By Paul Brown
In this new feature series, we take a look at our past transfer windows and assess the impact made by our various signings.
This time, the spotlight falls on the summer of 2005 when Villa signed what Claret & Blue magazine referred to at the time as the "Great Eight."
All managers talk about the "missing piece" in the jigsaw and manager at the time David O'Leary left no stone unturned in a bid to solve a few Villa puzzles before the start of the next campaign.
He was looking for all the pieces to fit together perfectly as his eight new signings settled into life in claret and blue.
It was a hectic transfer window, no question about that, including at the time the fourth most expensive signing in the club's history.
Milan Baros arrived from Liverpool in a £7m deal from Liverpool and the Czech international promised fans he would be trying everything in his power to help deliver continental competition to Villa Park.
He told the Villa News & Record: "I think there are quality players here and hopefully we can qualify to play in Europe soon.
"That would be great for the club, the players and the fans.
"I am impressed with the club. There is a lot of quality here and together I think we can go forward this season.
"We have a nice, big stadium, a strong squad - so many things are right here so I think we can achieve success."
Baros, of course, wasn't the only high-profile star to walk through the Villa Park entrance door.
The days leading up to the transfer deadline day were extremely busy for the club, with Wilfred Bouma signing from PSV Eindhoven in a £3.5m deal while Leeds midfielder Eirik Bakke agreed to join until the end of January, with Newcastle United winger James Milner signing a season-long loan that saw Nobby Solano travel in the opposite direction.
Also arriving from Newcastle was Aaron Hughes, who was delighted to be joining another "big club."
He said: "I've basically left one big club for another and Villa are one of the few clubs you could leave Newcastle for and not see it as a backward step."
Goalkeeper Stuart Taylor signed on the dotted line for Villa and immediately set his sights on Thomas Sorensen's number one spot.
He said: "Thomas is a great goalkeeper. I've seen him play and obviously he's fantastic. But it's up to me to push him all the way for a place. My aim is to move on in my career and progress."
Kevin Phillips said David O'Leary's determination to land him was a key factor in the signing.
The former Southampton and Sunderland striker said: "I know the manager was interested in signing me for some time and when it became clear Villa were still in for me, there was no doubt in my mind. I didn't want to go anywhere else."
The first Villa signing of the summer, Patrik Berger was also thrilled to join the club and promised his attacking style would shine through.
MILAN BAROS
From: Liverpool
Analysis: There's no question Baros showed his goalscoring prowess during his short spell in claret and blue.
The No.10 demonstrated his best form in his opening campaign, finishing as leading scorer.
Despite suffering several injuries throughout the season, he was in stunning form when he donned the claret and blue shirt.
He bagged a goal on his debut, 10 minutes in, against Blackburn Rovers in a 1-0 Villa Park victory.
He finished the campaign with eight goals in the Premiership, making himself a hero with supporters courtesy of a brace in the 3-1 win over Birmingham.
He also scored four other goals - three in the FA Cup and one in the League Cup.
The following season proved to be difficult for Baros. He began the season as first-choice striker under Martin O'Neill and played alongside Juan Pablo Angel but he soon got injured and lost his place to Luke Moore and the emerging Gabriel Agbonlahor.
Boss O'Neill challenged the hitman to prove himself before the January transfer window. He subsequently opened his account for the season in December with a close range equaliser against Sheffield United in a 2-2 draw. But this didn't prove to be a turning point as he struggled to make an impact under the new manager.
In the January transfer window, he left the club. Following his final goal for Aston Villa in a 2-1 loss to Manchester United in the FA Cup, he was sold to Lyon in a part exchange deal for John Carew.
KEVIN PHILLIPS
From: Southampton
Analysis: There's no question that few Premier League strikers could have matched the pedigree of Phillips when he arrived at B6.
Phillips was the top-flight's leading scorer in the 1999-2000 season with 30 goals for Sunderland and he then went on to win the Golden Boot for the whole of Europe in that campaign.
He moved to Villa from Southampton, following their relegation, in June 2005 for a fee of £1m.
And he made a fast start to his claret and blue career, scoring on his debut in the 2-2 draw with Bolton - one of the most exciting opening day games in recent history.
Wearing the number 20 shirt, he shared front-man duties with Juan Pablo Angel and fellow new signing Milan Baros for much of the campaign.
His season was littered with injuries but he did cement his place in Villa folklore following his winner against rivals Birmingham City.
The arrival of Martin O'Neill as manager hastened his departure to West Bromwich Albion.
PATRIK BERGER
From: Portsmouth
Analysis: Talented Czech Republic midfielder Berger was signed from Portsmouth in the summer of 2005 after two seasons at Fratton Park.
He came to prominence during Euro 96 and moved to Liverpool soon after, making over 100 Premier League appearances.
He joined Pompey in 2003 and scored on his debut in the 2-1 win over Villa on the opening Saturday of the 2003-04 season.
That sort of performance was what persuaded O'Leary to sign the man with a sweet left foot.
His first season in claret and blue was horrific, as a series of injuries combined to plague him.
It was a massive minus point of the campaign as when he was on the pitch he looked the real deal.
The following campaign didn't look like improving either as, at one stage, he was loaned to Stoke after refusing to play for the reserves.
But after returning to Villa Park early in the New Year, his fortunes changed for the better.
Initially used as a substitute capable of producing something special late in a game, he made his first Villa starting appearance in 18 months against Blackburn on Easter Saturday - and was a revelation at Ewood Park.
Berger scored his first goal for the club and set up the winner for Gabby Agbonlahor before understandably being withdrawn six minutes from time.
He was also on target at Villa Park for the first time in the final home match against Sheffield United, and his superb effort was voted the club's goal of the season.
These performances earned him a one-year contract extension but at the end of this new deal he was released by the club having appeared in 29 matches in three seasons.
WILFRED BOUMA
From: PSV Eindhoven
Analysis: Bouma - popularly known as Freddie to players and fans alike - was a massive fans favourite during his time in claret and blue.
Little was known about the left-back-cum-centre-half when he arrived on these shores from PSV Eindhoven but when he departed he had left an indelible mark on the claret and blues.
He played 21 times in all competitions in his first campaign at Villa, with injuries taking their toll on his attendance record.
But when he did play he impressed with his ball-winning skills and positive approach.
A pulled hamstring in the last warm-up game the following term left him kicking his heels as 2006-07 got underway.
There was further frustration, too, when he regained full fitness but was unable to force his way back into the team.
It was late October, in fact, before he saw his first senior action but he gradually made the left-back position his own with some excellent performances.
He well and truly cemented his position as Villa's left-back during the 2007-08 and Bouma readily admits now it was the best campaign of his career.
He was an ever-present in the Barclays Premier League - the only time he was rested was for Villa's two Carling Cup ties against Wrexham and Leicester City.
The Holland international scored his first goal for the club, too, hitting the equaliser just after half-time to lay the foundation for a 4-1 home victory over Newcastle.
Sadly, he was forced to miss the start of the 2008-09 campaign after suffering a dislocated right ankle in the Intertoto Cup-tie against Odense.
That spelt the beginning of the end for the popular hero as he never fully recovered from the timescale of that injury.
However, his name and deeds will always be remembered fondly by everyone at Villa.
AARON HUGHES
From: Newcastle
Analysis: Hughes was a big favourite with Newcastle supporters - but was perfectly content to move from Tyneside to Villa Park when the opportunity presented itself.
During two seasons, he was "Mr Versatile", the Northern Ireland skipper playing at both right-back and centre-half.
He never let his team-mates down with a string of fine performances at the back during two campaigns in claret and blue, before moving to Fulham.
JAMES MILNER
From: Newcastle
Analysis: Milner made his Villa debut in September 2005 in the top-flight clash against West Ham.
Five days later, he scored his first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.
In a League Cup game less than a week later, he helped his side recover from being 3-1 down at half-time to win 8-3 against Wycombe Wanderers, scoring two goals in the second half comeback.
Throughout the season Milner was positive about his new team and glowing in his praise of his new surroundings.
Milner was generally seen as a positive signing in a season that was frustrating for Villa.
Milner himself also received the loan move positively, saying that he would like to join Villa permanently because of the probability of becoming a regular starter.
Shortly before the end of his loan period, negotiations between Villa and Newcastle began.
The newly-appointed Newcastle manager Glenn Roeder appeared to appreciate Milner's ability more than Graeme Souness and expressed a desire that he remain a Newcastle player.
Martin O'Neill attempted to sign him after the departure of David O'Leary but the deal fell away at the last-minute.
Villa eventually got their man when he joined permanently in August 2008.
STUART TAYLOR
From: Arsenal
Taylor joined Villa in June 2005 and made two appearances in his debut campaign - and they couldn't have been more different.
His first game proved an unpleasant experience, as he was called upon after Thomas Sorensen injured his back in the warm-up before the game against Manchester City.
A mix-up with Jlloyd Samuel at the start of the game did little to settle his nerves as Villa went down 3-1.
But his next game was much happier as he made several impressive saves to help Villa to a derby day victory against West Brom at the Hawthorns.
He must have felt the goalkeeping gods had conspired against him the following season, when an injury to Sorensen seemingly paved the way for him to enjoy an extended run in the side.
Although Sorensen was sidelined until January, Taylor played just three games - against Manchester City, Portsmouth and Sheffield United - before he was laid low with a knee injury.
This led to the emergency loan of Gabor Kiraly from Crystal Palace.
Ironically, the two regular keepers regained fitness at the same time, which meant Taylor was back to his regular spot on the bench although he did replace Sorensen at half-time at Bolton on the final day of the season.
For the third consecutive campaign, he found himself largely confined to a watching brief.
This time he was second choice to loanee keeper Scott Carson.
He was restricted to three league starts - the two games against Liverpool for which Carson was ineligible - and the 1-1 draw at Bolton, when the regular No.1 was suspended.
Carson had been sent off against Manchester United and Taylor could hardly have made a more dramatic entrance from the bench.
With the first touch of the ball he saved Wayne Rooney's penalty.
He also played in two League Cup games.
Villa signed Brad Friedel and Brad Guzan at the start of the 2008-09 season with the veteran USA ace becoming the first choice goalkeeper.
Second choice was Guzan with Taylor slipping down to third.
Taylor's final game for Villa was the game against Odense in the 2008 UEFA Intertoto Cup before moving to Manchester City.
EIRIK BAKKE
From: Leeds
Leeds stalwart Bakke was bought in on-loan by David O'Leary as a backup for young starlet Steven Davis, who was making a name for himself in claret and blue. Initially it was only a short-term deal but there were hopes of resurrecting the contract until the end of the season but this never happened.
At the time of his move, he told the Villa News & Record: "I'm happy to be a threat and if the gaffer needs me to play, I'm here.
"I want to play every game, but Gavin McCann and Steven Davis have done well, so I can't complain.
"If Davo doesn't play it will be strange because it seems he's played so many games for a 20-year-old and he's still a young boy.
"He's put so much into every game but maybe he needs a rest. It becomes a squad game at this time of year, and if Steven is rested, then hopefully I can come in and do a good job and keep the run going."
He played few games for Villa but his impact in the dressing room was immense with a colourful character coming through.
Remember, interviews with any new signings Villa make will ALWAYS be first on AVTV.
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