw Villa break its transfer record when they signed Ashley Young for £8 million from Watford, heralding a new era and a strategy of signing young players with experience from the British game. The signing of Bulgarian international Stiliyan Petrov was another important manouvre from Martin O'Neill, who was given larger resource in comparison to his predecessors by new American owner Randy Lerner.

References

^ http://home.aland.net/bolin.jakobsson/villamatches/2006-07.pdf

Aston Villa F.C. seasons

0001888–89 · 1889–90

001890–91 · 1891–92 · 1892–93 · 1893–94 · 1894–95 · 1895–96 · 1896–97 · 1897–98 · 1898–99 · 1899–1900

1900–01 · 1901–02 · 1902–03 · 1903–04 · 1904–05 · 1905–06 · 1906–07 · 1907–08 · 1908–09 · 1909–10

1910–11 · 1911–12 · 1912–13 · 1913–14 · 1914–15 · 1915–16 · 1916–17 · 1917–18 · 1918–19 · 1919–20

1920–21 · 1921–22 · 1922–23 · 1923–24 · 1924–25 · 1925–26 · 1926–27 · 1927–28 · 1928–29 · 1929–30

1930–31 · 1931–32 · 1932–33 · 1933–34 · 1934–35 · 1935–36 · 1936–37 · 1937–38 · 1938–39 · 1939–40

1940–41 · 1941–42 · 1942–43 · 1943–44 · 1944–45 · 1945–46 · 1946–47 · 1947–48 · 1948–49 · 1949–50

1950–51 · 1951–52 · 1952–53 · 1953–54 · 1954–55 · 1955–56 · 1956–57 · 1957–58 · 1958–59 · 1959–60

1960–61 · 1961–62 · 1962–63 · 1963–64 · 1964–65 · 1965–66 · 1966–67 · 1967–68 · 1968–69 · 1969–70

1970–71 · 1971–72 · 1972–73 · 1973–74 · 1974–75 · 1975–76 · 1976–77 · 1977–78 · 1978–79 · 1979–80

1980–81 · 1981–82 · 1982–83 · 1983–84 · 1984–85 · 1985–86 · 1986–87 · 1987–88 · 1988–89 · 1989–90

001990–91 · 1991–92 · 1992–93 · 1993–94 · 1994–95 · 1995–96 · 1996–97 · 1997–98 · 1998–99 · 1999–2000

2000–01 · 2001–02 · 2002–03 · 2003–04 · 2004–05 · 2005–06 · 2006–07 · 2007–08 · 2008–09 · 2009–10

2010–11 · 2011–12

2006–07 in English football

« 2005–06 2007–08 »

FA competitions	FA Cup (Qualifying Rounds · Final) · Community Shield · FA Trophy (Final)

Premier League and Football League	Premier League · Football League (Championship · League One · League Two) · League Cup (Final) · Football League Trophy (Final) · Play-offs (Championship Final · League One Final · League Two Final)

Football Conference	Football Conference (National · North · South)

Lower leagues	Northern Premier League · Southern Football League · Isthmian League

European competitions	Champions League (Final) · UEFA Cup · Intertoto Cup

Related to national team	UEFA Euro 2008 qualification (Group E) · Steve McClaren

Other events	2006 allegations of corruption in English football

Club seasons

Premier League	Arsenal · Aston Villa · Blackburn Rovers · Bolton Wanderers · Charlton Athletic · Chelsea · Everton · Fulham · Liverpool · Manchester City · Manchester United · Middlesbrough · Newcastle United · Portsmouth · Reading · Sheffield United · Tottenham Hotspur · Watford · West Ham United · Wigan Athletic

Championship	Barnsley · Birmingham City · Burnley · Cardiff City · Colchester United · Coventry City · Crystal Palace · Derby County · Hull City · Ipswich Town · Leeds United · Leicester City · Luton Town · Norwich City · Plymouth Argyle · Preston North End · Queens Park Rangers · Sheffield Wednesday · Southampton · Southend United · Stoke City · Sunderland · West Bromwich Albion · Wolverhampton Wanderers

League One	Blackpool · Bournemouth · Bradford City · Brentford · Brighton & Hove Albion · Bristol City · Carlisle United · Cheltenham Town · Chesterfield · Crewe Alexandra · Doncaster Rovers · Gillingham · Huddersfield Town · Leyton Orient · Millwall · Northampton Town · Nottingham Forest · Oldham Athletic · Port Vale · Rotherham United · Scunthorpe United · Swansea City · Tranmere Rovers · Yeovil Town

League Two	Accrington Stanley · Barnet · Boston United · Bristol Rovers · Bury · Chester City · Darlington · Grimsby Town · Hartlepool United · Hereford United · Lincoln City · Macclesfield Town · Mansfield Town · Milton Keynes Dons · Notts County · Peterborough United · Rochdale · Shrewsbury Town · Stockport County · Swindon Town · Torquay United · Walsall · Wrexham · Wycombe Wanderers

Conference National	Aldershot Town · Altrincham · Burton Albion · Cambridge United · Crawley Town · Dagenham & Redbridge · Exeter City · Forest Green Rovers · Gravesend & Northfleet · Grays Athletic · Halifax Town · Kidderminster Harriers · Morecambe · Northwich Victoria · Oxford United · Rushden & Diamonds · Southport · St Albans City · Stafford Rangers · Stevenage Borough · Tamworth · Weymouth · Woking · York City

Conference South	Newport County

Northern Premier League	Gateshead

Summer 2006 transfers · Winter 2006–07 transfers · Summer 2007 transfers