David O'Leary

After the millions of Leeds United, David O'Leary found a very different task in store at Aston Villa.

O'Leary had emerged from the shadows to return to management in May 2003 when he accepted the vacant post at Villa. It marked a second chance for O'Leary after he was somewhat controversially sacked by Leeds in June 2002.

With little money to spend, constant complaints over the chairmanship of Doug Ellis and speculation over a multi-million takeover, O'Leary certainly had distractions.

Despite making some progress at Villa, time and time again O'Leary found his hopes of progress hampered by injuries to what was one of the smallest squads in the Premiership.

At the end of 2004/05, when Villa finished 10th, O'Leary revealed he had been promised a £20million war chest for the summer. In the end the boss spent £11million, with most of that cash going on Liverpool striker Milan Baros.

A poor start to the new season, combined with fresh reports of a takeover bid, left O'Leary's tenure under something of a cloud.

However, the bond between chairman and manager appears strong - reinforced by O'Leary's ill-advised march across the pitch at Birmingham City to salute Ellis after Villa had won the derby.

As a player, O'Leary spent almost his entire career with Arsenal. He was born less than a mile away from Highbury, although he moved to live in Dublin, Ireland at the age of three.

He signed apprentice terms with the Gunners in 1973, just days after a two-week trial with Manchester United, and made his professional debut against Burnley at the age of 17. It was the start of a superb career for the central defender.

O'Leary's international bow with the Republic of Ireland came as a teenager in a 1-1 draw with England, and he would go on to win a whole host of domestic trophies.

His first silverware came in 1979 in the FA Cup win against Manchester United. The Red Devils would again make an attempt to sign him in 1981 - but he chose to stay with Arsenal and penned a new four-year contract.

The player's honours list would eventually contain two Championship medals, two FA Cup winners' medals and two League Cup winners' medals. He was also a runner-up on numerous occasions at home and in European competition and would also break the Arsenal appearance record, clocking up his 550th game in 1989.

O'Leary finally left Arsenal in 1993 after their dual Cup success over Sheffield Wednesday, spending a remarkable 20 years on the north London club's books, when he was granted a free transfer as recognition for his services to the club.

He was 35 when Leeds United boss Howard Wilkinson moved to secure his signature, but his time with Leeds as a player was hugely disappointing - he was forced into retirement in October 1995 after featuring in only 12 games for the West Yorkshire club.

The highlight of O'Leary's 68-cap international career came in the 1990 World Cup. With Ireland locked in a penalty shoot-out with Romania, it was O'Leary who stepped up to take the decisive final penalty in a 5-4 win.

In 1996, after a short spell out of the game, O'Leary accepted Leeds' offer to become George Graham's assistant. O'Leary had played under Graham during his successful stint in charge at Highbury.

When Graham left, bound for Tottenham, O'Leary was given the role of caretaker. It was always clear, however, that he was not the board's first choice to take over the reins as they aggressively pursued then-Leicester City boss Martin O'Neill.

But when Leeds failed to lure O'Neill away from Filbert Street they eventually turned to their caretaker, giving him a two-and-a-half year contract.

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Perhaps O'Leary's biggest mistake was to publish a book entitled 'Leeds United on Trial', documenting his views on the Bowyer-Woodgate affair. ”

Nobody connected with Leeds could have predicted the rollercoaster ride that would follow with O'Leary, both on and off the field.

By the end of the season, O'Leary had guided Leeds to a fourth place finish in the Premiership. He had managed to bring through talent such as Jonathan Woodgate and mould an exciting, attacking team with the perfect mix of youth and experience.

Leeds' style of play became hugely admired by fans across the country, and the following season the third place finish would earn the club a place in the Champions League for the first ever time.

That same campaign, the Elland Road club came close to winning the UEFA Cup, only going out in the semi-finals after defeat to Galatasaray in the tie which will be forever remembered for the murder of two Leeds fans in Istanbul.

By now, Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale had bought into 'the dream'. He wanted more success for his club, and of course silverware, and decided that the best way to achieve that would be by getting out the cheque book.

O'Leary, who was tied to a new, longer and more lucrative contract, smashed the world record transfer fee for a defender in the summer of 2000 by paying £18million for West Ham's Rio Ferdinand. And it would be Ferdinand's exit two years later that would, arguably, result in O'Leary leaving the club himself.

The 2000/01 season would see Leeds reach their peak as O'Leary masterminded an amazing run in the Champions League. Leeds were drawn in nightmare groups in both of the opening phases of the competition but still managed to force their way through to the knock-out stages. They would eventually reach the semi-finals before being eliminated by Valencia.

However, the club's failure to earn an immediate return to Europe's elite competition - their hopes were dashed by Liverpool on the final day of the season - would be the first trigger for the downward spiral.

Leeds' Champions League achievements were all the more remarkable considering what O'Leary had to deal with behind the scenes. Woodgate and Lee Bowyer, along with Michael Duberry and reserve team player Tony Hackworth, had been charged by police in connection with an attack on a student in Leeds city centre.

The after effects continued to send shockwaves through Elland Road when the first trial was scrapped due to a prejudicial story published in a Sunday newspaper as the jury deliberated its verdict.

The re-trial would take place mid-way through the 2001/02 campaign, and the pressure really began to tell.

Perhaps O'Leary's biggest mistake was to publish a book entitled 'Leeds United on Trial', documenting his views on the Bowyer-Woodgate affair and how it had affected the club. It was the first major step in the breakdown of the relationship between himself and Ridsdale.

In January 2002, Ridsdale had proclaimed O'Leary as the best young coach in the country, and claimed he would keep the manager at Elland Road as long as he was there. Five months later O'Leary was sacked.

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O'Leary: Former Leeds manager

Leeds had again failed to qualify for the Champions League. It was something the board had literally banked on when splashing out £96million on players during O'Leary's tenure.

Failure to reach the cash-rich competition left Leeds around £70million in debt with little chance to earn the levels of income needed to sustain such a deficit.

Ferdinand had certainly made no attempt to quash rumours of a bid from Manchester United that were circulating in the press. O'Leary, working as a BBC pundit on the 2002 World Cup, had insisted he would not sell the England international.

At the end of June, O'Leary and Leeds 'parted company'. Only three weeks later Ferdinand moved to Old Trafford for a world record (defender) fee of £29.3million, rising to a possible £32million.

Leeds did not finish outside of the top five under his management.

O'Leary would then fight a six-month battle with Leeds to get compensation for his 'exit'. In the end O'Leary would win in court to further embarrass the club and prove he did not leave by 'mutual consent'.

Only after the court case had been settled did O'Leary begin to look for a way back into management. Offers came and went that didn't particularly appeal to him, but in May 2003 he decided to take up the Aston Villa job which had been vacated by Graham Taylor just a couple of weeks earlier.

Villa had just endured their worst campaign for eight years, finishing 16th - only three points above the relegation zone. O'Leary was enthusiastic about turning the club around, and must have been attracted by the young talent at Villa Park with the club winning the FA Youth Cup just 12 months earlier.

O'Leary was not be blessed with the same riches he was at Leeds, and the Villa job provided him with the chance to prove he does need cash to succeed and can manage on a less extravagant budget.

He admitted that he had made mistakes in the past, and was looking to rectify those shortcomings at Villa.

It was a difficult start for O'Leary, and in December the club was still hovering around the relegation zone.

But, propelled by the goals of Juan Pablo Angel, Villa embarked on a fine run of form which saw them steadily climb the table to finish an impressive sixth, missing out on a UEFA Cup place to Newcastle United on goal difference.

O'Leary's debut season provided much positivity at Villa Park.

But the following season proved to be distinctly average, with European football again out of the club's grasp.

And with the 2005/06 season beginning in very unspectacular fashion, the frustration looked set to continue at Villa Park, proving too much for the lacklustre O'Leary who was sacked in favour of Martin O'Neill.

Any thoughts? Email Dale Johnson.