It is official; Aston Villa have been relegated from the Premier League following their 1-0 defeat to Manchester United on Saturday at Old Trafford. Marcus Rashford’s goal drove the last nail to the Villan’s coffin to send them to the second division as the Red Devils continued with their pursuit of a top-four finish in the league.
The Premier League confirmed the development through their official Twitter handle:
Aston Villa are relegated from the #BPL following defeat against Man Utd pic.twitter.com/SpqcvdI4Le
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 16, 2016
However, judging from their performance this season, The Lions’ collapse was not unexpected:
Aston Villa's Premier League form this season
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) April 16, 2016
WLLDLLLLLLLDLLDLDDLLWDDLWLLLLLLLLL
Conceded: 65
Defensive errors: 22 pic.twitter.com/owVtYRBqJY
For a club that boasted of the likes of Manchester United winger Ashley Young and Liverpool star James Milner, not forgetting the likes of Stewart Downing, and Liverpool’s Christian Benteke, very few people would imagine Villa playing in the Championship. Back in 2009, the English club sent shockwaves to their rivals when they almost clinched a top-four finish before Chelsea halted their good run in the league. This marked the beginning of Villa’s woes that particular season as they played nine consecutive league games without a win since the loss to the Blues, consequently losing their top four spot.
The troubles did not end there; in 2011 when the then manager Gerard Houllier resigned due to health-issues, it paved way for the appointment of Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish. The appointment of a manager from the club’s bitter rivals did not go well with many Villa fans who protested the idea. True to their word, they finished 16th in the 2011/13 season, just one place above the danger zone.
What followed next was a series of even more misfortune for the former European Cup winners. McLeish was later replaced by Paul Lambert and less than two years later, the club was put up for sale due to a huge financial loss. Lambert was sacked three seasons later after a series of poor results, which included steering them to 12 goals in 25 league appearances, the lowest goal tally after 25 matches in the history of the Premier League.
There was a glimmer of hope when Tim Sherwood took over from Lambert. The Englishman saved The Claret from relegation, and steered them to the finals of the FA Cup where they lost to Arsenal. But despite all that, Sherwood was later shown the door just like his predecessors, and Remi Garde took over, and drove the club to relegation for the first time since 1987.
Here is a preview of their journey down the drain:
From UEFA Cup to the Championship – Aston Villa’s demise over the last nine seasons.
— Sky Sports News HQ (@SkySportsNewsHQ) April 16, 2016
Will they bounce back? #SSNHQ pic.twitter.com/d8pL8hNExC
Everything seemed to be going wrong for the Villans since 2009 and maybe, next season, they will have time to go back to the drawing board in order to find out where the rain started beating them. That is the least they can do now if they want to regain their lost glory.
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