Villa's woeful campaign continues as they lose for the seventh time in twelve Premier League games under Paul Lambert yet there remains little sign of boardroom concern at the clear downward spiral Villa now find themselves in.

It had taken the much maligned Alex McLeish 20 matches of the 2011-12 season to lose as many games.

Villa had conceded three or more goals on four occasions in 12 matches under Lambert.

Under McLeish Villa had conceded three or more goals on four occasions across 38 games. 

Forward Jordan Bowery, 21, makes his debut after a simply ridiculous step up in level having joined from League Two side Chesterfield for a fee of £567,000 in August 2012 to become the 852nd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football. 

Ciaran Clark makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (56 Appearances) to make it W18 D15 L23, 7 Goals, 3 Assists and 16 Bookings so far in his Villa career. Clark has now picked up a booking every 3.50 games he has played.

Brad Guzan concedes his 50th goal in a Villa shirt on his 41st appearance (39 Starts) to make it W18 D7 L16, 53 Goals Conceded, 11 Clean Sheets, 1.50 Goals per League Game and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Marc Albrighton makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt from the bench (46 Starts) to make it W23 D23 L29, 9 Goals, 11 Assists, 9 Bookings and 1 Red Card 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 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 lose for the third time in four Premier League games having scored twice and conceded eighteen whilst failing to win as Paul Lambert continues to be backed in post despite Villa taking residence in the bottom three.

Villa lose their eleventh game in 22 Premier League matches under Paul Lambert.

Nathan Baker makes his 25th start in a Villa shirt (27 Appearances) to make it W8 D5 L14, 1 Booking and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Enda Stevens makes his 9th and final appearance in a Villa shirt (7 Starts) before moving on to Portsmouth on a free transfer in July 2015. Stevens would leave with a record of W4 D2 L3, 1 Assist and 1 Booking.

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 win for the first time since December and the fifth time in 26 Premier League games under Paul Lambert.

Forward Simon Dawkins makes his Villa debut aged 25 after joining on loan from Tottenham Hotspur until the end of the season to become the 855th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Ciaran Clark collects his 20th booking in a Villa shirt on his 75th appearance (69 Starts) to make it W24 D21 L30, 7 Goals, 3 Assists and 20 Bookings so far in his Villa career. Clark has now picked up a booking every 3.75 games he has played.

Matt Lowton secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 33rd appearance to make it W10 D9 L14, 1 Goal and 7 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa secure successive wins for the first time under Paul Lambert as Christian Benteke's goals once again prove crucial in keeping Villa afloat above the relegation places.

Andreas Weimann contributes his 15th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 47th appearance (28 Starts) to make it W18 D14 L15, 13 Goals, 2 Assists and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Matt Lowton contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 37th appearance to make it W12 D9 L16, 1 Goal, 1 Assist and 9 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa secure their fourth win in seven to double their tally of wins from the previous twenty five Premier League games under Paul Lambert.

Darren Bent makes his 1st appearance in 2 months in a Villa shirt on his 60th appearance (50 Starts) and had now been substitute in 9 of his last 14 games, starting just twice in the League, having only been a sub once in his first 46. Bent's record now stood at W23 D16 L21, 24 Goals, 3 Assists and 1 Booking having scored 5 times in 20 games under Lambert - with 3 of those goals coming against lower league cup opposition - compared to 19 in 40 under his predecessors (1 Cup Goal against Premier League opposition).

Ashley Westwood makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (23 Starts) to make it W8 D6 L11, 3 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ron Vlaar makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W9 D6 L10 and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Brad Guzan concedes his 90th goal in a Villa shirt on his 61st appearance (59 Starts) to make it W24 D13 L24, 90 Goals Conceded, 14 Clean Sheets, 1.68 Goals per League Game and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Centre forward Jordan Bowery makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (3 Starts) to make it W4 D1 L5, 0 Goal, 0 Assists and 1 Booking so far in his Villa career.

Yacouba Sylla contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 6th appearance (3 Starts) to make it W4 D1 L1, 1 Assist and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa can't manage to extend their strongest run of the season under Paul Lambert to four wins in five games against clubs around them in the relegation zone as they are held to a home draw by Fulham to leave them still deep in trouble.

Andreas Weimann makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (31 Starts) to make it W19 D15 L16, 13 Goals, 2 Assists and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Joe Bennett makes his 25th appearance in a Villa shirt (21 Starts) to make it W7 D6 L12, 2 Assists, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Brett Holman makes his 1st appearance for over a month, and has now made just one start in a Villa shirt in 2013 having done so 16 times in the first 4 months of the season as the winger continues to be the latest player to fall out of favour with Paul Lambert. Holman's 2012 record was 22 Appearances, 16 Starts, W6 D6 L10, 2 Goals, 4 Assists and 1 Booking. Holman's 2013 record by contrast was now 6 Appearances, 1 Start, W6 D10 L12, 0 Goals, 0 Assists and 0 Bookings.

Charles N'Zogbia contributes his 15th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 59th appearance (40 Starts) to make it W18 D20 L21, 5 Goals, 10 Assists and 8 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa end the season safe from relegation as ‘Petrov day’ celebrates the career and retirement of Villa great Stiliyan Petrov.

Villa end this most difficult of campaigns with a draw at relegated Wigan to leave them with a stack of unwanted records and with a host of players either exiled or underperforming by this most bewildering of regimes. 

It would be difficult to imagine that a season without relegation could have been much worse. 

Off the pitch there was chaos and recrimination with the infamous Bomb Squad of first team players not to be considered for duty robbing Villa of crucial experience, whilst players and systems were constantly changed leaving an incoherent manager presiding over an incoherent style of play. 

Record defeats, lower league humiliation, sub par players and performances, the banishment of effective first teamers and a malevolent discontent meant that in normal circumstances Paul Lambert would have been another one term manager consigned to the dustbin of failure. 

These weren’t normal times however as a distracted and disconnected Chairman seemed to accept and encourage this most bewildering of management regimes. 

In truth Villa’s form throughout the season meant they should have been relegated. Villa though avoid relegation under Paul Lambert at the last thanks to the goals of Christian Benteke and latterly Gabriel Agbonlahor without which a first relegation since 1986 was inevitable. 

Perhaps that end to the season bred over confidence, if true it’s difficult to understand the chutzpah of forgetting the other 40 odd games of mostly ineptitude. 

Whatever it was, this most undeserving of managers got an apparently emboldened endorsement for a second season. 

Consider the statistics: 

Paul Lambert has now led Villa to 16 defeats in 38 games in the 2012-13 season. 

Much maligned Alex McLeish delivered 14 defeats across the entire 2011-12 season. 

Lambert had hit that total in just 28 games. 

Villa have conceded 3 or more goals on 9 occasions across 38 Premier League under Paul Lambert.

McLeish had suffered four such games over the 38 game 2011-23 season. 

In his first season as manager of the club, Paul Lambert delivered the biggest defeat in Villa’s history, 0-8 to Chelsea.

In his first season as manager of the club, Paul Lambert set the record for the most goals conceded in successive games in Premier League history. 

Villa secured 5 wins in 25 League games under Paul Lambert. The five wins in the final ten games that effectively saved Villa came against Reading (19th, relegated), Queens Park Rangers (20th, relegated), Stoke City (13th, one point above Villa), Sunderland (17th) and Norwich. 

McLeish had delivered that many by New Years Eve 2011. 

Villa were never out of the bottom five under Paul Lambert in 2012-13, spending most of the season in 17th and 18th until the six-pointers against relegation rivals at the end of the season lifted them to a barely believable 15th placed finish.

McLeish’s Villa never dropped lower than 15th until the final two games of the season when they fell to 16th after finishing without a win in ten. 

Yet Lambert was not only still feted by a section of the support to the same degree as McLeish was hated, he was confirmed as manager of the club for 2013-14 even before the final placings had been realised. 

Darren Bent scores his 25th goal in a Villa shirt on his 63rd appearance (51 Starts) and had now been substitute in 11 of his last 17 games, starting just three League games, having only been a sub once in his first 46. Bent's record now stood at W24 D18 L21, 25 Goals, 3 Assists and 2 Bookings having scored 6 times in 23 games under Lambert - with 3 of those goals coming against lower league cup opposition - compared to 19 in 40 under his predecessors (1 Cup Goal against Premier League opposition). This would prove to be Bent’s last game in a Villa shirt for 43 games as Lambert would exclude the player from selection for the entirety of the 2013-14 season for no apparent reason.

Forward Simon Dawkins makes his 4th and final appearance for Villa (0 Starts) aged 25 before returning to Tottenham Hotspur at the end of his loan spell. Dawkins, never looking a Premier League player during his 5 months with Villa, left with a record of W1 D1 L1, 0 Goal, 0 Assists and 0 Bookings from his 71 minutes on the field for Villa.

Brad Guzan concedes his 100th goal in a Villa shirt on his 67th appearance (65 Starts) to make it W26 D15 L26, 100 Goals Conceded, 14 Clean Sheets, 1.68 Goals per League Game and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Fabian Delph makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (66 Appearances) to make it W24 D18 L24, 2 Goals and 20 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa suffer a chastening and worrying defeat as they are hammered at home by Spurs in the League Cup to leave them with four defeats in seven games in all competitions under Paul Lambert.

Yet it was the decision making of the notorious referee Jonathan Moss that grabbed the headlines. 

That aside there was much to concern about Villa's second half capitulation of Lambert's much changed side.

Joe Bennett suffers his 15th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 32nd appearance (28 Starts) to make it W10 D7 L15, 3 Assists, 5 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Callum Robinson makes his Villa debut after coming through the youth team to become the 863rd player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Villa bounce back from their Tottenham hammering to secure a win as thrilling as it was unexpected to give rise to an iconic image of celebrating in front of the Holte.

Paul Lambert’s Villa arguably deliver their third great result in 54 games under his stewardship with this backs to the wall victory against an expensively assembled outfit. 

The win showed a hitherto absent steel in Lambert's side, doubly so given the team was troubled with injuries to key players. 

As a result the game proved a source of hope that it could kickstart form for Villa in a way their previous victories (over Liverpool in December 2012 and Arsenal on the opening day of this season) had not. 

Villa climb to 9th in the Premier League table after six games as they had now won three and lost three of their opening matches.

Leandro Bacuna scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 6th appearance (5 Starts) to make it W4 D0 L2 and 1 Goal so far in his Villa career.

Brad Guzan contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 73rd appearance (71 Starts) to make it W29 D15 L29, 1 Assist, 108 Goals Conceded, 15 Clean Sheets, 1.64 Goals per League Game and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ron Vlaar secures his 15th win in a Villa shirt on his 39th appearance to make it W15 D8 L16, 2 Goals and 3 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Andreas Weimann secures his 25th win in a Villa shirt on his 62nd appearance (43 Starts) to make it W25 D16 L21, 16 Goals, 3 Assists and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa make it three Premier League games unbeaten but are held to a goalless draw at Hull as Paul Lambert slowly build momentum after a difficult start to the campaign.

Ashley Westwood collects his 5th booking in a Villa shirt on his 37th appearance (35 Starts) to make it W12 D9 L16, 7 Assists and 5 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa score for the first time in five and win for the first time in five Premier League games under Paul Lambert.

Villa win for the first time in five and win for the first time in five Premier League games under Paul Lambert.

Villa win for the fourth time in ten games under Paul Lambert.

Nathan Baker makes his 50th appearance in a Villa shirt (47 Starts) to make it W17 D10 L23, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Yacouba Sylla secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 18th appearance (11 Starts) to make it W10 D4 L4, 2 Assists and 4 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Aleksandar Tonev makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (4 Starts) and makes it W3 D1 L6, 0 Goals, 0 Assists so far in his Villa career.

Villa slump to a third consecutive defeat as Paul Lambert once again delivers a very unhappy Christmas to leave Villa with just five wins in seventeen Premier League games.

Villa lose for the 3rd game in succession and the 8th time in 17 Premier League games under Paul Lambert as they fall back to 13th in the table. 

Midfielder Chris Herd makes his 42nd and final appearance for Villa (36 Starts) aged 24 before being released by the club in July 2015. Herd had gradudated from the Villa youth team but his career would be regularly interrupted by long term absences that were never fully explained. Despite showing fine qualities in midfield and expected to be a fixture in the team for the long haul Herd would go on ply his trade in sporadic appearances in the lower leagues before moving into far east football.

Matt Lowton suffers his 25th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 52nd appearance (52 Starts) to make it W18 D12 L25, 2 Goals, 3 Assists and 13 Bookings so far in his Villa career.