Villa lose in their opening Intertoto Cup game as Graham Taylor remains in charge despite a torrid few months as caretaker manager in 2001-02.

Villa face FC Zürich for the first time in competitive football, Zürich become the 148th team that the Villa first team has played in League or Cup football, Villa’s 32nd continental European opponents and their second from Switzerland following their meeting with FC Basel in 2001-02.

Midfielder George Boateng, 26, makes his 134th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (126 Starts) before following Gareth Southgate, Ugo Ehiogu and Benito Carbone to cash rich but success poor Middlesbrough in return for a fee of £6,210,000. Sadly, like the aforementioned, Boateng had agitated for a move throughout the season and copying the Southgate playbook had become a destabilising influence in the dressing room, something that was exacerbated with the instant underachievement seen under Graham Taylor. That the allegation remains that Boateng handed in a transfer request just after the final whistle of the final game of the season sums up the premeditated and disruptive behaviour of the Boro group. Like his fellow exiles Boateng’s career would stagnate at a succession of lower level clubs having left Villa with a record of W52 D41 L41, 5 Goals, 1 Assist and 29 Bookings. As Boateng himself admitted “I didn't fancy coming to Boro …. when we played Middlesbrough I felt the games were really easy for me because when we played Middlesbrough with Villa it was always a comfortable win.” Despite his premature departure Boateng would return to Villa to join the coaching staff the following decade apparently a changed man. 

Forward Michael Boulding, 27, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from First Division Grimsby Town on a free transfer to become the 759th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football. Boulding’s signing, a surprise transfer if ever there was one, has been met with equal measures of bewilderment and anticipation to see just what player Graham Taylor might have unearthed after 23 goals in 113 appearances across 3 seasons in the lower leagues of English football and having been Grimsby’s leading scorer with 11 goals in 2001-02 as they just avoided relegation to the third tier.

Hassan Kachloul, 29, makes his 32nd and final appearance in a Villa shirt (25 Starts) to make it W11 D12 L9, 2 Goals, 3 Assists and 3 Bookings across his Villa career before being released under David O’Leary in June 2004. Kachloul was just one of many players discarded by Graham Taylor despite being of significantly greater quality than their replacements and was forced to sit on the sidelines for 2 years aside from a short loan to Wolves.

Jlloyd Samuel is sent off for the 1st time in a Villa shirt on his 44th appearance (29 Starts) to make it W14 D14 L16, 3 Assists, 6 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.