Game #4675
Sunday, 16 September 2001
Attendance: 31,668
Drew
Premier League
10th (-2)
Sunderland
Last 5: 🟨 🟩 🟨 🟩 🟨
Villa Park
Villa extend their unbeaten Premier League run to four but are held four the third time as they fall back to 10th place under John Gregory.
Aston Villa
0-0
Sunderland
Assist(s) | None
KEY MAN
Paul Merson, at the forefront
PREVIOUS MATCH
NEXT MATCH
MATCH TIMELINE
🕒 | HT Aston Villa 0-0 Sunderland
🔁 | 55’ Sub off, Paul Merson, Sub on, David Ginola
🔁 | 68’ Sub off, Dion Dublin, Sub on, Boško Balaban
🕒 | FT Aston Villa 0-0 Sunderland
ON THIS DAY
Villa make it four league games unbeaten but can only draw and fall back to 10th in the early Premier League table.
Aston Villa
European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1995-96
Sunderland
European Cup / Champions League: ❌
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: ❌
Last Trophy: 1972-73
FIXTURE HISTORY
Sunderland
Previous 5 vs. Sunderland: 🟩 🟥 🟨 🟨 🟨
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 2001-02 |
Matchday | #10 |
League Game | #4 |
Manager Game | #166 |
Sunday, 16 September 2001
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager: John Gregory | 🏴 | Scunthorpe, 1998-2002
Referee: Uriah Rennie | 🏴 | Sheffield, 1994-2009
Kick off: 3.00pm
HT Score: 🟨 0-0
FT Score: 🟨 0-0
FT Result: 🟨 Drew
Last 5: 🟨 🟩 🟨 🟩 🟨
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Uriah Rennie | 🏴 | Sheffield, 1994-2009
Previous 5: 🟩 🟨 🟩 🟩 🟥
Last Match: 🟥 27 Jan 01, FVilla 1-2 Leicester (h)
Cards: 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨
CARDS
TEAM NEWS
Villa name an unchanged line up for the first time this season.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 28.34 |
Oldest Player |
GK Peter Schmeichel | 🇩🇰 | 37.85 |
Youngest Player |
F Darius Vassell | 🏴 | 21.27 |
MANAGER
MANAGER
John Gregory | 🏴 |
Peter Reid | 🏴 |
Aston Villa
GK Peter Schmeichel | 🇩🇰 |
LB Alan Wright | 🏴 |
CB Olof Mellberg | 🇸🇪 |
CB Alpay Özalan | 🇹🇷 |
RB Mark Delaney | 🏴 |
M George Boateng | 🇳🇱 |
M Paul Merson | 🏴 | 🔁 |
M Hassan Kachloul | 🇲🇦 |
M Lee Hendrie | 🏴 |
CF Dion Dublin | 🏴 | 🔁 |
F Darius Vassell | 🏴 |
Sunderland
GK Jürgen Macho | 🇦🇹 |
LB Michael Gray | 🏴 |
LB George McCartney | 🇬🇧 |
CB Jody Craddock | 🏴 |
RB Bernt Haas |🇨🇭| 🟨 |
M Gavin McCann | 🏴 | 🟨 |
W Kevin Kilbane | 🇮🇪 |
M Stefan Schwarz | 🇸🇪 | 🟨 |
M Julio Arca | 🇦🇷 |
CF Niall Quinn | 🇮🇪 | 🔁 |
CF Kevin Phillips | 🏴 | 🟨 |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 W David Ginola | 🇫🇷 | for M Paul Merson | 🏴 | 55’ |
🔁 F Boško Balaban | 🇭🇷 | for CF Dion Dublin | 🏴 | 68’ |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 | CF Niall Quinn | 🇮🇪 | (CF Lilian Laslandes | 🇫🇷 |)
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Peter Enckelman | 🇫🇮 |
M Gareth Barry | 🏴 |
M Mustapha Hadji | 🇲🇦 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Michael Ingham | 🇬🇧 |
RB Darren Williams | 🏴 |
M Paul Thirlwell | 🏴 |
CF David Bellion | 🇫🇷 |
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 6/11
Homegrown: 2/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 7/16
Homegrown: 3/16
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
1st XI:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 5/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 8/16
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Not recorded
UNAVAILABLE
Not Recorded
Player Abbreviations:
GK : Goalkeeper
LB, RB, FB : Left Back, Right Back, Full Back
CB, D : Centre Back, Defender
M, W : Midfielder. Winger
F, CF : Forward, Centre Forward
🟢 : Debut 🔴 : Final Game
Symbols:
⚽ | Goal
🔥 | Assist
🔁 | Substitution
🟨 | Booking
🟥 | Sending off
🆘 | Poor refereeing performance
DEBUT APPEARANCES
FINAL APPEARANCES
MATCH STATS
Not recorded
TABLE

PROGRAMME



MATCHDAY QUOTES
“Victory at Liverpool should be followed up by a win at home.
“But there was a lack of urgency from some of my players; perhaps they felt it would be easy. We’ve got to set our standards higher than that, especially if we are to realise our ambitions of qualifying for the Champions League.”
John Gregory.
*The Guardian*
Monday, 17 September, 2001
*Gregory unhappy with sloppy Villa*
John Gregory had described the visit of Sunderland as a bread and butter fixture following champagne displays against Liverpool and Manchester United.
In the event Villa, confronted by opponents nursing the hangover of their Worthington Cup exit to Sheffield Wednesday, lost their appetite and left their manager with the bitter taste of disappointment.
“Victory at Liverpool should be followed up by a win at home,” Gregory said. “But there was a lack of urgency from some of my players; perhaps they felt it would be easy. We’ve got to set our standards higher than that, especially if we are to realise our ambitions of qualifying for the Champions League.”
Gregory’s feeling of let down says much about the way his team has started the season and Villa’s early play, with Paul Merson and Darius Vassell in the forefront, smacked of confidence gained from the success at Anfield and near miss against the champions. It was characterised by neat flicks and defence-challenging one-twos but, perversely, their best effort in what became a torpid first half owed much to the Wimbledon Book of Soccer Tactics, 1988 edition.
Peter Schmeichel launched a long clearance, Dion Dublin headed the ball on and Vassell’s left-foot volley forced the diving Jurgen Macho to concede a corner. Schmeichel became their saviour when an inswinging right wing corner resulted in Niall Quinn’s header being palmed to safety by the Dane.
While Villa’s more ambitious approach in the second period suggested a few choice words from Gregory, the end product remained the same. Likewise Sunderland. “I thought we passed the ball quite well but were unable to maintain any fluency in our play, said the Sunderland manager Peter Reid. “There were too many whistles out there instead of the advantage rule being played. “I think supporters like a good tackle and I fear for the physical side of the game - we had four players cautioned and I’m not sure why.”
One of those yellow cards, for Kevin Phillips, could have been followed by red when the striker appeared to elbow Lee Hendrie in an incident that climaxed a catalogue of argy bargy between the pair.
Reid claimed he had not seen the incident while Gregory added: “I don’t think Kevin Phillips has got it in him to do that sort of thing. If he did then it surprises me.”
Television replays suggest Gregory will be in for a surprise, which is what Merson almost gave Macho shortly after the break. Bringing the ball down with one touch, Merson volleyed goalwards with his next and the Sunderland keeper did well to tip the subsequent lob over the bar.
But it was the Turkish international defender Alpay who ensured Gregory’s team preserved their unbeaten run with a timely intervention to deny Phillips a late goal.
*Man of the Match:* Darius Vassell (Aston Villa)