Aston Villa

2011–12 season
Chairman	Randy Lerner
Manager	Alex McLeish
Stadium	Villa Park
Premier League	16th
FA Cup	Fourth round
League Cup	Third round
Top goalscorer	League: Darren Bent (9) All: Darren Bent (10)
Highest home attendance	40,053 v Manchester United (3 December 2011)
Lowest home attendance	21,058 v Hereford United (23 August 2011)
Average home league attendance	32,643
Home colours Away colours
← 2010–11 2012–13 →

The 2011–12 Premier League season was Aston Villa's 137th season in English football. It was the club's 101st season in the top-flight; and their 24th consecutive season in the top flight of English football, the Premier League. The club was managed by former Birmingham boss Alex McLeish, following Gérard Houllier's departure on 1 June 2011 after less than a year in charge. An extremely disappointing season for the club, saw them finish in 16th place and only two points off relegation. Numerous records were broken during the season including: the lowest points total in the Premier League (38 from 38 games), fewest wins in a season (7) and worst home record in Villa's 138-year history (19 points from 57 available). As well as poor performances in both domestic cups – being knocked out in the third round of the League Cup and the fourth round of the FA Cup – this season eventually culminated in the sacking of McLeish on 14 May 2012, a day after the season had concluded.^[1]

As Villa finished 9th in the previous season, this term was the first since 2007–08 without the club participating in European competition. There was also no Second City derby in the Premier League as local arch-rivals Birmingham City were relegated to the Football League Championship at the end of the 2010–11 season. Derbies with Villa's other West Midlands rivals West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers were played in the Premier League.

During the season club captain Stiliyan Petrov was diagnosed with acute leukaemia. The news was a shock to the Villa faithful and the footballing world alike; clubs all around the world have united donning T-shirts with Petrov's name and words of support written across them. The game on 31 March 2012 against Chelsea was the first game played since the diagnosis and fans of both teams gave him a standing ovation in the 19th minute, the significance being Petrov's squad number is 19. He was at the game with his wife and two children, and you could see the emotion of the event was getting to him as he acknowledged the fans.^[2][3]

An under-19 Aston Villa team also took part in the inaugural season of the NextGen Series, a tournament similar to the UEFA Champions League for young European footballers to compete in.^[4] The team reached the Quarter-finals, before being knocked out by Marseille.^[5]

Supplier: Nike / Sponsor: Genting Casinos

Home

Alt. Home

Away

Alt. Away

Goalkeeper 1

Goalkeeper 2

Goalkeeper 3

The home kit featured a subtle checkerboard print on the shirt and was very worn with black socks, last seen between the mid-1920s and 1957. The away kit was unsurprisingly white with claret shorts and white socks – and had the same design as the home kit. Claret and sky blue shorts/socks were worn in several away games to prevent kit mix-ups. The three goalkeeper kits were blue, black, and grey and were based on Nike's 2011 template which featured stunning details on the sleeves and the side of the shirt.

In the 2010–11 season the Premier League introduced new rules on squad lists. The rules included a cap on the number of players at 25; players under the age of 21 on 1 January of the year in which the season starts are exempt from the list of 25. A "home-grown rule" also requires clubs to name at least eight players in their squad of 25 players that have been registered domestically for a minimum of three seasons prior to their 21st birthday.^[6][7]

Players under 21 do not need to be named and can still be used.^[8]
Correct as of 12 January 2012. Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  IRL Shay Given 2 DF  SCO Alan Hutton 3 DF  ENG Stephen Warnock 5 DF  IRL Richard Dunne (vice-captain) 6 DF  WAL James Collins 7 MF  IRL Stephen Ireland 9 FW  ENG Darren Bent 10 MF  FRA Charles N'Zogbia 11 FW  ENG Gabriel Agbonlahor (temporary captain)1 12 MF  ENG Marc Albrighton 14 FW  ENG Nathan Delfouneso 16 MF  ENG Fabian Delph 17 MF  CMR Jean Makoun 18 FW  ENG Emile Heskey 19 MF  BUL Stiliyan Petrov (captain)

No. Pos. Nation Player 21 DF  IRL Ciaran Clark 22 GK  USA Brad Guzan 24 DF  ESP Carlos Cuéllar 25 MF  SCO Barry Bannan 26 FW  AUT Andreas Weimann 29 DF  IRL Enda Stevens 30 DF  USA Eric Lichaj 31 MF  AUS Chris Herd 32 DF  ENG Nathan Baker 33 GK  ENG Andy Marshall 35 MF  JAM Daniel Johnson 36 FW  IRL Graham Burke 37 DF  IRL Derrick Williams 38 MF  ENG Gary Gardner 40 MF  IRL Samir Carruthers 41 MF  ENG Jack Grealish

• ¹ Stiliyan Petrov was the club's permanent captain, but Gabriel Agbonlahor was named temporary captain while Petrov underwent treatment for acute leukemia.

These players were given squad numbers at the beginning of the 2011-12 season before transferring to another club for all or part of the season.

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  ENG Luke Young (transferred to Queens Park Rangers during the season) 8 MF  ENG Jermaine Jenas (on loan for part of season but returned to Tottenham Hotspur during the season) 14 FW  ENG Nathan Delfouneso (on loan at Leicester City during the season) 16 MF  ENG Fabian Delph (on loan at Leeds United during the season) 17 MF  CMR Jean Makoun (on loan at Olympiacos) 20 FW  IRL Robbie Keane (on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy during the season) 23 DF  SEN Habib Beye (on loan at Doncaster Rovers during the season before being released in February)

No. Pos. Nation Player 26 FW  AUT Andreas Weimann (on loan at Watford during the season) 28 MF  ENG Jonathan Hogg (transferred to Watford during the season) 32 DF  ENG Nathan Baker (on loan at Millwall during the season) 34 DF  AUS Shane Lowry (on loan at Millwall during the season before joining permanently in January) 38 MF  ENG Gary Gardner (on loan at Coventry City during the season) 43 GK  ENG Elliot Parish (on loan at Cardiff City during the season before joining permanently in January)

Following the exit of Ashley Young to Manchester United, Stephen Ireland was given the #7 which was held by the former winger. With Ireland having worn the #9 shirt last season, him taking the #7 allowed Darren Bent to wear the #9 this season.^[7][9] Also, after Stewart Downing's departure to Liverpool, James Collins took over the #6 meaning his old #29 shirt could be given to January signing Enda Stevens.^[7][10]

New signings goalkeeper Shay Given and winger Charles N'Zogbia were given the #1 (vacated by the departed Brad Friedel) and #10 (vacated by the departed John Carew) shirts, respectively.^[7]

Deadline day capture Alan Hutton, took the #2 shirt left free after Luke Young's transfer to Queens Park Rangers and loan signing Jermaine Jenas had been given the #8 shirt for the season, last worn by Robert Pires. It was again vacated, however, when Jenas returned to Tottenham Hotspur in December.^[7][11]

Young striker Graham Burke was added to the first-team squad ahead of the League Cup tie against Bolton Wanderers on 20 September, being handed the #36 shirt.^[7][12]

January loan signing Robbie Keane was given the #20 shirt for his short spell at Villa, left vacated since Nigel Reo-Coker's summer departure^[13]

Youngsters Derrick Williams, Samir Carruthers and Jack Grealish were also given squad numbers (#37, #40, #41, respectively) at different points during the season, when called up for first team action.^[7]

Aston Villa had a new club sponsor for this season, after the deal with previous partner FxPro was terminated in February 2011.^[14] On 22 June 2011, Aston Villa announced via their official website that the club's new sponsor until the end of the 2012–13 season would be Malaysian-based Genting Casinos.^[15]

Manager Gérard Houllier missed the final five games of Villa's 2010–11 campaign due to health issues. He had previously faced similar problems during his time at Liverpool.

On 1 June 2011, the club confirmed that Houllier had parted ways with the club by mutual consent due to the Frenchman's ill health.^[16]

He was replaced by Scottish former Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish on 17 June 2011, despite protests from some Villa fans outside Villa Park.^[17][18]

Date	Outgoing Manager	New Club	Incoming Manager	Previous Team	Notes
17 June 2011	Gérard Houllier	Unattached	Alex McLeish	Birmingham City	Villa paid £2 million compensation for McLeish's services.

Summer

Date	Position	Player name	Previous club	League	Transfer fee	Notes
18 July 2011	GK	Shay Given[19]	Manchester City	Premier League	£3.5m
29 July 2011	MF	Charles N'Zogbia[20]	Wigan Athletic	Premier League	£9.5m
31 August 2011	DF	Alan Hutton[21]	Tottenham Hotspur	Premier League	£3m

Winter

Date	Position	Player name	Previous club	League	Transfer fee	Notes
1 January 2012	DF	Enda Stevens[22]	Shamrock Rovers	League of Ireland Premier Division	£250,000	Transfer was announced on 31 August, with player joining in January 2012

Summer

Date	Position	Player name	New club	League	Transfer fee	Notes
27 May 2011	MF	Nigel Reo-Coker[23]	Bolton Wanderers	Premier League	Released	Joined Bolton Wanderers following release from Villa
27 May 2011	FW	John Carew[23]	West Ham United	Championship	Released	Joined West Ham United following release from Villa
27 May 2011	MF	Isaiah Osbourne[23]	Hibernian	Scottish Premier League	Released	Joined Hibernian following release from Villa
27 May 2011	MF	Moustapha Salifou[23]	Saarbrücken	3. Liga	Released	Joined Saarbrücken following release from Villa
27 May 2011	MF	Robert Pires[23]	Unattached		Released
27 May 2011	MF	Harry Forrester[23]	Brentford	League 1	Released	Youth player; joined Brentford following release from Villa
27 May 2011	DF/FW	Arsenio Halfhuid[23]	HBS Craeyenhout	Topklasse Sunday	Released	Youth player; joined HBS following release from Villa
27 May 2011	DF	Durrell Berry[23]	Plymouth Argyle	League 2	Released	Youth player; joined Plymouth Argyle following release from Villa
27 May 2011	DF	Ellis Deeney[23]	Kettering Town	Conference National	Released	Youth player; joined Kettering Town following release from Villa
27 May 2011	DF	Calum Flanagan[23]	Hinckley United	Conference North	Released	Youth player; joined Hinckley United following release from Villa
3 June 2011	GK	Brad Friedel[24]	Tottenham Hotspur	Premier League	Free Transfer
23 June 2011	MF	Ashley Young[25]	Manchester United	Premier League	£17m
15 July 2011	MF	Stewart Downing[26]	Liverpool	Premier League	£20m
27 August 2011	MF	Jonathan Hogg[27]	Watford	Championship	Undisclosed
27 August 2011	DF	Luke Young[28]	Queens Park Rangers	Premier League	Undisclosed

Winter

Date	Position	Player name	New club	League	Transfer fee	Notes
3 January 2012	GK	Elliot Parish[29]	Cardiff City	Championship	Undisclosed
27 January 2012	DF	Shane Lowry[30]	Millwall	Championship	Undisclosed
2 February 2012	DF	Habib Beye[31]	Doncaster Rovers	Championship	Released	Contract was cancelled by mutual consent. Joined Doncaster Rovers following release from Villa.

Summer

Date	Position	Player name	Previous club	League	Duration	Return Date	Notes
31 August 2011	MF	Jermaine Jenas[32]	Tottenham Hotspur	Premier League	4 months	December 2011	Initially season-long, the loan was ended early after Jenas was ruled out for the rest of the season with an achilles injury[33]

Winter

Date	Position	Player name	Previous club	League	Duration	Return Date	Notes
12 January 2012	FW	Robbie Keane[34]	Los Angeles Galaxy	MLS	1.5 months	25 February 2012

Summer

Date	Position	Player name	New club	League	Duration	Return Date	Notes
26 August 2011	FW	Andreas Weimann[35]	Watford	Championship	1 month	23 September 2011	Initially a 5-month loan but Villa recalled player in late September.[36]
29 August 2011	MF	Jean Makoun[37]	Olymipacos	Super League	Season-long	June 2012
24 September 2011	GK	Elliot Parish[38]	Cardiff City	Championship	2 months	10 November 2011

Winter

Date	Position	Player name	New club	League	Duration	Return Date	Notes
21 November 2011	DF	Habib Beye[39]	Doncaster Rovers	Championship	2 months	January 2012
22 November 2011	DF	Nathan Baker[40]	Millwall	Championship	1 month	December 2011
23 November 2011	DF	Shane Lowry[41]	Millwall	Championship	1 month	2 January 2012
24 November 2011	MF	Gary Gardner[42]	Coventry City	Championship	1 month	21 December 2012	Initially a loan until January but Villa recalled player in late December.[43]
3 January 2012	DF	Shane Lowry[44]	Millwall	Championship	1 month	January 2012
20 January 2012	MF	Fabian Delph[45]	Leeds United	Championship	1 month	20 February 2012
23 January 2012	FW	Nathan Delfouneso[46]	Leicester City	Championship	1 month	February 2012

  Win   Draw   Loss   Postponed

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
38	7	17	14	37	53	−16	38	4	7	8	20	25	−5	3	10	6	17	28	−11

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
14	Stoke City	38	11	12	15	36	53	−17	45
15	Wigan Athletic	38	11	10	17	42	62	−20	43
16	Aston Villa	38	7	17	14	37	53	−16	38
17	Queens Park Rangers	38	10	7	21	43	66	−23	37
18	Bolton Wanderers (R)	38	10	6	22	46	77	−31	36	Relegation to Football League Championship

Number	Nation	Position	Name	Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total		Notes
				Start	Sub	Start	Sub	Start	Sub	Start	Sub
1		GK	Given	32	—	1	—	1	—	33	0
22		GK	Guzan	6	1	1	—	1	—	8	1
2		DF	Young	2	—	—	—	—	—	2	0	[Note 1]
23		DF	Beye	—	—	—	—	—	1	0	1	[Note 2]	[Note 3]
2		DF	Hutton	28	2	2	—	1	—	31	2
30		DF	Lichaj	9	—	—	—	1	—	10	0
24		DF	Cuéllar	17	1	1	—	—	—	18	1
5		DF	Dunne	28	—	2	—	2	—	31	0
6		DF	Collins	32	1	1	—	1	—	34	1
21		DF	Clark	12	2	2	—	1	—	15	2
32		DF	Baker	6	2	—	—	—	—	6	2
3		DF	Warnock	32	1	2	—	1	—	35	1
31		MF	Herd	18	—	—	—	1	—	19	0
19		MF	Petrov	25	1	2	—	1	—	27	1
16		MF	Delph	10	1	—	—	—	—	10	1	[Note 4]
38		MF	Gardner	5	8	—	2	—	—	5	11	[Note 5]
7		MF	Ireland	17	5	2	—	2	—	21	5
17		MF	Makoun	—	—	—	—	1	—	1	0	[Note 6]
25		MF	Bannan	10	17	—	2	2	—	12	19
8		MF	Jenas	1	2	—	—	—	—	1	2	[Note 7]
40		MF	Carruthers	—	3	—	—	—	—	0	3
12		MF	Albrighton	14	10	1	—	2	—	18	9
10		MF	N'Zogbia	26	5	—	—	1	1	27	6
26		FW	Weimann	5	9	—	—	—	1	5	10	[Note 8]
14		FW	Delfouneso	1	5	—	—	1	1	2	6	[Note 9]
18		FW	Heskey	18	10	1	—	—	—	20	10
20		FW	Keane	5	1	1	—	—	—	6	1	[Note 10]
11		FW	Agbonlahor	32	1	1	1	1	—	34	2
9		FW	Bent	21	1	2	—	1	—	24	1

Includes Cup competitions as well (Carling Cup and FA Cup)

Correct as of 13 May 2012
Players are listed by their position on the club's official website Source   Players highlighted in light grey denote the player had scored for the club before leaving for another club
  Players highlighted in light cyan^{[broken anchor]} denote the player has scored for the club after arriving at Aston Villa during the season
  Players highlighted in bold denote the player has scored for the club before leaving the club on loan for part/the rest of the season

Pos.	Playing pos.	Nation	Name	Premier League	FA Cup	League Cup	Total
1	FW		Darren Bent	9	1		10
2	FW		Gabriel Agbonlahor	5	1		6
3	MF		Stiliyan Petrov	4			4
4	MF		Marc Albrighton	2	1		3
	FW		Robbie Keane	3			3
6	DF		Stephen Warnock	2			2
	DF		Richard Dunne	1	1		2
	DF		Ciaran Clark	1	1		2
	DF		Eric Lichaj	1		1	2
	MF		Charles N'Zogbia	2			2
	FW		Andreas Weimann	2			2
7	DF		James Collins	1			1
	MF		Stephen Ireland	1			1
	MF		Barry Bannan	1			1
	MF		Chris Herd	1			1
	FW		Nathan Delfouneso			1	1
	FW		Emile Heskey	1			1
			Total goals	37	5	2	44

Correct as of 13 May 2012
Players are listed by their position on the club's official website Source   Players highlighted in light grey denote the player has received a yellow/red card for the club before leaving for another club
  Players highlighted in light cyan^{[broken anchor]} denote the player has received a yellow/red card for the club after arriving at Aston Villa during the season
  Players highlighted in Blonde denote the player has received a yellow/red card for the club before leaving the club on loan for part/the rest of the season

Number	Nation	Position	Name	Premier League		FA Cup		League Cup		Total
5		DF	Richard Dunne	7	0	1	0	0	0	8	0
6		DF	James Collins	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
19		MF	Stiliyan Petrov	7	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
2		DF	Alan Hutton	6	1	0	0	0	0	6	1
3		DF	Stephen Warnock	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
11		FW	Gabriel Agbonlahor	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
30		DF	Eric Lichaj	3	0	0	0	1	0	4	0
10		MF	Charles N'Zogbia	4	0	0	0	0	0	4	0
21		DF	Ciaran Clark	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
12		MF	Marc Albrighton	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
16		MF	Fabian Delph	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
25		MF	Barry Bannan	2	0	0	0	1	0	3	0
18		FW	Emile Heskey	3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
24		DF	Carlos Cuéllar	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
7		MF	Stephen Ireland	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
31		MF	Chris Herd[57]	2	1	0	0	0	0	2	1[Note 11]
1		GK	Shay Given	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
38		MF	Gary Gardner	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
40		MF	Samir Carruthers	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
9		FW	Darren Bent	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0
26		FW	Andreas Weimann	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0
			TOTALS	70[58]	2	1	0	3	0	74	1

Notes

Correct as of 6 May 2012
  Win   Draw   Loss

Comp	Week/Round	Date	Score	Opponent	Attendance
Premier League	Wk 2	20 August 2011	3–1	Blackburn Rovers	32,319
League Cup	Rd 2	23 August 2011	2–0	Hereford United	21,058
Premier League	Wk 3	27 August 2011	0–0	Wolverhampton Wanderers	30,776
Premier League	Wk 5	17 September 2011	1–1	Newcastle United	34,248
League Cup	Rd 3	20 September 2011	0–2	Bolton Wanderers	22,261
Premier League	Wk 7	1 October 2011	2–0	Wigan Athletic	30,744
Premier League	Wk 9	22 October 2011	1–2	West Bromwich Albion	34,152
Premier League	Wk 11	5 November 2011	3–2	Norwich City	35,290
Premier League	Wk 14	3 December 2011	0–1	Manchester United	40,053
Premier League	Wk 16	18 December 2011	0–2	Liverpool	37,460
Premier League	Wk 17	21 December 2011	1–2	Arsenal	35,818
Premier League	Wk 20	2 January 2012	0–2	Swansea City	35,642
Premier League	Wk 21	14 January 2012	1–1	Everton	31,853
Premier League	Wk 23	1 February 2012	2–2	Queens Park Rangers	32,063
Premier League	Wk 25	12 February 2012	0–1	Manchester City	35,132
Premier League	Wk 28	10 March 2012	1–0	Fulham	32,372
Premier League	Wk 30	31 March 2012	2–4	Chelsea	34,740
Premier League	Wk 32	9 April 2012	1–1	Stoke City	30,100
Premier League	Wk 34	21 April 2012	0–0	Sunderland	32,557
Premier League	Wk 35	24 April 2012	1–2	Bolton Wanderers	32,263
Premier League	Wk 37	6 May 2012	1–1	Tottenham Hotspur	36,008
				Total attendance	686,099
				Average league attendance	33,873[59]
				Average attendance	32,643