A pitiful game, undeserving of another 40,000+ crowd, underlines how far individually and collectively Villa have fallen under Gerrard. But three points is better than one or none. Small crumbs.

Leander Dendoncker makes his debut as a 66’ substitute following his £13.5m arrival from Wolves on transfer deadline day to become the 982nd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Ashley Young collects his 40th Booking on his 219th appearance in a Villa shirt (199 Starts) to make it W95 D62 L62, 38 Goals, 64 Assists, 40 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

16th in the table at the start of play, Villa have the chance to catapult to 9th in the table as they face newly promoted Forest who have lost five on the bounce including shipping 4 goals without reply to bottom club Leicester last time out.

Villa are looking for their first away win of the season, first away win since beating relegated Burnley in May and third League win of the season. 

FT Forest 1-1 Villa. Gerrard is booed from the pitch by the away fans. Villa sit 16th on merit. The players look like they simply have no interest.

Douglas Luiz makes his 120th appearance in a Villa shirt (103 Starts) to make it W41 D23 L56, 7 Goals, 8 Assists, 28 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Emiliano Martínez makes his 85th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W32 D16 L37, 107 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.26 goals per game, 28 Clean Sheets (33%) and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Matty Cash makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt on his first return to his former club Forest to make it W27 D12 L36, 4 Goals, 6 Assists, 18 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Ashley Young scores his only goal of his second spell with Villa on his 221st appearance (201 Starts) to make it W95 D64 L62, 39 Goals, 64 Assists, 40 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Villa dominate proceedings from 50’ to 65’ before Chelsea’s first attack of the second half ends in the back of the net. Villa, now with Coutinho on the pitch, revert to Gerrard-ball and what had started as positive showings of improvement ends in a half empty stadium, a chorus of boos and a final ten minutes that saw a team simply resigned to their fate.

Hopefully the day we are finally put out of the Gerrard misery. Gerrard’s loss rate sits at 47.50% after 39 games in charge of Villa with a record of W13 D8 L19 at a win rate of 33.33% delivering 1.21 points per game so far in his Villa management career.

Dean Smith had been relieved of his duties in November 2021 with a record of 1.41 points per game, a win rate of 40.29% and a loss rate of 39.57%.

HT Fulham 1-0 Villa. A dreadful first half performance from Villa, Gerrard booed and jeered mercilessly as he walks to the tunnel, the folly of playing Konsa at right back is just one of the many failings in the first 45’. Genuinely he could be shown his cards at half time.

FT Fulham 3-0 Villa. So bad it is indescribable, don’t be fooled though, the red card and own goal made no difference to the result, Villa were defeated from the first minute with Gerrard’s idiotic defensive change. The issue now is not sacking Gerrard, it’s how toxic their continued dallying causes the fan base to turn on the owners. They are failing us by having not acted, make no mistake we are throwing away points we can never earn back. This is our easy run ended, we have nothing to show for it because of their inaction. The fight is to avoid relegation by any means possible. NSWE are now just as culpable as Gerrard and Purslow. They must act tonight.

Gone, forgotten, over, 40 games, utter despair, wasted 12 months. New start. UTV.

Steven Gerrard is finally relieved of his duties after 40 games in charge of Villa having recorded W13 D8 L19 at a win rate of 32.50%, a loss rate of 47.50%, delivering 1.18 points per game. Only Alex McLeish (2011-12) and Billy McNeill (1986-87) had a worse points per game record after 40 games.

Jacob Ramsey makes his 75th appearance for the club (49th Start) to make it W27 D13 L35, 7 Goals, 3 Assists and 13 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Douglas Luiz is sent off for the second time in a Villa shirt on his 122nd appearance (105 Starts) to make it W41 D23 L58, 7 Goals, 8 Assists, 29 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Jan Bednarek makes his first start for Villa (2nd Appearance) and it proves a total disaster to leave a record of W0 D1 L1 so far in his Villa career. 

Aaron Danks, appointed assistant manager under Dean Smith, makes his bow as caretaker Villa boss after the sacking of Smith’s successor. 

HT Villa 3-0 Brentford. A breathtaking first 45’ from Villa, what a difference.

Emiliano Buendía makes his 50th appearance for Villa (28th Start) since being signed from Norwich by Smith for £34.56m in July 2021 to make it W15 D10 L25, 5 Goals, 7 Assists and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Danny Ings scores his 10th and 11th goals for the club on his 43rd appearance (30 Starts) to make it W15 D6 L22, 11 Goals, 7 Assists and 7 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Belgian international midfielder Leander Dendoncker makes his first start for the club (5 Appearances) since his £13.5m move from Wolves in September 2022 to make it W2 D1 L2.

A bad day at the office for Villa but nowhere near as bad as some under the previous manager, despite the scoreline. Villa taught Newcastle a footballing lesson in the first half, Newcastle taught Villa a lesson in capitalising on your luck in the second.

Lucas Digne makes his 25th appearance for the club, and first as substitute, to leave a record of W8 D5 L12, 1 Goal, 4 Assists and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Unai Emery, 51, takes charge of Villa for the first time since his appointment on a four and a half year contract with the club. 

Villa already look like they are in their pomp.

Douglas Luiz, 24, makes his 125th appearance in a Villa shirt (108 Starts) since joining from Manchester City for £15,120,000 in July 2019 to make W43 D23 L59, 7 Goals, 9 Assists, 29 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Emiliano Martínez, 30, makes his 90th appearance in a Villa shirt since joining from Arsenal for £19,580,000 in September 2020 to make it W34 D16 L40, 113 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.26 goals per game, 30 Clean Sheets (33%) and 6 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Matty Cash, 25, makes his 80th appearance in a Villa shirt since joining from Nottingham Forest for £14,180,000 in September 2020 to make it W29 D12 L39, 4 Goals, 6 Assists, 18 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Jacob Ramsey, 21, makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (78 Appearances) since making his debut in February 2019 to make it W29 D13 L36, 8 Goals, 4 Assists and 13 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Emiliano Buendía, 26, makes his 30th start in a Villa shirt (52 Appearances) since joining from Norwich City for a club record fee of £34,560,000 in July 2021 to make it W16 D10 L26, 5 Goals, 7 Assists and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Lucas Digne, 29, makes his 25th start in a Villa shirt (26 Appearances) since joining from Everton for £27,000,000 in January 2022 to make it W9 D5 L12, 2 Goals, 4 Assists and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Morgan Sanson, 29, makes his 21st appearance in a Villa shirt (7 Starts) and his first since April 2022 to make it W7 D5 L9, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career. 

Clear organisation. Focus. Commitment. Passion. Football. Another 3 points. 

Villa survive a dreadful refereeing performance from the first seconds onwards, totally losing control of a game that didn’t change in its format from kick off - Brighton foul, often cynically and often collectively with barely any focus on cohesive football. Quite why then his eight card flurry after 75’ happened is a mystery.

Ezri Konsa makes his 115th appearance and 110th start for Villa to make it W42 D22 L51, 6 Goals, 3 Assists, 16 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Douglas Luiz contributes his 10th assist for Villa on his 127th appearance (110 Starts) to make it W44 D23 L60, 7 Goals, 10 Assists, 30 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Villa suffer their first League defeat under Unai Emery as an early goal derails post World Cup hopes of a third successive Premier League victory.

Villa are held at home by lowly Wolves as Unai Emery draws for the first time as Villa boss, despite the setback Villa are unbeaten in four of six outings under Emery and climb to 11th in the table.

Douglas Luiz makes his 130th appearance in a Villa shirt (113 Starts) since joining aged 21 in 2019 to make it W45 D24 L61, 8 Goals, 11 Assists, 30 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Villa fail to attract a 40,000+ crowd to Villa Park for the first time since beating Millwall in the Championship in April 2019. The 39,978 crowd, around 1,500 less than a typical VP attendance had to deal with ongoing train strikes for a late, midweek match in the first week after Christmas amidst a cost of living crisis. That Villa chose to charge £59 on the gate hardly helped. 

With League Two Stevenage in the FA Cup next, a televised match, Villa could record consecutive sub 40,000 crowds for the first time in five seasons.

Villa’s second string fail miserably and underline the desperate need for major investment and turnover in personnel outside Emery’s first XI.

Villa face Stevenage for the first time in competitive football, Stevenage become the 163rd team that the Villa first team has played in League or Cup football.

Matty Cash makes his 85th appearance for Villa since signing from Forest in September 2020 and now has a record of W31 D13 L41, 4 Goals, 6 Assists, 19 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Leander Dendoncker receives his first card of any colour on his 11th appearance for Villa and it's a red. Dendoncker's Villa career now reads W4 D2 L5, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 1 Red Card.

Morgan Sanson scores his sole goal for the club on his 22nd Appearance (8 Starts) to make it W7 D5 L10, 1 Goal, 0 Assists and 3 Bookings.

Robin Olsen concedes his 16th goal in a Villa shirt on his 6th appearance (5 Starts) to make it W1 D0 L5, 16 Goals Conceded at a rate of 2.67 goals per game and 1 Clean Sheet (17%) so far in his Villa career.

Ludwig Augustinsson makes his 4th and final appearance for Villa (3 Starts) before having his loan terminated early by Unai Emery and leaving with a record of W1 D2 L2, 1 Booking.

Fellow surprise signing Jan Bednarek also suffers an early termination and leaves with a record of W1 D1 L2.

Villa record consecutive sub 40,000 crowds for the first time in five seasons with an attendance of 32,343 following a 39,978 gate in the previous fixture.

Villa win their fifth League game in seven under Unai Emery.

Villa record successive wins for the first time this season.

Villa securing their third consecutive away win under the new boss. 

Emery has now added 16 points in seven games (2.30 points per game) having inherited a squad who had delivered 12 in 13 (1.1 points per game) under the former manager. 

Ezri Konsa makes his 120th appearance for the club (115 Starts) to make it W45 D23 L52, 6 Goals, 3 Assists, 17 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Emiliano Buendía chalks up his 60th appearance in a Villa shirt (36 Starts) to make it W20 D11 L29, 7 Goals, 7 Assists and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

A game littered with Villa mistakes lets a struggling Leicester side take 3 points. A missed opportunity, but whatever the result, the squad is at least shorn of the mediocrity of many of the former manager's misguided signings.

Ashley Young, 37, makes his 235th appearance in a Villa shirt (212 Starts) to make it W101 D65 L69, 39 Goals, 64 Assists, 42 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Jhon Durán, 19, makes his Villa debut having joined from Chicago Fire for a fee of £14.10m in January 2023 and becomes the 986th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

"Arsenal score twice in stoppage time to beat Villa"

Fresh from signing a new 4-year deal with the club, Tyrone Mings makes his 150th appearance for Villa since joining the club January 2019. Mings' full record now reads W59 D28 L63, 7 Goal, 8 Assists, 34 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Villa make it five unbeaten with four wins as Chelsea are the latest victims of the tactical management of Unai Emery.

Ollie Watkins makes his 100th start for the club (106 Appearances) since joining in September 2020, scoring his 38th goal and hitting double figures for the third successive season. Watkins' Villa record is now W42 D17 L47, 38 Goals, 11 Assists, 11 Bookings and 1 Red Card at a goal involvement rate of one every 2.16 games played so far in his Villa career.

Ollie Watkins also becomes the first Villa player to score in five successive away games in the Premier League (since 1992-93). 

18 year old goalkeeper James Wright makes his first ever squad appearance for Villa. 

Emiliano Martínez sets a new club record for most clean sheets in their first 100 Premier League games for Villa at 34 eclipsing the previous best of 33 set by Mark Bosnich and equalled by Brad Friedel. As a result Martínez makes it 102 Appearances in a Villa shirt, W41 D18 L43, 128 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.25 goals per game, 35 Clean Sheets (34%) and 10 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Sixth place after 30 games for the first time since 2009-10, seven unbeaten, six wins, four consecutive victories, another clean sheet, and Ollie Watkins' ninth in eleven. Special times, special manager, special club.

Ashley Young, 37, makes his 240th appearance in a Villa shirt (216 Starts) since first joining in January 2007 to make it W104 D66 L70, 39 Goals, 64 Assists, 42 Bookings and 2 Red Cards.

John McGinn makes his 175th appearance in a Villa shirt (168 Starts) since joining in August 2018 to make W68 D37 L70, 17 Goals, 20 Assists and 43 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ezri Konsa makes his 130th appearance in a Villa shirt (125 Starts) since joining in July 2019 to make it W51 D24 L55, 6 Goals, 3 Assists, 19 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Emiliano Buendía makes his 70th appearance in a Villa shirt (45 Starts) since joining in July 2021 to make it W26 D12 L32, 9 Goals, 8 Assists and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Bertrand Traoré scores his 10th goal in a Villa shirt on his 52nd appearance (33 Starts) since joining in September 2020 to make it W19 D10 L23, 10 Goals, 6 Assists and 1 Booking at a goal involvement rate of one every 2.06 starts so far in his Villa career.

Leon Bailey makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (31 Starts) since joining in August 2021 to make it W20 D5 L25, 6 Goals, 6 Assists and 8 Bookings so far in his Villa career at a goal involvement rate of one every 2.58 starts so far in his Villa career.

Ollie Watkins scores his 40th goal for the club on his 108th appearance (102nd Start) joining Jackie Sewell (1955-60), Davy Walsh (1950-55) and Billy Cook (1926-29) on 40. Watkins' record is now W44 D17 L47, 40 Goals, 11 Assists, 12 Bookings, 1 Red Card at a goal involvement rate of one every 2.00 starts so far in his Villa career.

Saudi Arabia hammered, humiliated and the country thanks us, they Sob on the Tyne whilst Villa make it five successive wins, unbeaten in eight, and stretch further ahead in sixth place. 

17 year-old under-18s forward Travis Patterson makes his first squad appearance for Villa. 

Villa record five successive Premier League wins in consecutive games for the first time. Villa had one five in succession twice before but in 1995-96 under Brian Little they required 10 League and Cup games to do so and 6 League and Cup games in 1997-98 under John Gregory. 

The trots hit Emi Martínez, Robin Olsen could easily concede five, Dougie Luiz rescues a point before Villa nearly win it at the death. Nine unbeaten, seven wins, and Martínez to return Tuesday. 

John McGinn makes his 170th start for the club (177th appearance) to record W69 D38 L70, 17 Goals, 20 Assists and 43 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Douglas Luiz scores his 10th goal in a Villa shirt on his 145th appearance (128 Starts) to make it W54 D26 L65, 10 Goals, 13 Assists, 34 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Villa extend their unbeaten run to 10 league games under Unai Emery, winning eight, and taking 26 points out of a possible 30 whilst keeping 7 clean sheets. 

It’s the club’s longest Premier League sequence without defeat since a run of 10 from May to October 2011 that straddled the 2009-10 caretaker management of Gary McAllister and the early days of Alex McLeish and which delivered just 4 wins and 4 clean sheets whilst taking 18 points from 30. 

Villa make it 5 consecutive victories in top-flight matches at Villa Park for the first time since John Gregory in May to September 1998, and have done so without conceding a goal for the first time since March-April 1983 under Tony Barton. 

Villa have have scored in all 20 Premier League fixtures under Unai Emery, the longest streak from the start of a manager’s tenure in the competition’s history for any club.

Álex Moreno secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 15th appearance (11 Starts) to make it W10 D2 L3, 3 Assists and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career,

Ashley Young, 37, makes his 220th start in a Villa shirt (244 Appearances) across his two spells with the club to make it W106 D67 L71, 39 Goals, 64 Assists, 44 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the first time in eleven as somehow United withstand the onslaught.

“We stopped their 10-game unbeaten run. Unai Emery was producing miracles, and who steps up to stop him? Bruno. Sit back down, Unai. Have a reality check and know your place.” Rio Ferdinand speaks volumes.

Lucky lucky Liverpool strike again as yet another last minute goal rescues them from defeat to a far superior Villa side.

But Villa guarantee a top 10 finish for the first time since 2010-11 and will finish no lower than 9th with 6th place still a possibility ahead of the final game of the season against the club currently sitting one place above Villa in seventh - Brighton & Hove Albion.

Ashley Young makes his 247th and final appearance for Villa as his second spell comes to an end with a record of W107 D68 L72, 39 Goals, 64 Assists, 46 Bookings and 2 Red Cards across his Villa career.

John McGinn makes his 175th start in a Villa shirt (182 Appearances) to make it W71 D39 L72, 17 Goals, 21 Assists and 44 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Douglas Luiz makes his 150th appearance in a Villa shirt (133 Starts) to make it W56 D27 L67, 11 Goals, 14 Assists, 35 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

On his 100th appearance in a Villa shirt (70 Starts), still aged just 21, Jacob Ramsey scores his 2nd goal in two games and his 6th of the season, equalling his total goals tally from 2021-22. Ramsey's record now stands at W41 D16 L43, 11 Goals, 8 Assists and 13 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Boubacar Kamara makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (22 Starts) to make it W12 D3 L10 so far in his Villa career.

Ezri Konsa receives his 20th booking on his 137th appearance in a Villa shirt (132 Starts) to make it W54 D26 L57, 6 Goals, 3 Assists, 20 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

16 goals scored, 6 conceded, 80% win rate, 6th in the table, through to the group stage of the ECL with consummate ease as dazzling youngsters are seamlessly introduced to the side. Unai Emery is some guy.

Seb Revan makes his sole appearance for Villa to become the 991st player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football before moving on to Wrexham in July 2024.

Omari Kellyman makes his Villa debut to become the 992nd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Leander Dendoncker secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 22nd appearance (8 starts) to make it W10 D4 L8, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Total dominance sometimes takes time to pay off. A win for mental strength.

Villa equal their best post-war run of 9 consecutive home league wins in the top-flight

Douglas Luiz scores his 15th goal on his 158th appearance in a Villa shirt (141 Starts). Luiz has now scored 5 times in his last 13 games having scored 10 in his first 145 to make it W62 D27 L69, 15 Goals, 14 Assists, 38 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Douglas Luiz became the first Villa player to score in four consecutive Premier League home matches since Gareth Barry in 2006.

Leon Bailey scores his 10th goal in a Villa shirt on his 60th appearance (38 starts) to make it W26 D6 L28, 10 Goals, 8 Assists and 9 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one every 2.11 starts so far in his Villa career.

Emiliano Martínez records his 50th win in a Villa shirt on his 117th appearance to make it W50 D20 L47, 143 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.22 goals per game, 41 Clean Sheets (35%) and 13 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa, although not at their fluent best, win against the idiotic spending Chelsea once again and climb to 6th in the table. Cue every excuse under the sun from the paltry Stamford Bridge crowd.

Douglas Luiz makes his 160th appearance for the club (142 Starts) aged 25 after joining in July 2019 to make it W63 D27 L70, 15 Goals, 14 Assists, 39 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Ollie Watkins makes his 125th appearance in a Villa shirt (117 Starts) scores his 47th goal since joining in September 2020 to make it W54 D19 L52, 47 Goals, 14 Assists, 13 Bookings and 1 Red Card at a goal involvement rate of one every 2.05 games played so far in his Villa career.

Boubacar Kamara scores his first goal on his 36th appearance in a Villa shirt (32 Starts) to make it W19 D3 L14, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Robin Olsen concedes his 20th goal on his 11th appearance in a Villa shirt (8 Starts) to make it W4 D1 L6, 20 Goals Conceded  at a rate of 1.81 goals per game and 3 Clean Sheets (27%) so far in his Villa career.

Youri Tielemans makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (3 Starts) to make it W6 D0 L4 so far in his Villa career.

Douglas Luiz collects his 40th booking on his 161st appearance for the club (143 Starts) to make it W63 D27 L71, 15 Goals, 14 Assists, 40 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Villa leave it late, late, late after knocking on the door all evening, but who cares, we're up and running in Europe.

Villa face HŠK Zrinjski Mostar for the first time in competitive football, Zrinjski become the 166th team that the Villa first team has played in League or Cup football, Villa’s 45th continental European opponents and their first from Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Ezri Konsa makes his 150th appearance (145th Start) for Villa since joining the club in July 2019 to boast a record of W63 D26 L61, 6 Goals, 3 Assists, 22 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Is this really happening? Unai Emery has transformed this team and club. Beating the second placed, Eredivisie title chasing AZ with consummate ease just adds to the utter insanity of the blooming fruition of the team that Dean Smith founded. What a time to be Villa.

Villa face AZ Alkmaar for the first time in competitive football, AZ become the 167th team that the Villa first team has played in League or Cup football, Villa’s 46th continental European opponents and their second from the Netherlands following their victory over Ajax in the 2008-09 UEFA Cup.

Youri Tielemans scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 15th appearance (5 Starts) to make it W10 D1 L4, 1 Goal and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

John McGinn scores his 20th goal in a Villa shirt on his 198th appearance (190 Starts) to make it W82 D50 L76, 20 Goals, 24 Assists and 48 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Boubacar Kamara makes his 40th appearance in a Villa shirt (36 starts) to make it W22 D4 L14, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 6 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Leon Bailey collects his 10th booking in a Villa shirt on his 67th appearance (42 Starts) to make it W30 D7 L30, 12 Goals, 9 Assists and 10 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one every 2.00 starts so far in his Villa career.

Total dominance, a freak own goal, who couldn't fall in love watching Villa at the moment.

Villa make it 12 consecutive Premier League wins at Villa Park under Unai Emery and climb to 4th in the table.

Emiliano Martínez makes his 125th appearance since joining in September 2020 to make it W56 D21 L48, 151 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.20 goals per game, 43 Clean Sheets (34%) and 14 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

John McGinn makes his 200th appearance for the club (192nd Start) since joining in August 2018 to record W83 D40 L77, 21 Goals, 24 Assists and 48 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Lucas Digne makes his 50th start for the club (63rd Appearance) since his arrival in January 2022 to record W28 D10 L25, 3 Goals, 9 Assists and 13 Bookings so far in his Villa career.