Player #837 for Aston Villa, Alan Hutton played as a right back for the club in Villa’s 2011-12, 2014-15 and 2015-16 Premier League campaigns, with the latter ending in Villa’s first relegation from the top tier in nearly 30 years.

Hutton also appeared during Villa’s Football League Championship campaigns of 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19. Hutton made 202 appearances and scored 3 goals.

Hutton was born in Glasgow on 30 November 1984.

Alex McLeish had signed Alan from Tottenham Hotspur for £4,050,000 on 31 August 2011 and once again McLeish, without many people knowing or recognising it at the time, had made another astute signing for the club.

Nobody would claim that Hutton was the most gifted and skilful of players but few could argue that he was one of the most loyal, committed and resilient of players to play for any club, let alone Villa.

Whilst Hutton wasn’t a typical Villa full back his own qualities brought a welcome tenacity to the team. Like many things Villa related however life went pear shaped for Hutton once the bewildering Paul Lambert arrived as the successor to the much maligned Alex McLeish.

As Lambert had inexplicably done with Darren Bent and Shay Given, he made Hutton a fully paid up member of the bomb squad and refused to select him for any first team squad and thereby robbing Villa of his services for two entire campaigns. This utterly illogical action would have been demonstrably idiotic whoever the players in question were but given these were, for all their idiosyncrasies, the potential spine of an experienced Villa line up, it was positively suicidal behaviour.

Yet Lambert saw fit to ensure that Villa were paying a player - who could materially improve his woeful side - to sit out of first team consideration. For what reason few are sure.

Such was the illogical treatment of Hutton that a player that had cost Villa over £4m was not even afforded regular game time elsewhere through the loan system with just three short loans out across a couple of seasons potential game time.

The sweet irony was of course that Hutton vastly outlasted Lambert and when he finally left the club he left as a bona fide Villa great whilst Lambert led yet more clubs to relegation and toiled in the lower leagues.

Not that Hutton was a bitter or resentful person. He went on to make over 200 appearances for the club under a succession of managers who valued his worth to the team, and his stupendous goal against neighbours Birmingham City meant not only did he overcome, outlast and outwit his nemesis, he also wrote himself into the history books as one of the Villa greats - for how he conducted himself off the pitch as much as his support on it.

Hutton made his final appearance for Villa on Sunday, 5 May 2019 aged 34 before retiring in May 2019 having made his debut appearance for Villa on Saturday, 10 September 2011 aged 26.

Hutton played under Alex McLeish, Paul Lambert, Scott Marshall & Andy Marshall, Tim Sherwood, Kevin MacDonald, Rémi Garde, Eric Black, Roberto Di Matteo, Steve Bruce and Dean Smith.