Martin O’Neill leaving a week before the season was about to begin, a 6-0 hammering away to Newcastle, spending nearly all of the season battling relegation and Birmingham City winning the League Cup. The 2010-2011 season is best forgotten for Villa fans.
With Martin O’Neill leaving before the season began, the search was on for his replacement. Kevin McDonald took charge until mid-September, overseeing two league wins, one draw and two league defeats including the 6-0 defeat away to Newcastle.
Villa also exited the Europe League at the hands of Rapid Vienna. The summer also saw the departure of James Milner to Manchester City with Stephen Ireland arriving as part of the deal.
Houllier Appointed
The new manager was to be Gerard Houllier, returning to manage in England for the first time since leaving Liverpool in the summer of 2004. During his time at Anfield, he had won two League Cups, one FA Cup and one Uefa Cup. It also marked three years since Houllier last held a club managerial post, after leaving Lyon in May 2007. His initial start was successful, with wins against Blackburn and Wolves in the League Cup and in the Premier League respectively.
However, it proved to be false optimism as Villa only went on to win two more games before the year was out, at home to Blackpool and West Brom. It proved to be a turbulent time for Houllier as Villa suffered a loss away to Birmingham City in the League Cup and a 3-0 defeat away to Liverpool which saw Houllier remark after the game, that he did indeed not mind losing to Liverpool as much as other sides due to his long-held affection for the club. This period also saw a number of key players out with injuries as Houllier was forced to turn to the reserve team in order to complete his match day squad most weeks.
The Second Half
The start of the year saw Villa score a last minute equaliser to draw 3-3 at Chelsea. However, three days later a defeat at home to Sunderland saw Villa fall into the relegation zone for the first time since 2002 which saw a number of Villa fans begin to vent their frustrations at the Frenchman.
On the 18th January, Villa hit the panic button and parted with an initial £18 million to sign Sunderland striker, Darren Bent. He had the desired effect on his debut goal as Villa grabbed a vital three points at home to Manchester City – a win at Wigan three days later followed. The Latics victory was Villa’s first on the road all season.
The win against Manchester City saw Villa go on a run of only one defeat in their next seven games in all competitions. Whilst, in the mean time Habib Beye and Stephan Warnock, were both made to train with the reserves after Houllier questioned their desire to play for the football club.
That run which saw Villa pull away from the relegation zone hit the buffers with two defeats in the league in March against Bolton and Wolves. This was not to be the only problem in March – Richard Dunne and James Collins were both fined two weeks wages after angrily confronting club staff.
In April, Villa regained their form with two wins and one draw including a vital win against relegation contenders, West Ham. However, before Villa’s fourth match of the month against Stoke City at home, Houllier was taken ill. This would mean he would not coach the side for the rest of the season and would ultimately leave by mutual consent on the 1st June.
McAllister Take Over
Gary McAllister took charge of the remaining five games after Houllier was taken ill. McAllister oversaw a resurgence with only one defeat in the last fives game of the season. This included wins against Liverpool and Arsenal. Villa finished ninth overall.
Overall, there were some positives to be had from Houllier’s reign, he continued to give young players a chance, the likes of Albrighton thrived after originally impressing under McDonald at the start of the season. He also looked to bring a new style of football to Villa Park after the counter attacking days of Martin O’Neill.
However, his inability to man manage key players like Carew and Agbonlahor saw them fail to get anywhere near the standards they had set in previous campaigns and his diverse approach led to divides in the dressing room which could have proved costly but thankfully didn’t.
His record in the transfer market too in his short time in charge was poor as well with Robert Pires proving to be way past his best and the likes of Jean Makoun and Michael Bradley never being given the chance to impress whilst looking back most would argue we paid too much money for Darren Bent.
Villa fans will agree that Houllier and Villa were never going to be the right mix and he was most certainly the wrong man at a key time.
