Jlloyd Samuel - Defender Date of Birth: March 29, 1981 Birthplace: Unknown, Trinidad Nationality: English Height: 1.80m/5'11" Previous Clubs: Trainee Joined Villa: Trainee Acquisition Price: Trainee Debut: Chester (h), September 21, 1999 Contract expires: Unknown

This young defender of Trinidad, who now has British citizenship, a product of Aston Villa's youth department, had proven next to nothing in the Autumn of 2001, where he was lent to Gillingham. December saw injuries everywhere at Aston Villa, and suddenly, John Gregory was forced to recall Samuel in order to fill the gaps at Aston Villa's first team.

Samuel turned out to be a very agile and skillful defender, and has filled Alan Wright's spot as left back superbly. His performance has been unjustly overshadowed by a few mistakes, which led to goals by the opposition, but his speed is rivalled by few and his average performance justifies his spot as a regular first team player.