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Ugochuko Ehiogu - Defender Date of Birth: November 3, 1972 Birthplace: Hackney Nationality: English Height: 1.88m / 6'2" Previous Clubs: West Bromwich Albion Joined Villa: July 12, 1991 Acquisition Price: £40.000 Debut: Unknown Left Villa (for): October 10, 2000 (Middlesbrough) Transfer fee: £8 million

Ehiogu - never known as anything but Ugo - earned a place at the team, which he fulfilled very well. In the 93/94 season, he was at the bench for most matches, but when he was given the chance, he took it. West Brom didn't release Ugo at the of his apprenticeship. What actually happened was that he was a free agent and without telling anyone at the Hawthorns he simply didn't report back for training and the new contract which was awaiting him - he signed for Aston Villa instead.

He earned many England Under 21 caps and even captained the side on a number of occasions. At Villa Park, he was unquestionable in the starting lineup as the wide-chested and musculous defender he was. His great skill only perfected the matter. His chest was too wide for any of the shirts manufactured for Villa, not even an XXXL would fit, so he had his shirts made especially for him.

Before he got on the first team, he was a great help to Aston Villa's reserves, who won several honours with him as central defender, and everyone knew he would eventually make it to the first team.

The 97-98 season started as bad as it could for Ehiogu, some incredibly poor performances and a few disastrous mistakes from him leading to opposition goals, and having him benched briefly. The following two seasons saw Ehiogu start virtually every game, his reliability always something you could count on.

The summer of 2000 spun countless rumours about Ugo on his way out, and in the end, John Gregory took the opportunity to sell him while Villa could still get some money for him, and he left for Middlesbrough on October 20th, 2000. His final words was a massive broadside against John Gregory, claiming he had no future at Villa Park. Not exactly the kind of words that had the Villa Fans cheer him on during the next season ...

Apperances has substitutions in brackets, i.e. the games when he came on as a sub and didn't start on the pitch. All the stats include cup games.