"doing a Leeds". O'Leary's fame at Leeds rests upon his promotion of a series of younger players, Jonathan Woodgate, Lee Bowyer, Alan Smith, Harry Kewell, Stephen McPhail, Eirik Bakke, Ian Harte, and Danny Mills (signed for £4 million from Charlton Athletic). He promoted several members of the youth team into an exciting Leeds side that played a pressing game relying on youthful enthusiasm. In an interview regarding the decline of Leeds, O'Leary stated, "I never wanted to leave Leeds. The fans are fantastic to me here. I hope they stay up because I had great times at the club." O'Leary has since stated that he would like the chance to return as manager of Leeds United, after Peter Ridsdale left the club. Aston Villa O'Leary was linked with various other vacant manager's jobs throughout the 2002–03 season. He was hot favourite to become manager of Sunderland when Peter Reid was sacked in October and again when Howard Wilkinson was sacked in March of that season, but O'Leary remained out of work until June 2003, when he was appointed manager of Aston Villa. By the beginning of November 2003, Aston Villa were hovering just above the relegation zone. O'Leary's team finished in sixth place – one place too low for European qualification due to Millwall's FA Cup Final appearance and Middlesbrough's League Cup triumph. 2004–05 In 2004–05, Villa finished 10th in the league, a drop from the previous season. Despite this, O'Leary once again avoided any risk of relegation and signed A.C. Milan's international defender Martin Laursen, Carlton Cole, and French midfielder Mathieu Berson. 2005–06 Despite six summer acquisitions including Milan Baroš and Kevin Phillips, a series of poor results had Villa hovering dangerously above the relegation zone going into December, with just 17 points from 17 games. However, an improved winter period had them move slightly up the league, with victories over Everton (4–0), Middlesbrough (4–0) and a point against runaway leaders Chelsea. In the end, Villa finished 16th, just two places above the relegation zone. Following the relegation of local rivals Birmingham City and West Bromwich Albion, Villa were the only Midlands side playing Premier League football in 2006–07. On 19 July 2006, O'Leary's contract as Aston Villa manager was terminated by mutual consent. Chairman Doug Ellis sold the club within a few months to Randy Lerner, and Martin O'Neill was appointed as manager. Al-Ahli O'Leary returned to management