The rapid demise of Aston Villa

It wasn't too long ago that Aston Villa Football Club were one of the best up-and-coming sides not only in England but in Europe too.

Randy Lerner had taken over at Villa Park in 2006 and soon began to pump money into the club to  in a bid to possibly reach the Europa League or, as it was called back then, the Uefa Cup.

It was all going well; Villa brought in the likes of Ashley Young, James Milner and Stewart Downing (He was good once, honest!) as the club looked at assembling a squad that could push for the top 6 at the very least and with it, potentially locking horns with Europe's elite.

SIGNING: Downing was a wanted man (Zimbio)

The thing that most fans (apart from the likes of Birmingham City, Wolves, West Brom) liked, was boss, Martin O'Neill bringing in young, hungry, English talent and it looked for all the world that Villa would soon blow the dust from their trophy cabinet, and return to the glory days of the 1980s; winning the old First Division (equivalent of the Premier League) in 80/81, the European Cup (Champions League) in 81/82 and the European Super Cup in 82.

They came close under O'Neill's guidance; during his four year tenure at Villa Park, he achieved a creditable 11th place finish (first season) before guiding the club to a trio of sixth place endings, thus sending the club on a European tour to the likes of Hamburg, Amsterdam and Prague. The future was looking very bright.

Curtis Davies (R) takes on CSKA Moscow's Vagner Love (L) (Zimbio)

However, then came the bombshell that Villa fans didn't want to hear; the news of O'Neill resigning just a couple of days prior to the opening 2010/2011 Premier League game at home to West Ham, and this was the start of Villa's slide.

Their stars soon began departing; Milner eventually signed for Manchester City soon after O'Neill left and the following summer saw wingers, Young and Downing leave for the north-west; signing for Manchester United and Liverpool respectively.

Young and Milner moved on (WhoAteAllThePies)

Gerard Houllier was the man entrusted to take over where O'Neill had left off, however, medical conditions saw the Frenchman only last a season at the club, ending the season in 9th place.

Next up was Alex McLeish. Big 'Eck had managed to relegate arch rivals, Birmingham to the Championship, despite winning the Carling Cup. The appointment of the former Scotland manager was lambasted by Villa fans and they were never on side for his solitary season (finishing 16th) and he was soon relieved of his duties. During this campaign, Villa had the poorest home record in their history, gaining just 19 points out of a potential 57.

And then, came the appointment of Paul Lambert. Another Scotsman placed in charge of first team affairs and, so far, it's been another disappointing season. The club spent a lot of time and money pursuing Lambert in the summer before finally getting their man from Norwich City.

Lambert's side have been disappointing (SportsMole)

However, his first transfer window at the Villa helm was a poor one - preferring to go with youth rather than signing more experienced heads and it's quickly deteriorated into a dreadful first half of the campaign with only Cristian Benteke standing out from a bunch of poor, in-experienced signings. A falling out with regular "20-goal-a-season man" Darren Bent hasn't helped their cause, they suffered defeat in the Capital One Cup to League 2 side Bradford City, and after their latest defeat in the game against fellow strugglers, Newcastle, Villa seem certain to be heading through the relegation trap door.

With no spine of the team and little experience, you struggle to see how the club can survive. And the worst part? The Championship is a very difficult league to get out of.

BENT-CH WARMER: Star striker (L) and Stephen Ireland (R) (London24)

One 'Eck of a Year at Villa Park

Alex McLeish.  The man that twice won the SPL title with Rangers as a manager along with Carling Cup success at Birmingham was sacked from fellow midlands side Aston Villa.

HAPPIER TIMES: McLeish with the Carling Cup

It wasn't a great 11 months for club or manager at Villa Park.  After Gerard Houllier left the club due to a heart scare, McLeish was appointed boss just five days after leaving arch rivals Birmingham City.

The appointment didn't fill Villa fans with joy, anti-McLeish graffiti was sprayed on the walls of Villa's training ground and fans protested when news came through about the move a few days prior.

His arrival came less than a week after winger Ashley Young's reported £20million move to Manchester United  and by the looks of things, there was money to spend on new players; this was enhanced by the sale of another winger, this time Stewart Downing making the move to the north-west however, he joined Liverpool, the fee, again being £20million.

EXIT DOOR:  Young (L) and Downing (R) headed north

The Scot set to work on finding suitable replacements for the duo and, a year after trying to bring Charles N'Zogbia from Wigan to Birmingham, McLeish finally got his way with the Frenchman joining in a £9.5million deal.

Next was Shay Given; a consistent performer with Newcastle United previously in his career, the goalkeeper completed his cut price £3.5million move from Manchester City - An astute move from McLeish in his bid to replace fellow veteran 'keeper Brad Friedel who moved to Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer.

A POSITIVE: Given

That was about that though in terms of high profile signings incoming through Villa Park.  There were tools to work with though; Of those left behind there were the likes of Stiliyan Petrov, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Darren Bent and Richard Dunne - Standard type of players for a club such as Villa in my opinion.

Things started off well for 'Eck as he tried to shake off the Birmingham cobwebs; the team went unbeaten for the first five Premier League games, albeit only one win from these five.

However, things didn't really happen for him or his team with a lot of draws and defeats in a season of disappointment and a season that saw Emile Heskey play twenty nine times in all competitions! (No disrespect to Emile but he really isn't very good!)... added to that is that he was played left wing for a chunk of it I suppose one goal in twenty nine (Against Blackburn!) is a good record for a "striker"! (Stop laughing!)

The final table showed a massive SEVEN Premier League wins out of thirty eight under the guidance of Alex McLeish and, with just FOUR home wins all season, can you really blame the Villa fans slagging him off when they have had recent "success" and high finishes under Martin O'Neill?

The likes of N'Zogbia, a goalscoring attacker for Wigan, only found the net twice but, if it wasn't for Given throughout the season I really do feel that Villa would have gone down (Pulled off an absolute masterclass when Newcastle came to Villa Park IIRC).

N'Zogbia has been poor all season

The same could be said for the departed Downing however who managed a whopping 0 goals and 0 assists in his first full season at Anfield.

McLeish withstood the heavy Villa pressure all season however, just one day after the season finished - Villa themselves lost 2-0 away at Norwich, the former Scotland manager was sacked, just eleven months after he was appointed.  Trying to keep hold of his job was not helped by the news of James Collins, Chris Herd and Fabian Delph being involved in a nightclub scuffle before the season was even over and before they had secured Premier League safety.

So who do they turn to now? Many bookmakers are predicting the arrival at Villa Park of Norwich boss Paul Lambert, others reckon Mick McCarthy, Wigan gaffer Roberton Martinez is another; he was the man that Villa wanted last season before McLeish got the job - Could they bring him to Villa this time around? Finally, my own choice - Rafa Benitez - Out of work and likes England, good manager who knows the game well and you have to remember, got Liverpool so close to winning the league not so long ago.

NEW GAFFER?: Benitez gets results

Until next week...