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 Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

boss

Alex McLeish Alexander McLeish (born 21 January 1959) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He played as a defender for Aberdeen during their 1980s glory years, making nearly 500 League appearances for the club, and won 77 caps f ...

, following

Gérard Houllier Gérard Paul Francis Houllier (; 3 September 194714 December 2020) was a French professional football manager and player. Clubs he managed include Paris Saint-Germain, Lens and Liverpool, where he won the FA Cup, League Cup, FA Charity Shield, ...

'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 The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

(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 The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

– this season eventually culminated in the sacking of McLeish on 14 May 2012, a day after the season had concluded. 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 English football, the Second City derby or Birmingham derby is the local derby between the two major clubs in the city of Birmingham—Aston Villa F.C. and Birmingham City F.C.—first contested in 1879. Villa play at Villa Park while Birmi ...

in the Premier League as local arch-rivals

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. The team compete in the ...

were relegated to the

Football League Championship The English Football League Championship, known simply as the Championship and for sponsorship purposes as Sky Betting & Gaming, Sky Bet Championship, is a professional association football league in England and Wales. Contested by 24 clubs, i ...

at the end of the 2010–11 season. Derbies with Villa's other West Midlands rivals

West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club (), commonly known as West Brom or The Albion, is a professional association football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the Englis ...

and

Wolverhampton Wanderers Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club ( ), commonly referred to as Wolves, is a professional association football, football club based in Wolverhampton, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league s ...

were played in the Premier League. During the season club captain

Stiliyan Petrov Stiliyan Alyoshev Petrov ( Bulgarian: Стилиян Альошев Петров, born 5 July 1979) is a Bulgarian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Petrov joined Celtic from CSKA Sofia in 1999, and won ten trophies ...

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. 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 The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

for young European footballers to compete in. The team reached the

Quarter-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

, before being knocked out by

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Kit

Supplier:

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

/ Sponsor: Genting Casinos

Kit information

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.

Players

Squad

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. Players under 21 do not need to be named and can still be used.
Correct as of 12 January 2012. ¹ * ¹ Stiliyan Petrov was the club's permanent captain, but Gabriel Agbonlahor was named temporary captain while Petrov underwent treatment for

acute leukemia Acute leukemia or acute leukaemia is a family of serious medical conditions relating to an original diagnosis of leukemia. In most cases, these can be classified according to the lineage, myeloid or lymphoid, of the malignant cells that grow uncont ...

Left club during season

Squad numbers

Following the exit of

Ashley Young Ashley Simon Young (born 9 July 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger, midfielder, or full-back. He is currently a free agent. Young started his career as a winger at Watford and made his first senior appearance i ...

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

Stephen Ireland Stephen James Ireland (born 22 August 1986) is an Irish former professional Association football, footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Ireland played as a youth player with Cobh Ramblers F.C., Cobh Ramblers before joining English ...

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 Darren Ashley Bent (born 6 February 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a striker and is currently a radio presenter for talkSPORT. He played in the Premier League and Championship for nine clubs, and at senior int ...

to wear the #9 this season. Also, after

Stewart Downing Stewart Downing (born 22 July 1984) is an English former professional footballer. He played most of his career as a winger or left-back He is currently the assistant coach for Leeds United's U21 squad. Downing started his career at Middlesbro ...

's departure to

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, James Collins took over the #6 meaning his old #29 shirt could be given to January signing

Enda Stevens Enda John Stevens (born 9 July 1990) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a left back for club Stoke City and the Republic of Ireland national team. He will become a free agent on 30 June 2025. Stevens started his career in the L ...

. New signings goalkeeper

Shay Given Séamus John James Given (born 20 April 1976) is an Irish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Widely regarded as one of the greatest Irish goalkeepers of all time ...

and winger Charles N'Zogbia were given the #1 (vacated by the departed

Brad Friedel Bradley Howard Friedel (born May 18, 1971) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Friedel played 84 games for the United States national team between 1992 and 2005, and represented his country a ...

) and #10 (vacated by the departed

John Carew John Alieu Carew (born 5 September 1979) is a Norwegian actor and former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was capped 91 times and scored 24 goals for the Norway national team. Club career Vålerenga Carew began his career ...

) shirts, respectively. Deadline day capture

Alan Hutton Alan Hutton (born 30 November 1984) is a Scottish former professional footballer who played as a right back. Hutton started his career with Rangers, and won the league title in 2005. He moved to English football with Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 ...

, took the #2 shirt left free after Luke Young's transfer to

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional association football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England. The team currently compete in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English f ...

and loan signing

Jermaine Jenas Jermaine Anthony Jenas ( ; born 18 February 1983) is an English television presenter, football pundit and former professional footballer. He played as a central midfielder for English club sides Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenh ...

had been given the #8 shirt for the season, last worn by

Robert Pires Robert Emmanuel Pires (born 29 October 1973) is a French former professional footballer. He is widely regarded as one of Arsenal's greatest ever players and considered by some to be one of the best wingers in the history of the sport. Pires play ...

. It was again vacated, however, when Jenas returned to

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

in December. Young striker Graham Burke was added to the first-team squad ahead of the League Cup tie against

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

on 20 September, being handed the #36 shirt. January loan signing

Robbie Keane Robert David Keane (born 8 July 1980) is an Irish professional football coach and former player who played as a striker and is currently the head coach of Ferencváros. Keane served as captain of the Republic of Ireland from March 2006 until h ...

was given the #20 shirt for his short spell at Villa, left vacated since

Nigel Reo-Coker Nigel Shola Andre Reo-Coker (born 14 May 1984) is an English former professional footballer who played as a midfielder, as well as a football commentator and pundit for CBS Sports. Reo-Coker came through the youth team ranks at Wimbledon, and h ...

's summer departure Youngsters Derrick Williams, Samir Carruthers and

Jack Grealish Jack Peter Grealish (born 10 September 1995) is an English professional footballer who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for club Manchester City and the England national team. Grealish joined Aston Villa at the age of six, and made ...

were also given squad numbers (#37, #40, #41, respectively) at different points during the season, when called up for first team action.

Sponsorship

Aston Villa had a new club sponsor for this season, after the deal with previous partner

FxPro FxPro is a London-based online broker that provides CFD contracts in foreign exchange, stocks, futures, and precious metals. It has offices in London, United Kingdom and Cyprus and is regulated by several regulatory authorities. FxPro serves o ...

was terminated in February 2011. 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

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

n-based Genting Casinos.

Managerial changes

Manager

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

. 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. He was replaced by

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

former

manager Alex McLeish on 17 June 2011, despite protests from some Villa fans outside

Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...

Transfers

In

Summer Winter

Out

Summer Winter

Loans

In

Summer Winter

Out

Summer Winter

Fixtures and results

Pre-season

Premier League Asia Trophy

Premier League

League results summary

Matches

League table

FA Cup

League Cup

Statistics

Appearances

Goalscorers

Disciplinary record

;Notes

Home attendances

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2011-12 Aston Villa F.C. season

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

Aston Villa F.C. seasons