Villa lose for the first time in five but now have just one win in eight Premier League games under Gérard Houllier after failing to score for the fourth time.

Robert Pirès makes his Villa debut aged 37 after joining Villa as a free agent earlier this month. Pirès, a surprising signing, becomes the 830th player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football despite having already retired from first class football.

Brad Friedel concedes his 125th goal in a Villa shirt on his 103rd appearance to make it W46 D32 L25, 125 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.21 goals per game, 33 Clean Sheets (32%), 1 Booking and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Luke Young makes his 75th appearance in a Villa shirt (73 Starts) to make it W32 D21 L22, 2 Goals and 12 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Ciaran Clark collects his 3rd Booking in a Villa shirt on just his 11th appearance (8 Starts) as it begins to become apparent that there may be disciplinary issues with the otherwise impressive youngster. Clark's record of W6 D3 L2 is tempered by his receiving of a caution every 3.67 games in his nascent Villa career.

Stephen Ireland makes his 10th appearance in a Villa shirt (7 Starts) and has contributed precisely nothing over the period save for 1 booking. Ireland's record stands at W2 D3 L5, 0 Goals and 0 Assists so far in his Villa career.

Villa's awful run under Gérard Houllier continues as they lose for the second successive game and now have just one win in nine Premier League games 

Gérard Houllier mystifyingly hands a start to Robert Pirès - a player who not only has not been playing regular football but who has also been without a club to keep match fit - unsurprisingly he lasts just 45' by which time Villa were two down and heading for a heavy defeat. Pirès' record is W0 D0 L2, 0 Goals and 0 Assists so far in his unexpected Villa career.

Ciaran Clark makes the scoreline more respectable with his first goals in a Villa shirt on his 12th appearance (9 Starts) however he picks up another caution to make it one booking for every 3 games played and W6 D3 L3 so far in his Villa career.

Richard Dunne contributes his 1st assist in a Villa shirt on his 58th appearance to make it W23 D20 L15, 3 Goals, 1 Assist and 9 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Gérard Houllier's messy reign continues as Villa lose to their neighbours in a Cup game for the first time since 1963.

Fresh from his first goals in a Villa shirt Ciaran Clark contributes his 1st assist on his 13th appearance (10 Starts) to make it W6 D3 L4, 2 Goal, 1 Assist and 4 Bookings.

James Collins makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (52 Appearances) to make it W21 D18 L13, 3 Goals and 9 Bookings.

Stewart Downing makes his 50th start in a Villa shirt (53 Appearances) to make it W23 D16 L14, 8 Goals, 8 Assists and 1 Booking at a goal involvement rate of one every 3.31 games played so far in his Villa career.

The sheer folly of appointing Gérard Houllier is laid bare at Anfield as Villa are defeated for a fourth successive game, fail to score for the fifth time in ten Premier League games having won just once. A team that had finished six for three consecutive seasons under Martin O'Neill was now languishing in 16th place, just two points above the relegation places as the divisive Houllier continued to strip any semblance of competence from the club.

Gérard Houllier's unreciprocated Liverpool love in on his return to Anfield was as unhelpful as it was embarrassing. Touching the "This is Anfield' sign was beyond the pale, the fact that the Liverpool fans only sang Houllier's name once they were three goals to the good was beyond excruciating. A lover unrequited passed over for something new, something he didn't really feel affection for but was with nonetheless. And his new flame couldn't stand him. Put us out of this misery.

Ciaran Clark collects his 5th booking in a Villa shirt on his 14th appearance (11 Starts) to make it a caution every 2.80 games and W6 D3 L5, 2 Goals and 1 Assist so far in his Villa career.

Luke Young makes his 75th start in a Villa shirt (78 Appearances) to make it W32 D21 L25, 2 Goals and 12 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa lose for the fourth time in five Premier League games to make it three wins in twelve under Gérard Houllier as they slump back to 15th in the table.

Whilst the defeat was chastening what was more concerning was that the gap of 15 days since the last game - Villa’s victory over Albion, which had been overshadowed by Houllier’s idiotic Liverpool comments - had been filled with further acrimony within the squad towards the manager. 

17 December 2010 “I’ve read about dissent in the squad over training methods but it is not true. “I know it is different to what it was before but it is not true and the players will adapt gradually. “We do a lot of work with the ball, we play a lot of games, we do some tactics as well. “Do people have to adapt to a new manager and methods? In a way, yes. You adapt or you die. We are changing a lot of things and that upsets the comfort of some players. “I am not going to talk about the players who are dissenting and not happy. Any manager who runs a team knows the players who are playing are happy, and the players who are not playing are not happy. “They think the methods are not good and they think the manager is not the right person but we have to live with that. “We know that we are changing things, we know that sometimes people are whingeing and moaning but they have a fantastic job. “They are paid high wages to play and enjoy football. This is a fantastic job and sometimes you forget that.” Gérard Houllier

Fabian Delph makes his 1st appearance in a Villa shirt since April to make it 16 Appearances (11 Starts), W8 D4 L4, 1 Goal and 6 Bookings.

Jonathan Hogg, 22, makes his 7th and final appearance for Villa before moving on to Watford on a free transfer in August 2011. Hogg had made his debut earlier in the season and recorded W1 D2 L4 and 2 Bookings during his 4 months in first team contention. 

Villa lose for the fifth time in six Premier League games to make it three wins in thirteen under Gérard Houllier as they remain 15th in the table with the unpopular boss admitting Villa are in a relegation fight as that was an entirely normal experience for a club that had finished sixth for three successive seasons.

Something needed to change and fast, Villa were in total free-fall under Gérard Houllier and there were absolutely no positives to take from his first 17 games in charge. 

Even the much derided David O'Leary had bled youngsters of quality, whilst the mess of Graham Taylor's second reign had at least seen the average squad age slashed but for Houllier though there was no such context.

Although the season had only just reached its half way stage, on current form, relegation looked inevitable. 

With only James Milner the difference, after 19 games in 2009-10, Martin O’Neill’s Villa sat joint third with 35 points. In contrast Houllier had taken Villa to 15th on 20 points.

Villa beat Championship side Sheffield United in the third round of the FA Cup as they receive some respite in a torrid season under Gérard Houllier.

Kyle Walker makes a goalscoring debut for Villa against his hometown club after joining on loan for the rest of the season from Tottenham Hotspur. Walker becomes the 831st player to play for Villa in first team League or Cup football.

Marc Albrighton scores his 5th goal in a Villa shirt on his 29th appearance (19 Starts) to make it W9 D6 L12, 5 Goals, 7 Assists, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card  so far in his Villa career.

Ashley Young receives the second red card of his career on his 173rd appearance in a Villa shirt (170 Starts) having previously been sent off in the 2008-09 season at Sunderland to make it W75 D52 L46, 34 Goals, 56 Assists, 30 Bookings and 2 Red Cards so far in his Villa career.

Stiliyan Petrov contributes his 15th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 174th appearance (165 Starts) to make it W72 D55 L47, 8 Goals, 7 Assists and 28 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Stewart Downing secures his 25th win in a Villa shirt on his 60th appearance (56 Starts) to make it W25 D17 L18, 9 Goals, 9 Assists and 1 Booking at a goal involvement rate of one every 3.33 games played so far in his Villa career.

Meanwhile, off the pitch, Robert Pirès and Stiliyan Petrov reveal life under Houllier.

Gérard Houllier delivers three consecutive wins for the first time as they beat Blackburn in the FA Cup fourth round.

Nikola Kalinić scores his fifth goal in five games against Villa. 

Roberts Pirès scores his first goal in a Villa shirt on his 8th appearance (3 Starts) to make it W2 D0 L6 and 1 Goal so far in his Villa career.

Nathan Baker is sent off on only his second appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W2 D0 L0 and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Nathan Delfouneso contributes his 10th goal involvement in a Villa shirt on his 42nd appearance (10 Starts) to make it W14 D12 L16, 8 Goals, 2 Assists and 2 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Carlos Cuéllar secures his 50th win in a Villa shirt on his 99th appearance (94 Starts) to make it W50 D25 L24, 3 Goals, 4 Assists, 14 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Villa score more than two goals in a game for only the third time in twenty eight games under Gérard Houllier and record just their sixth win in twenty two Premier League games.

Gérard Houllier's Villa win for the first time in four and climb to 12th - their highest position since November

A curious incident happened on 76' when club captain Stiliyan Petrov refused the armband following his arrival as substitute. It was probably nothing but in the atmosphere Houllier had created any detail was being looked for to try and fathom the off-field dynamic.

Emile Heskey secures his 30th win in a Villa shirt on his 75th appearance (48 Starts) to make it W30 D23 L22, 13 Goals, 5 Assists, 6 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Ciaran Clark secures his 10th win in a Villa shirt on his 24th appearance (21 Starts) to make it W10 D7 L7, 4 Goals, 1 Assist and 8 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Stiliyan Petrov secures his 75th win in a Villa shirt on his 180th appearance (169 Starts) to make it W75 D57 L48, 8 Goals, 8 Assists and 29 Bookings so far in his Villa career.

Villa slump to defeat against Wolves and now are just one point clear of the drop zone to leave them with just six wins in twenty four Premier League games under Gérard Houllier.

Gérard Houllier's woeful reign continued as he presides over Villa's first loss to second from bottom Wolves at Villa Park in 31 years to leave Villa just one point above the relegation places. 

Even in the darkest days of David O'Leary and the insipid return of Graham Taylor, Villa had never reached the levels of abject failure that Houllier had delivered. 

Of course a more competent Villa hierarchy would have dismissed Houllier before the turn of the year - or preferably never been so foolish as to appoint him - but with their misguided pride clearly of greater importance to them than competency, Houllier was allowed to continue his destruction of Villa that precipitated a half decade of failure.

Nigel Reo-Coker makes his 100th start in a Villa shirt (116 Appearances) to make it W52 D30 L34, 3 Goals, 5 Assists, 22 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career.

Marc Albrighton makes his 25th start in a Villa shirt (37 Appearances) to make it W14 D8 L15, 6 Goals, 7 Assists, 4 Bookings and 1 Red Card.

Villa are without the suspended duo James Collins and Richard Dunne who were also fined for a drunken fracas during a player bonding break with staff members left behind by Houllier and McAllister. The staff members avoided censure.

Villa open up a five point gap to the relegation places as they win for only the seventh time in twenty six Premier League games under Gérard Houllier.

James Collins scores his 5th goal in a Villa shirt on his 68th appearance (63 Starts) to make it W27 D23 L18, 5 Goals and 12 Bookings. It is Collins' Collins's first appearance at Villa Park since his part in a drunken row at a health spa last month that caused him to be fined two weeks' wages along with defensive partner Richard Dunne.

Ashley Young contributes his 60th assist for the club on his 184th appearance (180 Starts) to make it W79 D55 L50, 37 Goals, 60 Assists, 33 Bookings and 2 Red Cards.

Brad Friedel makes his 125th appearance in a Villa shirt to make it W53 D37 L35, 125 Goals Conceded at a rate of 1.30 goals per game, 35 Clean Sheets (28%), 2 Bookings and 1 Red Card so far in his Villa career. A year previously, under Martin O’Neill, Friedel had made 84 Appearances, conceded 100 goals at a rate of 1.19 goals per game and kept 27 clean sheets (32%). The downturn post O’Neill was stark with 32 Appearances so far under Houllier, 50 conceded at 1.56 goals per game and just 4 clean sheets (12.5%).

Having lost to Wolves at Villa Park for the first time in three decades under Gérard Houllier, his assistant and caretaker manager Gary McAllister delivers Villa’s first league defeat to Albion in a quarter of a century as the folly of the appointment is once again laid bare. 

Meanwhile one of the oddest signings in Villa’s history, Robert Pirès, makes his final appearance for Villa as a substitute aged 37 having arrived as a free agent earlier in the season. Pirès made 12 appearances for Villa, 8 as a substitute, and scored once and left with a record of W4 D0 L8.

Ciaran Clark suffers his 10th defeat in a Villa shirt on his 27th appearance (23 Starts) to make it W10 D7 L10, 4 Goals, 1 Assist and 10 Bookings. Clark has now picked up a booking every 2.70 games he has played.