Aston Villa's brutal worst ever combined XI named - including ex-Newcastle United and Man City stars
A look back at some of the worst players to play for Aston Villa during this century
Aston Villa are currently experiencing their worst start to a top-flight campaign since the 1997/98 campaign when Brian Little was in the dugout at Villa Park. They are winless, goalless and are the only team in England’s top 10 divisions to not find the back of the net. As it stands, the message from the Aston Villa boss is simply to ‘trust us’ and it’s fair to say that Unai Emery has earned that right after securing a run to the last eight of the Champions League last season, a sixth place finish and an FA Cup semi-final.
Villa’s problems are expected to be short-lived due to the quality they have at their disposal, but that’s not always something fans and pundits alike have been able to say with confidence over the course of the 21st century.
The Lions’ worst campaign in recent years came in the 2015/16 campaign when they were relegated with just 17 points while another desperate came in their first season back in the second tier as the club sank to a dismal 13th place finish in the Championship.
Aston Villa have had their fair share of lows in the 21st century. And with that in mind, we’ve decided to ask Chat GPT to assemble the worst Aston Villa XI of the 21st century. All players included in this list need to have graced the pitch at least 10 times to qualify.
Aston Villa’s worst ever goalkeeper and defence
GK: Pierluigi Gollini: The Italian started the season as Villa's first-choice goalkeeper under manager Roberto Di Matteo and conceded 17 times in 20 appearances. He made a series of errors in the Championship before leaving for Atalanta just six months into his career in the West Midlands.
RB: Micah Richards: A familiar face to Premier League viewers. Micah Richards was a league title winner at Manchester City and a 13-time England international. However, he was a shadow of that player by the time he joined Villa as the club were relegated with a measly 17 points.
CB: Joleon Lescott: Another former England international that also won a league title at the Etihad. Joleon Lescott struggled greatly in B6 despite being a boyhood fan, and made numerous errors during the 2015/16 campaign.
CB: Björn Engels: The Belgian arrived after promotion in 2019 but never made the grade, making just 17 league appearances and falling behind the likes of Tyrone Mings, Kortney Hause and Ezri Konsa in the pecking order.
LB: Habib Beye: The Senegal international won Newcastle’s Player of the Season in 2008 before arriving at Villa Park but never looked up to the standard. He played 18 times in total with only nine of his appearances coming in the top-flight before being released by mutual consent mid-season in February 2012.
Aston Villa’s worst ever midfield and attack
RM: Alexander Tonev: Quite the forgotten man is Tonev, who didn’t score a single goal in 20 appearances as a left winger between 2013 and 2015. He cost just £3m and never looked likely to be a regular in the Villa team.
CM: Steven Ireland: The Republic of Ireland international was signed as part of the deal which saw popular midfielder James Milner move in the opposite direction. He was a fairly reliable footballer at Manchester City but was nowhere near the same level at Aston Villa, struggling for form, fitness and minutes throughout most of his stay. He did, however, intriguingly win Supporter Player of the Season in 2012 so maybe this one’s a tad harsh.
CM: Aaron Tshibola: Signed as a young midfielder in 2016, Aaron Tshibola looked to be a promising footballer after representing England at Under-18 level and scoring on his debut against Newcastle. However, he never made the grade at Championship level and left in 2019 after a series of underwhelming loan spells.
LM Yacouba Sylla: The Mali international was disappointing throughout his two year stay at Aston Villa and failed to score in any of his 22 league appearances.
ST: Ross McCormack: One of the biggest flop signings in the club’s recent history. The Scotsman joined the club for a then big fee of £13 million in 2016 after prolific spells in the Championship with Fulham and Leeds United but only managed to score three times in 24 games before heading to Australia.
ST: Rudy Gestede: Blackburn's current head of operations Rudy Gestede cost the club £6m in 2015 and looked a solid addition after finding the net twice in a 3-2 loss at Liverpool. However, he ended his Villa career with just 10 goals in 55 matches.