Villa are hammered by Newcastle as the limitations of fielding a managerless team are laid bare.

Well at least that ruled Kevin MacDonald out of the running to replace O'Neill.

James Milner makeweight Stephen Ireland, 24, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after arriving from Manchester City earlier this month. If any game was a microcosm of his car crash of a career this was it, lightweight, self-obssessed and overpaid, the player should never have been at the club but that he was meant that he became the 828th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football. A contrast to James Milner could not have been greater.