2011–12 Aston Villa F.C. season
137th season in existence of Aston Villa / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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]
2011–12 season | |||
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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 | ||
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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]