Villa's troubled start to life under Paul Lambert continues as they are well beaten at St Mary's to leave them with three defeats in five Premier League outings with alarm bells beginning to ring.

Paul Lambert's Villa lose their third game in five Premier League matches as concerns mount. Heavier defeats and worse performances than had been typical under both Lambert's generally poor predecessors Houllier and McLeish raised alarm bells. 

With goals at a premium and a defence struggling, the folly of Lambert having ostracised the experience of Alan Hutton and Stephen Warnock (now on loan at Championship side Bolton) and banishing Shay Given to the subs bench became ever more apparent. 

Five League games in it was clear Lambert wasn't the solution many had hoped. 

Left back Joe Bennett, 22, makes his debut after joining from Championship side Middlesbrough for a fee of £2,840,000 in August 2012 to become the 851st player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Ciaran Clark suffers his 20th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 50th appearance (44 Starts) to make it W16 D14 L20, 7 Goals, 3 Assists and 15 Bookings so far in his Villa career. Clark has now picked up a booking every 3.33 games he has played.

Gabriel Agbonlahor suffers his 80th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 255th appearance (229 Starts) to make it W95 D80 L80, 62 Goals, 31 Assists and 25 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Brad Guzan concedes his 40th goal in a Villa shirt on his 34th appearance (32 Starts) to make it W17 D5 L12, 40 Goals Conceded, 10 Clean Sheets, 1.27 Goals per League Game and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Darren Bent suffers his 15th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 46th appearance (45 Starts) to make it W17 D14 L15, 21 Goals, 2 Assists and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Stephen Ireland contributes his 5th assist in a Villa shirt on his 47th appearance (37 Starts) (one of which came against lower league opposition Tranmere) to make it W10 D16 L21, 1 Goal, 5 Assists and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa's second string beat Manchester City's even stronger reserve side to deliver progress into the League Cup 4th Round.

Paul Lambert's Villa get respite from their severe problems in the League with a victory as surprising as it was welcome over Gareth Barry and James Milner's high flying Manchester City side. 

That the damage was done by players hitherto out of favour with Lambert added to the hope that a side more representative of the talents of the squad would soon be seen in the Premier League.

Chris Herd makes his first appearance for a month to make it 30 appearances in a Villa shirt (24 Starts), W8 D10 L12, 2 Goals, 2 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Scarcely believably but Paul Lambert loses the Villa dressing room after just eight games in charge as the folly of his appointment is laid bare for all but the most hopelessly optimistic of supporters.

Paul Lambert's Villa fail again in the League as they can only draw at home to Albion but for all the concern about team selection and on-field performances it is behind the scenes where alarm bells are now ringing loudly in just his eighth game in charge. 

The counter-productive Gérard Houllier bomb squad had been re-implemented after the relative sense of the McLeish era, and the bizarre policy of recruiting lower league imports well before their due date only to see them being preferred ahead of calm, experience, meant any semblance of a honeymoon for Lambert was well and truly over. 

In that context, the decision of the mono-syllabic manager to pick a fight with Villa’s record signing, days after picking a fight with the manager of the reigning champions seemed at best questionable. 

Lambert’s protestations of innocent motives didn’t wash with any but the most gullible so it was no surprise that the offended player taunted his new boss on celebrating his equalising goal. 

Mutual respect was clearly in short supply, the question was just how far that was ingrained in the dressing room after eight, largely painful, games into Lambert’s reign. The rumours were that the dressing room was already well and truly lost. 

The shortest permanent managerial tenure in history was in order but stasis and incompetence in the boardroom meant Paul Lambert survived despite one win and four defeats in seven Premier League games as the dour manager's reign was allowed to continue.

Paul Lambert's Villa lose their fourth game in seven Premier League matches and it is not too soon to call time on his reign. 

Sadly much of the fan base and certainly the board had drunk too much of the 'kool-aid' and were taken in by the nonsense being spouted on an almost daily basis. 

Alex McLeish had been heavily maligned but one of the contributions he had made was to bring the squad together and operate a policy of inclusion. 

Within days of his arrival Lambert had ripped this approach apart and it was little surprise to see the effect manifest itself on the pitch. 

Indeed had McLeish or his predecessor Houllier delivered the results that Lambert had done since his appointment there is no doubt whatsoever that action would have been taken. 

That though was never going to happen with Lambert, as it would, of course, necessitate a massive and unpalatable climbdown on the part of a supporter base who had demanded Lambert’s appointment and the newly parsimonious Randy Lerner was hardly in a move to pay up a contract just a few weeks into its existence. 

Yet the warning signs weren’t just there, they were screaming from every angle. Lambert’s should have been the shortest reign of any permanent manager in Villa’s history but a confluence of unfortunate and mutually self interested events kept him in post and Villa on course for inevitable relegation. 

It was just a question of when. 

Villa lose their fourth game in 7 Premier League matches under Paul Lambert.

Joe Bennett collects his first booking in a Villa shirt on his 4th appearance (3 Starts) to make it W1 D1 L2, and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the fifth time in eight Premier League games under Paul Lambert and have now delivered their their worst top-flight start since 1986-87 when they were relegated under Billy McNeill. 

Alex McLeish took 16 games to lose 5 in 2011-12. 

In 2010-11 it was 14 games.

Any manager needs time but there needs to be an inclination of competence to build on, sadly even communication was beyond the monosyllabic Lambert and only the pride of the Villa faithful - who had largely demanded his appointment - kept the protests at bay, a situation that though understandable was the worst possible approach.

Nathan Baker suffers his 10th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 17th appearance (15 Starts) to make it W4 D3 L10 and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Ron Vlaar loses for the 5th time in a Villa shirt on his 9th appearance to make it W2 D2 L5 and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa's terrible start to the season under Paul Lambert continues as they are held by Norwich to record their poorest start to a campaign for 43 years and leave them just above the Premier League relegation zone.

Villa now have 1 win in 9 Premier League games under Paul Lambert.

Villa have made their worst start to a season since 1969-70 when they drew two and lost seven of their opening nine games before being relegated to the third tier for the first time in their history.

Darren Bent makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (46 Starts) but had now been substitute in 3 of the last 4 games, having only been a sub once in his first 46. Bent's record now stood at W17 D16 L17, 22 Goals, 2 Assists and 1 Booking having scored 3 times in 10 games under Lambert compared to 19 in 40 under his predecessors.

Joe Bennett is sent off on his 6th appearance in a Villa shirt (5 Starts) to make it W1 D2 L3, 3 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Chris Herd makes his first appearance for a month to make it 25 starts in a Villa shirt (31 Appearances), W8 D11 L12, 2 Goals, 2 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Villa win for the 2nd time in 10 Premier League games under Paul Lambert but the madness deepens with the ostracism of Darren Bent.

Andreas Weimann secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 26th appearance (11 Starts) to make it W10 D11 L5, 2 Goals and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Gabriel Agbonlahor scores his first league goal in 28 matches to make it W98 D82 L82, 66 Goals, 31 Assists and 26 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Christian Benteke contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 9th appearance (7 Starts) to make it W4 D2 L3, 4 Goals, 1 Assist and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Stephen Ireland makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (40 Starts) to make it W12 D16 L22, 1 Goal, 6 Assists (two against lower league opposition) and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career. Ireland's League record is 1 goal and 4 assists in 42 matches.

Eric Lichaj collects his 10th booking in a Villa shirt on his 29th appearance (21 Starts) at a rate of 1 card for every 2.9 games he has played to make it W10 D9 L10, 2 Goals, 2 Assists and 10 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Anfield proves the very worst of false dawns as Villa's two League wins in a six game unbeaten run come to a crashing end as Paul Lambert leads Villa to their worst defeat in history in any competition as they ship eight without reply to leave Lambert's remaining reputation in tatters and a New Year managerial change presumably imminent.

Paul Lambert leads Villa to the worst ever defeat in the club's history, eclipsing the 1-8 defeat to Blackburn in an FA Cup tie on 16 February 1889.

As a result Villa’s five game unbeaten League run (two wins, three draws) comes to a crashing end

Villa have now lost 8 of 18 Premier League matches under Lambert.conceding 3 or more goals on 5 occasions.

Brad Guzan concedes his 60th goal in a Villa shirt on his 47th appearance (45 Starts) to make it W20 D7 L17, 63 Goals Conceded, 14 Clean Sheets, 1.54 Goals per League Game and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa are hammered for the second successive game, this time at home, concede twelve and fail to score as Paul Lambert throws out some of the worst gas-lighting ever known.

Those who had been watching closely knew this is where Villa were headed under Lambert but few could have expected the severity of his impact. 

Villa had now lost nine of nineteen Premier League matches under Lambert conceding three or more goals on six occasions. Villa remained three points above the relegation zone but their goal difference was now significantly worse than the teams below them in the table with 18th placed Wigan their next opponents.

Paul Lambert's Villa follow up the worst ever defeat in the club's history with another heavy defeat to equal the Premier League record of the most goals conceded in two consecutive games. 

Ciaran Clark suffers his 25th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 64th appearance (58 Starts) to make it W21 D18 L25, 7 Goals, 3 Assists and 17 Bookings so far in his Villa career. Clark has now picked up a booking every 3.76 games he has played.

Villa are destroyed for the third consecutive game and have now conceded fifteen without scoring as Paul Lambert continues to plumb new depths without mitigation and with no reaction from an incompetent boardroom.

Villa concede their 13th, 14th and 15th goal in the last 3 games without reply under Paul Lambert.

Villa have now lost 10 of their 20 Premier League matches under Lambert.

Villa have now conceded three or more goals on seven occasions under Lambert.

Wigan had picked up only one point from a possible 18 before this game. 

Lambert's predecessor, the much maligned Alex McLeish, presided over 14 Premier League defeats across the entire 38 game campaign last season, conceding 3 or more goals on 4 occasions.

Brad Guzan concedes his 70th goal in a Villa shirt on his 49th appearance (47 Starts) to make it W20 D10 L19, 70 Goals Conceded, 14 Clean Sheets, 1.69 Goals per League Game and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Matt Lowton suffers his 10th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 24th appearance to make it W8 D6 L10, 1 Goal and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Paul Lambert's Villa start 2013 in terrible shape. A manager who looked out of his depth after 8 games now looked positively dangerous after 25. 

Villa stop their worst ever run of defeats - losing three and conceding fifteen without scoring - but can only draw with Swansea as they enter the new year in arguably the worst form since 1970 and undeniably since 1986.

Seventeen goals conceded in four games, a record defeat, a bomb squad that had robbed the squad of much needed defensive talent and a bizarre choice to consistently leave the best goalkeeper at the club on the bench, were just the headlines of Lambert’s reign. If Paul Lambert’s incoherent mumblings made no sense nor did his actions. 

Yet for the first time in four games Villa scored as Christian Benteke once again secured Villa points they didn’t otherwise look like getting and climb to sixteenth in the table - one point above the relegation places. 

Paul Lambert’s preferred side had delivered just once, albeit spectacularly at Anfield, in 21 League games and that was enough for many to cling to the belief that the Villa boss would get things right. Yet the reality was Villa were in a mess that would fester and worsen through inaction. Pride comes before a fall after all.

Christian Benteke's remarkable start continutes as he contributes his 15th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 21st appearance (19 Starts) to make it W7 D6 L8, 9 Goals, 6 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Brad Guzan makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (48 Starts) to make it W20 D11 L19, 72 Goals Conceded, 14 Clean Sheets, 1.70 Goals per League Game and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Fabian Delph collects his 15th booking in a Villa shirt on his 49th appearance (35 Starts) at a rate of a card every 3.27 games he has played and makes it W18 D15 L16, 2 Goals and 15 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Matt Lowton makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W8 D7 L10, 1 Goal and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa struggle to victory against Championship side Ipswich in the 3rd round of the FA Cup.

Villa win for the first time in 5 games under Paul Lambert.

Fabian Delph makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (36 Starts) to make it W19 D15 L16, 2 Goals and 15 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Nathan Baker makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (23 Starts) to make it W8 D5 L12, 1 Booking and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Darren Bent contributes his 25th goal involvement and secures his 20th win in a Villa shirt on his 54th appearance (48 Starts) but had now been substitute in 5 of the last 8 games, starting just once in the League, having only been a sub once in his first 46. Bent's record now stood at W20 D16 L18, 23 Goals, 2 Assists and 1 Booking having scored 3 times in 14 games under Lambert compared to 19 in 40 under his predecessors.

And yes, Paul Lambert did leave Christian Benteke unused on the bench.

Villa's utterly appalling form in 2012-13 under Paul Lambert continues as they are humiliated by League Two side Bradford in the League Cup semi final.

Paul Lambert's Villa lose heavily, comprehensively and deservedly to League Two side Bradford as the season lurches from disaster to embarrassment. Another terrible defensive performance is brought into acute focus as two experienced defenders return to the club from loan spells only to be placed in the infamous 'bomb squad' of first team players not to be considered for duty; a policy started by Gérard Houllier but taken to new damaging levels by Lambert. 

Forward Graham Burke makes his final appearance for Villa aged 19 before moving on to Notts County on a free transfer in July 2015. Burke had made 2 appearances for Villa since signing professional forms with the club in July 2011.

Andreas Weimann scores his 10th goal in a Villa shirt on his 37th appearance (20 Starts) to make it W14 D13 L10, 10 Goals and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Barry Bannan makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt (45 Starts) to make it W21 D22 L32, 2 Goals, 5 Assists and 8 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa make it six Premier League games without a win under Paul Lambert to leave them with four wins in twenty three League games in this most torrid of seasons.

Christian Benteke scores his 10th goal in a Villa shirt on his 24th appearance (22 Starts) to make it W7 D7 L10, 10 Goals, 7 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Gabriel Agbonlahor contributes his 100th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 272nd appearance (244 Starts) to make it W101 D85 L86, 67 Goals, 33 Assists and 27 Bookings at a goal involvement rate of one for every 2.72 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Brad Guzan makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (52 Appearances) to make it W20 D12 L20, 75 Goals Conceded, 14 Clean Sheets, 1.69 Goals per League Game and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Brett Holman makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (17 Starts) to make it W6 D8 L11, 2 Goals, 4 Assists and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Villa's terrible season under Paul Lambert continues as they are beaten over two legs by League Two Bradford in the League Cup semi final.

Paul Lambert's Villa need a last minute goal to beat League Two Bradford but it's not enough and they are knocked out of the League Cup by a team 60 places below them in the League. 

Christian Benteke makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (23 Starts) to make it W8 D7 L10, 11 Goals, 7 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Joe Bennett contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 15th appearance (13 Starts) to make it W4 D4 L7, 1 Assist, 3 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Midfielder Stephen Ireland makes his 59th and final appearance (44 Starts) of an utterly underwhelming spell with Villa aged 26 before moving on to Stoke City on a free transfer in January 2014. Ireland had arrived at Villa in a swap deal with James Milner in August 2010 and took 23 games to contribute anything other than a booking before 4 assists and 1 goal in 42 League games. Ireland left with a paltry record of W15 D17 L27, 1 Goal, 6 Assists and 3 Bookings. It was anyone but his fault of course. An embarrasment on and off the field, Ireland was not missed.

Fabian Delph secures his 20th win in a Villa shirt on his 54th appearance (39 Starts) to make it W20 D16 L18, 2 Goals and 17 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa's awful season gets worse as they are beaten by Championship side Millwall just days after losing to League Two Bradford with Paul Lambert setting more and more simply incredible levels of failure.

Paul Lambert's Villa are knocked out by of the FA Cup by Championship side Millwall, three days after being dumped out of the League Cup by League Two Bradford 

Almost as bewildering as the manager's incoherent mumbling was the appearance of a banner in the away end proclaiming "In Paul Lambert we trust". 

Wags suggested it was Randy Lerner's last investment in a desperate attempt to keep the season afloat. Whatever the provenance of the banner the reality of the last 31 games was all anyone needed to know.

Villa make it seven Premier League games without a win under Paul Lambert to leave them with four wins in twenty four League games as this most torrid of seasons continues with defeat to relegation rivals Newcastle.

Villa lose their 12th match in 24 Premier League games under Paul Lambert.

Darren Bent makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (58 Appearances) but had now been substitute in 7 of the last 12 games, starting just twice in the League, having only been a sub once in his first 46. Bent's record now stood at W21 D16 L21, 24 Goals, 3 Assists and 1 Booking having scored 5 times in 18 games under Lambert - with 3 of those goals coming against lower league cup opposition - compared to 19 in 40 under his predecessors.

Nathan Baker suffers his 15th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 29th appearance (27 Starts) to make it W8 D6 L15, 2 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Charles N'Zogbia makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (35 Starts) to make it W14 D18 L18, 2 Goals, 8 Assists and 8 Bookings so far in his Villa career.