Villa revert to type under Paul Lambert and deliver a woeful display to be knocked out of the League Cup by League One side Orient.

Joe Cole, 32, makes his debut in a Villa shirt after joining from West Ham United on a free transfer in July 2014 to become the 871st player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Shay Given makes his first appearance in a Villa shirt since 25 January 2013 having been ostracised by Paul Lambert for the last 59 games. Given's return to the side left him with 44 Appearances since signing under Alex McLeish 3 years previously and W10 D16 L18, 67 Goals Conceded, 8 Clean Sheets and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

18 year old Midfielder Jack Grealish makes his first start for Villa after his debut substitute appearance in May 2014.

Andreas Weimann suffers his 40th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 97th appearance (71 Starts) to make it W32 D25 L40, 21 Goals, 7 Assists and 7 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Just 17,000 watch Paul Lambert's Villa lose to League One Orient.

Villa lose and fail to score for the fourth consecutive game as the Lambert regime mystifyingly is allowed to continue despite calamity lurking around every corner.

Villa have failed to score in 22 of the last 46 games under Paul Lambert.

Nathan Baker makes his 75th start in a Villa shirt (80 Appearances) to make it W24 D15 L41, 10 Bookings and 1 Red Card.

Brad Guzan loses for the 50th time in a Villa shirt on his 113th appearance (111 Starts) to make it W39 D24 L50, 1 Assist, 173 Goals Conceded, 26 Clean Sheets, 1.63 Goals per League Game and 6 Bookings.

Villa lose and fail to score for the fifth consecutive game for the first time in their history as the Lambert regime is now losing to opposition up and down the League.

Villa lose their 5th consecutive league game without scoring for the first time in their history. 

Villa have failed to score in 23 of the last 47 games under Paul Lambert.

Villa had now lost 48 of the 97 games under Paul Lambert.

Ciaran Clark suffers his 50th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 111th appearance (99 Starts) to make it W34 D27 L50, 7 Goals, 3 Assists and 30 Bookings so far in his Villa career. Clark has now picked up a booking every 3.70 games he has played.

Ashley Westwood makes his 75th start in a Villa shirt (77 Appearances) to make it W22 D17 L38, 3 Goals, 8 Assists and 11 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Brad Guzan concedes his 175th goal in a Villa shirt on his 114th appearance (112 Starts) to make it W39 D24 L51, 1 Assist, 175 Goals Conceded, 26 Clean Sheets, 1.64 Goals per League Game and 6 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa are held to a third successive draw as they concede a late equaliser at Turf Moor to leave them winless in nine under Paul Lambert.

Villa have won just 3 of 13 Premier League games under Paul Lambert this season.

Tom Cleverley makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W1 D1 L6 and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Alan Hutton collects his 10th booking in a Villa shirt on his 45th appearance (43 Starts) to make it W9 D17 L19, 2 Assists, 10 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Joe Cole scores for the first time in a Villa shirt on his 4th appearance (2 Starts) to earn Villa a draw and make it W0 D1 L3 so far in his Villa career.

Villa win for the first time in ten games under Paul Lambert as they score their eighth goal in fourteen games.

Villa record their 4th Premier League victory in 14 games under Paul Lambert.

Villa, winless in five under Paul Lambert, are held to a second successive goalless draw by fellow strugglers Palace.

Villa now have 5 wins in 20 under Paul Lambert.  

Villa open 2015 without scoring for the 11th time under Paul Lambert in 2014-15.

Villa have won just 2 home games in 10 under Paul Lambert in 2014-15.

Gabriel Agbonlahor records his 100th draw in a Villa shirt on his 335th appearance (304 Starts) to make it W120 D100 L115, 81 Goals, 41 Assists and 42 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Brad Guzan keeps his 30th clean sheet on his 125th appearance in a Villa shirt (123 Starts) to make it W41 D30 L54, 1 Assist, 183 Goals Conceded, 30 Clean Sheets, 1.54 Goals per League Game and 7 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa struggle to beat relegation threatened Championship side Blackpool in the third round of the FA Cup as they sink ever further under Paul Lambert.

Alan Hutton makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (52 Appearances) despite having been at the club for over 3 years following Paul Lambert  refusal to select Hutton for 88 games between May 2012 and August 2014. Hutton belatedly makes it W12 D19 L21, 1 Goal, 2 Assists, 13 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Shay Given makes only his second appearance in a Villa shirt since 25 January 2013 and second his season having been ostracised by Paul Lambert for the last 59 games. Given's return to the side left him with 45 Appearances since signing under Alex McLeish 3 years previously and W11 D16 L18, 67 Goals Conceded, 9 Clean Sheets and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Ashley Westwood secures his 25th win in a Villa shirt on his 84th appearance (82 Starts) to make it W25 D20 L39, 3 Goals, 9 Assists and 11 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Carlos Sánchez contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 18th appearance (14 Starts) to make it W5 D7 L6, 1 Assist and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose to bottom side Leicester to leave them winless in six Premier League games under Paul Lambert as the Villa hierarchy sleepwalks to relegation.

Villa lose their 9th game in 21 Premier League matches having failed to score in 12 under Paul Lambert.

Christian Benteke makes his 75th start in a Villa shirt (80 Appearances) to make it W26 D17 L37, 38 Goals, 12 Assists, 12 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Ashley Westwood loses for the 40th time in a Villa shirt on his 85th appearance (83 Starts) to make it W25 D20 L40, 3 Goals, 9 Assists and 11 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Already a yellow card liability, Ciaran Clark is sent off on his 123rd appearance in a Villa shirt (109 Starts) to make it W37 D33 L53, 8 Goals, 4 Assists and 37 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career. Clark has now picked up a card every 3.24 games he has played.

Villa score for the first time in seven League games under Paul Lambert but lose for the fourth consecutive game as the dreadful fare served up becomes laughable were it not so serious as an impotent boardroom does nothing to halt the slide.

Villa lose their 12th game in 24 under Paul Lambert.

Since the start of 2013-14 Paul Lambert had led Villa to 32 defeats in 62 League matches. 

Villa are now without a win in 9 League games under Paul Lambert 

Villa recorded the second lowest goals total ever in a top flight season after 24 games (12), only eclipsed by the eleven scored by Leicester City in 1977-78. 

The defeat to Chelsea represented Paul Lambert’s 100th league match in charge during which time he had lost 49, won 25 and scored 98. 

Of his total of 114 games in charge, Lambert had lost 55. 

Villa had secured 12 points from a possible 60 across the last twenty matches under Paul Lambert. 

Meanwhile, Lambert spoke absolute nonsense in his post match interview as his reality bending narrative once again came to the fore.

Jores Okore scores his 1st goal in a Villa shirt on his 19th appearance (17 Starts) to make it W5 D5 L9, 1 Goal and 7 Bookings at a rate well over 1 booking for every 3 matches played. Okore would later be accused of match fixing at Aalborg Boldspilklub.

Carles Gil contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 4th appearance (3 Starts) to make it W1 D0 L3, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Tom Cleverley collecs his 5th booking in a Villa shirt to make it W5 D5 L12 and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa fail to score for the seventh time in eight League matches and lose for the fifth successive game as finally, finally, the Paul Lambert regime - one that should have been ended in the Winter of 2012 - is finally put to an end over two painful years later. 

Villa lose their 13th game in 25 Premier League matches under Paul Lambert.

Since the start of 2013-14 Villa had lost 33 of their 63 League matches under Paul Lambert. 

Villa are without a win in ten League games under Paul Lambert. 

Villa record the second lowest goals total in a top flight season after 25 games (12). 

The defeat to Hull represented Paul Lambert’s 101st league match in charge during which time he had lost 50, won 25 and scored 98. 

Of his total of 115 games in charge, Lambert had lost 56. 

Since the start of the 2011-12 season under Alex McLeish, Villa had taken 139 points from 139 league games. 

Following this latest defeat, Villa dropped into the bottom three, swapping places with victors Hull City. 

Sadly the repercussions of Lambert's toxic reign would outlast his departure as Villa would struggle to recover from his mismanagement for seasons to come. The worst manager in Villa's history? Without question.

The only surprise of this latest defeat was that Villa finally acted and sacked Lambert. 

In truth Lambert could have been sacked early in his first season. 

Undoubtedly he probably should have been fired after recording Villa’s worst defeat in history in December 2012.

And he certainly should have been dismissed at the end of his first campaign. 

Yet, not only did Lambert retain the support of the Owner he had significant backing from a crowd who had demanded his appointment as a replacement to the much maligned - but whisper it quietly - far more effective manager on and off the pitch, Alex McLeish. 

Indeed for many it was not until Palace away in 2014 that the patience broke. Yet the hierarchy still did not act and another round of bizarre recruitment saddled Villa with a squad simply not good enough for top flight football.

Lambert had been simply atrocious from appointment but the sad reality was that under Randy Lerner these records had been building with a devastating inevitability. 

Alan Hutton, one of the key victims of Lambert's terrible management following his refusal to select Hutton for 88 games between May 2012 and August 2014 receives his 15th caution in a Villa shirt to make it W13 D19 L26, 1 Goal, 3 Assists, 15 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Aly Cissokho, one of Lambert's many uninspiring signings, makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W6 D7 L12 and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Jores Okore loses for the 10th time in a Villa shirt on his 20th appearance (18 Starts) to make it W5 D5 L19, 1 Goal and 7 Bookings at a rate of over 1 booking for every 3 matches played. Okore would later be accused of match fixing at Aalborg Boldspilklub.

Villa lose for the 4th time in 6 Premier League games under Tim Sherwood as the mini revival of the early weeks of March is long since forgotten.

Villa lose for the 32nd time against Manchester United in the Premier League. The most for any club against another in the competition.

Ciaran Clark suffers his 60th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 135th appearance (121 Starts) to make it W42 D33 L60, 8 Goals, 5 Assists, 40 Bookings and 1 Red Card. Clark has now picked up a card every 3.29 games he has played so far in his Villa career.

Joe Cole contributes his first assist in a Villa shirt on his 11th appearance (5 Starts) to make it W2 D2 L7, 1 Goal and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

Villa are held at home by 18th placed QPR to leave them just three points above the relegation zone having played a game more than their rivals.

Villa fail to win for the 5th time in 7 Premier League games under Tim Sherwood but remain 16th in the table.

Villa now have just 3 wins in 16 home matches for Villa this season as the drop zone remains perilously near.

Christian Benteke scores his second hat-trick in a Villa shirt on his 93rd appearance (86 Starts) to make it W30 D18 L45, 44 Goals, 14 Assists, 12 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Villa deliver a shock result as they comprehensively beat Tottenham at White Hart Lane to provide critical breathing space under Tim Sherwood as the new boss makes it three wins in eight Premier League games.

Tim Sherwood's Villa climb to 15th place in the table, six points clear of the drop zone, as a result. 

Tim Sherwood’s arrival had coincided with an upturn in form for Christian Benteke who had now scored Villa’s last six goals in a more positive and attack minded team bringing his total to eight in eight under Sherwood. 

Villa were however still susceptible defensively as their patchy, though generally improved, results showed., 

Carlos Sánchez is sent off on his 29th appearance in a Villa shirt (22 Starts) to make it W9 D8 L12, 1 Goal, 1 Assist, 6 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Tom Cleverley makes his 30th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W10 D6 L14, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 6 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Nathan Baker secures his 25th win in a Villa shirt on his 85th appearance (78 Starts) to make it W25 D16 L44, 10 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Leandro Bacuna secures his 20th win in a Villa shirt on his 57th appearance (40 Starts) to make it W20 D12 L25, 5 Goals, 4 Assists and 9 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Andreas Weimann makes his 129th and final appearance for Villa (91 Starts) aged 23 before moving on to Derby County for a fee of £3,420,000 in July 2015. Weimann had joined Villa as a 15 year old from Rapid Wien in 2007 and left with a record of W41 D31 L57, 24 Goals, 9 Assists and 11 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa follow up their best performance of the season with an even better one as Jack Grealish stars at Wembley to earn Villa an FA Cup final against Arsenal. 

Villa’s twenty first appearance in the FA Cup semi final and one of their best sees an effervescent team under Tim Sherwood look the polar opposite of their performances under Paul Lambert as a Jack Grealish inspired Villa light up the Wembley stage. Villa were not the finished article by any means, in fact serious doubts remained, however Tim Sherwood was showing he could get things out of a squad previously unimaginable.

Jack Grealish contributes his 2nd assist on his 19th appearance for Villa (5 Starts) and first at Wembley to make it W10 D4 L5, 2 Assists, 2 Bookings, 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career in a performance that brought him to the attention of the wider public.

Villa win their fourth Premier League game in ten and climb to 14th place in the table, but are only two points clear of the drop zone as jeopardy continues. Much of Villa's revival under Sherwood had come under Christian Benteke who had now scored eleven in his last nine however the entire side looked significantly improved albeit hamstrung by the dreadful run of games under Lambert.

Villa enter a crucial May and open with victory over Everton to make it four Premier League wins in eight as they climb to 14th in the table under Tim Sherwood. Villa however remain just two points clear of the relegation places with three absolutely critical games left to play.

Having not scored in his first 31 games, Tom Cleverley scores for the second successive game in a Villa shirt on his 33rd appearance in a to make it W12 D6 L15, 2 Goals, 0 Assists and 6 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Shay Given makes his first League appearance in a Villa shirt since August 2012, 126 games previously having been ostracised by former manager Paul Lambert for no apparent reason. Given's return to the league football left him with 50 Appearances since signing under Alex McLeish 4 years previously and W16 D16 L18, 72 Goals Conceded, 10 Clean Sheets and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Leandro Bacuna contributes his 5th assist in a Villa shirt on his 60th appearance (43 Starts) having not contributed a single assist in his first 48 games for the club. Bacuna's record now stands at W22 D12 L26, 5 Goals, 5 Assists and 9 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ron Vlaar contributes his 5th goal involvement and collects his 5th booking in a Villa shirt on his 84th appearance (83 Starts) to make it W28 D21 L35, 2 Goals, 3 Assists, 10 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Tim Sherwood’s mass changes for the League Cup nearly backfire as they are held to a full time draw by League Two Notts County and need three equalisers to take the tie to extra time. 

Goalkeeper Mark Bunn makes his Villa debut aged 30 after joining from Norwich City on a free transfer in July 2015 to become the 883rd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Left back Joe Bennett scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 38th and final appearance for Villa (31 Starts) aged 25 before moving on to Cardiff City on a free transfer in August 2016. Villa had spent £2,840,000 on Bennett’s services in August 2012 and after four seasons with the club left with a record of W12 D8 L18, 1 Goal, 3 Assists, 7 Bookings and 1 Red Card.

Midfielder Joe Cole makes his 16th and final appearance for Villa (5 Starts) aged 33 before moving on to Coventry City on a free transfer in January 2016 with a record of W6 D3 L7, 1 Goal and 2 Assists.

Jack Grealish contributes a brace of assists to make it 5 in a Villa shirt and a record of W13 D4 L10, 5 Assists, 2 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Adama Traoré, scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his first start and 2nd appearance to make it W1 D0 L1 and 1 Goal so far in his Villa career.

Scott Sinclair scores his 6th goal in a Villa shirt on his 15th appearance (9 Starts) to make it W6 D0 L9 but it is only 2 goals in 11 games for the newly permanent signing so far in his Villa career.