David O'Leary still wishes he had signed James Beattie; chairman Doug Ellis believes Aston Villa had a lucky escape.
The big Everton striker arrives for today's clash at Villa Park with a point to prove.
The traditional target-man is a doubt for the fixture, as he has a foot injury, but he is assured of a hot reception from Villa fans should he play.
The then-Southampton striker eventually decided to choose Everton ahead of Villa in January after both chairmen, Ellis and Bill Kenwright, agreed to set the fee at £6 million.
After intimating that he was set for a move to the Midlands, Beattie had a change of heart at the last minute and placed a large spanner in O'Leary's late-season plans.
To add insult to injury, O'Leary was charged with making an illegal approach for the player before the sorry saga finally ended.
Nevertheless, Ellis, writing in his book Deadly Doug: Behind the Scenes at Aston Villa FC, is convinced that the England international, who has yet to win over Everton fans after scoring only four goals in 24 Premiership appearances, is no great loss to Villa's playing staff.
Ellis wrote: "I got a lot of stick for failing to sign him but the final decision actually had nothing to do with me.
"The truth of the Beattie talks was that his father rang Villa and let it be known he was interested in joining us. Of course, his dad did the same thing with Everton!
"The choice of player is down to the manager, David O'Leary, but I had done my homework and I was never convinced about Beattie.
"My research told me that he lacked a touch of skill and I think I've been proved right. Since he joined Everton, he hasn't looked quite as good as everyone thinks he was.
"Any decision is not mine and I will always back the manager. Perhaps O'Leary would have moulded him to get more out of him but there was something not quite right about the transaction that made me wonder was it right?"
Nevertheless, despite Ellis' misgivings, O'Leary is adamant he would still bring Beattie to Villa Park tomorrow given the opportunity.
Kevin Phillips' injury has left Villa short in attack with Juan Pablo Angel out of form and Milan Baros left to plough his own furrow.
With Villa's defensive resources stretched to the limit, O'Leary knows that an in-form Beattie could cause them untold problems.
O'Leary said: "James is a good centre-forward. He has taken time to settle in at Everton but I'd still love James here.
"He is a good player. He will settle down once he gets his injuries behind him and proves a real strong target-man that people can feed off.
"He has had a tough start but, in the long term, he will prove a good solid player. I'd have bought him, as he gives the team a physical presence. He will always get his fair share of goals but he gives you more than that."
Whether Beattie is present or not, O'Leary is expecting Everton to cause problems despite their season mirroring Villa's.
Both teams are under-achieving and Villa's boss cites inconsistency as the biggest single factor behind their respective league positions.
He said: "They bought good players but I don't think they've just gelled yet. David Moyes took over as manager and finished seventh in the first season, then nearly got relegated the following season, then got them to fourth and now they are back down to where they were in the second season he was in charge.
"It's been inconsistency that is the biggest problem for us, too. We have been weakened in a few positions and we've had a few injuries but the biggest thing has been our consistency.
"We have shown some good form. We had a good performance against Liverpool, beat Sunderland and Charlton and then Doncaster wiped the floor with us.
"The top teams are the ones that generally finish there every year and have the top-class players who are expected to perform and play well, week in and week out. They can cope with that expectation." ..SUPL:
