*Spoiler Alert* Villa suffer their worst ever season (bearing in mind they employed Paul Lambert that is going some). Read on only if you do not suffer from a nervous disposition.

Villa open the season with three surprises, Tim Sherwood remains in post, a team of unknowns and unwanteds line up at the Goldsands and Villa leave with three points.

That however would be as good as the season got. Skip to 2016-17 by all means.

Villa start a campaign without Paul Lambert at the helm for the first time in four seasons and for that alone goodwill abound. 

Despite the misgivings of many, and the patchy, though ultimately successful 16 game managerial cameo from Sherwood, he was backed to the hilt by the support.

Yet nagging doubts remain as the semi-successful Tim Sherwood of 2014-15 has been kept on and now his squad has been stripped of proven talent (albeit under performing) and is now littered with a raft of unknowns, new to the Premier League and largely new to English football. 

But worse is that the problem goalkeeping position remains unaddressed. That alone means the odds are against him from the start.

Whilst it subsequently transpires that Sherwood had little input in the transfers, it feels a huge ask to expect acclimatisation and performance to be delivered in short order. It wasn’t. 

Centre back Micah Richards, 27, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from Manchester City on a free transfer in July 2015 despite having been mainly known for an injury ravaged spell in the North West. Richards becomes the 876th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Midfielder Idrissa Gueye, 25, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from LOSC Lille for a fee of £8,100,000 in July 2015 to become the 877th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Midfielder Jordan Veretout, 22, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from FC Nantes for a fee of £9,000,000 in July 2015 to become the 878th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Forward Jordan Ayew, 23, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from FC Lorient for a fee of £10,800,000 in July 2015 to become the 879th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Left back Jordan Amavi, 21, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from OGC Nice for a fee of £9,900,000 in July 2015 to become the 880th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Forward Rudy Gestede, 26, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from Blackburn Rovers for a fee of £7,650,000 in July 2015 to become the 881st player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

In total Villa fielded £45.5m of new talent which seemed a significant outlay for five players without Premier League experience.

Leandro Bacuna collects his 10th booking in a Villa shirt on his 65th appearance (47 Starts) to make it W24 D12 L29, 5 Goals, 6 Assists and 10 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa have now lost 35 of their 71 Premier League games at home since December 2011 (winning just 17).

Villa lose for the 33rd time against Manchester United in the Premier League. The most for any club against another in the competition.

Ciaran Clark makes his 125th start in a Villa shirt (139 Appearances) to make it W44 D34 L61, 8 Goals, 5 Assists, 41 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career. Clark has now picked up a card every 3.31 games he has played.

Adama Traoré, 19, makes his debut in a Villa shirt following his £9,000,000 move from Barcelona earlier this month to become the 882nd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Villa had now lost 2 of their 3 League games this season to make it 10 defeats in 19 since Tim Sherwood took over the managerial reins in February.

Ashley Westwood makes his 100th start in a Villa shirt (105 Appearances) to make it W33 D20 L52, 3 Goals, 10 Assists and 16 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa secure their first point since the opening day of the season as they draw with Sunderland.

Scott Sinclair scores a brace on his 16th appearance in a Villa shirt (10 Starts) to make it W6 D1 L9 to double his total of League goals so far in his Villa career.

Jordan Amavi contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 4th appearance to make it W1 D1 L2 and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

Tim Sherwood’s Villa lose for the fourteenth time in twenty five games and fall to 18th in the table two points adrift of safety with only seven games played.

Joleon Lescott loses for the third time in three league games in a Villa shirt on his 4th appearance for the club to make it W1 D0 L3 so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the fifteenth time in twenty six games.

Villa have not won any of their four home League games this season.

Villa record their fourth Premier League defeat in a row, 

Villa make it seven games without a win.

Full back José Ángel Crespo makes his Villa debut aged 28 after joining from Córdoba CF for a fee of £630,000 in July 2015 to become the 885th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Alan Hutton makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt (69 Starts) to make it W18 D20 L37, 1 Goal, 4 Assists, 18 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Brad Guzan loses for the 70th time on his 148th appearance in a Villa shirt (146 Starts) to make it W46 D32 L70, 1 Assist, 222 Goals Conceded, 34 Clean Sheets, 1.57 Goals per League Game and 7 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Joleon Lescott loses for the fourth time in four league games in a Villa shirt on his 5th appearance for the club to make it W1 D0 L4 so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the fifth successive Premier League game and for the sixteenth time in twenty seven matches under Tim Sherwood.

Jordan Amavi makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (9 Starts) to make it W2 D1 L7, 2 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Joleon Lescott loses for the fifth time in five league games in a Villa shirt on his 6th appearance for the club to make it W1 D0 L5 so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the sixth successive Premier League game and for the seventeenth time in twenty eight matches under Tim Sherwood. 

As a result, Villa dropped to bottom of the Premier League table, four points adrift of safety with ten games played. 

Villa have now failed to win any of their 5 home Premier League games this season under Tim Sherwood. 

Villa's latest defeat comes against Swansea City - side previously without an away win in 2015-16.

After twenty eight games, Sherwood’s reign is over, and Villa, who already looked dead certs for relegation faced a totally unnecessary mid season upheaval that could have been avoided had the club used the summer to appoint a manager capable of turning Villa around. 

Sherwood, with huge amounts of goodwill, had already presided over nine defeats in sixteen as interim boss and any objective analysis of his 2014-15 campaign would have finished it there with a huge debt of gratitude at a seemingly inevitable relegation avoided. 

Villa under Lerner however are nothing if not lazy and would always take the easy way out regardless of the impact on the club. The folly of such an approach is laid bare yet again.

Jordan Ayew scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 8th appearance (5 Starts) to make it W3 D0 L5, 1 Goal and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Carles Gil suffers his 10th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 14th appearance (9 Starts) to make it W3 D1 L10, 2 Goals, 1 Assist and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Brad Guzan concedes his 225th goal on his 150th appearance in a Villa shirt (148 Starts) to make it W46 D32 L72, 1 Assist, 226 Goals Conceded, 34 Clean Sheets, 1.57 Goals per League Game and 7 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Joleon Lescott loses for the sixth time in six league games in a Villa shirt on his 7th appearance for the club to make it W1 D0 L6 so far in his Villa career.

Rémi Garde’s first game in charge sees Villa collect a first point in eight games, five points from twelve games, bottom of the table five points from safety.

Leandro Bacuna makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt (55 Starts) to make it W25 D14 L36, 5 Goals, 6 Assists and 11 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Meanwhile it is revealted that Jordan Amavi will miss the rest of the campaign through injury having made 12 appearances (11 Starts), W2 D2 L8, 3 assists and 2 bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the 10th time in 13 Premier League games as they are hammered at Everton.

Rémi Garde’s Villa are without a win in his first two games in charge and make it 10 defeats in 16 matches as they remained rooted to the bottom of the table. 

Villa’s total of just 5 points after 13 games is their worst-ever tally at this stage of a top division season.

Villa have now suffered the longest run in their history without a league victory - 12 matches.

Jack Grealish makes his 20th start in a Villa shirt (37 Appearances) to make it W14 D4 L19, 1 Goal, 5 Assists, 3 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career but how long will his career last as his latest indiscretion - being pictured in a nightclub just hours after his latest defeat - leads to suspension from first team duties for the forseeable future.

Ashley Westwood loses for the 60th time in a Villa shirt on his 115th appearance (110 Starts) to make it W34 D21 L60, 3 Goals, 10 Assists and 18 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Winger Charles N'Zogbia makes his 93rd and final appearance in a Villa shirt (63 Starts) aged 29 before retiring from football at the end of his contract in July 2016. N’Zogbia had joined Villa for £9,720,000 from Wigan Athletic and across his 5 seasons with Villa recorded W29 D27 L37, 5 Goals, 13 Assists and 13 Bookings.

Alan Hutton makes his 75th start in a Villa shirt (81 Appearances) to make it W18 D21 L42, 1 Goal, 4 Assists, 19 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Idrissa Gueye makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W1 D2 L7 and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the 11 time in 14 Premier League games as they capitulate to allow Watford victory and relegation, after just 14 games, seems inevitable.

Villa have now gone 13 Premier League games without a victory.

Jordan Veretout contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 10th appearance (8 Starts) to make it W3 D1 L6 so far in his Villa career.

Micah Richards loses for the 10th time in a Villa shirt on just his 14th appearance to make it W2 D2 L10, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 1 Booking, Richards' wins had come against newly promoted Bournemouth and lower League Birmingham so far in his Villa career.

Scott Sinclair makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (18 Starts) to make it W7 D2 L16 and 9 Goals so far in his Villa career.

Villa record a second draw in 4 games under Rémi Garde as they leave St Mary's with their 6th point of the season after 15 games.

Villa set a new club record of 14 consecutive league games without a win (lost 11).

Alan Hutton collects his 20th booking in a Villa shirt on his 83rd appearance (77 Starts) to make it W18 D22 L43, 1 Goal, 4 Assists, 20 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Joleon Lescott avoids defeat for the first time in eight league games and scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 9th appearance for the club to make it W1 D1 L7 and 1 Goal so far in his Villa career.

Meanwhile it is announced after the game that Jack Grealish, following his latest misdemeanour, is to return to training with the first team following his demotion 2 weeks earlier.

Villa lose for the 12th time in 16 Premier League games.

Villa extend their winless run to 15 League games.

Villa set a new club record of 9 home League games without a win. The previous 8-game record has stood since March 1921. 

This is Villa’s 500th home defeat in their league history. 

Villa remain 20th, bottom of the table, and are now 8 points from safety.

Jordan Ayew suffers his 10th defeat in a Villa shirt on just his 15th appearance (10 Starts) to make it W3 D2 L10, 3 Goals and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Joleon Lescott loses for the eighth time in nine league games in a Villa shirt on his 10th appearance for the club to make it W1 D1 L8 and 1 Goal so far in his Villa career.

Villa record their third draw in 6 games under Rémi Garde.

Rémi Garde’s Villa have now gone 16 Premier League games without a win, losing 12. 

Villa extended the longest run without a victory in their league history and sat bottom of the top tier at Christmas for only the third time in their history. Villa were relegated on both previous occasions in 1935-36 and 1958-59.

Joleon Lescott avoids defeat for only the second time in ten league games in a Villa shirt on his 11th appearance for the club to make it W1 D2 L8 and 1 Goal so far in his Villa career.

Villa draw a second successive game under Rémi Garde but remain winless in 17 Premier League games.

Villa record their 4th draw in 7 games under Rémi Garde. 

Jordan Ayew scores his 5th goal in a Villa shirt on just his 17th appearance (12 Starts) to make it W3 D4 L10, 5 Goals and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Idrissa Gueye makes his 15th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W1 D5 L9 and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Joleon Lescott avoids defeat for only the third time in eleven league games in a Villa shirt on his 13th appearance for the club to make it W1 D3 L8, 1 Goal and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Carlos Sánchez makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (37 Starts) to make it W13 D13 L24, 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 8 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the 13th time in 19 Premier League games.

Rémi Garde’s Villa have now lost 4 out of their last 8 games.

Villa are without a win in 18 Premier League matches.

Villa remain bottom of the table and are now 11 points from safety with the season only half completed.

Ashley Westwood collects his 20th booking in a Villa shirt on his 119th appearance (113 Starts) to make it W34 D24 L61, 3 Goals, 10 Assists and 20 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Jordan Ayew collects his 5th booking in a Villa shirt on just his 18th appearance (13 Starts) to make it W3 D4 L11, 5 Goals and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Idrissa Gueye suffers his 10th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 16th appearance to make it W1 D5 L10 and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Kieran Richardson loses for the 20th time in a Villa shirt on his 36th appearance (28 Starts) to make it W12 D4 L20, 1 Assist, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the 14th time in 20 Premier League games in 2015-16.

Villa had now lost 5 of their last 9 games under Rémi Garde.

Villa were without a win in 19 Premier League matches.

Villa sat bottom of the table, eleven points from safety. 

Adama Traoré, contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 10th appearance (1 Start) to make it W1 D1 L8, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Carles Gil suffers his 15th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 21st appearance (13 Starts) to make it W3 D3 L15, 3 Goals, 1 Assist and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Joleon Lescott loses for the ninth time in twelve league games in a Villa shirt on his 13th appearance for the club to make it W1 D3 L9, 1 Goal and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.