2009–10 Aston Villa F.C. season

Main article: History of Aston Villa F.C. (1961–present)

The 2009–10 Premier League season was Aston Villa's 135th season in English football. It was the club's 99th season in the top-flight and their 22nd consecutive season in the top flight of English football, the Premier League. They were managed by Martin O'Neill – in his fourth season since replacing David O'Leary. The 2009–10 season was Villa's second consecutive spell in European competition for the club, and the first in the newly formatted UEFA Europa League.

Aston Villa

2009–10 season
Chairman	Randy Lerner
Manager	Martin O'Neill
Premier League	6th
FA Cup	Semi-finals
League Cup	Runners-up
UEFA Europa League	Play-off round
Top goalscorer	League: Gabriel Agbonlahor (13) All: John Carew (17)
Highest home attendance	42,788 vs Liverpool (29 December 2009), Manchester United (10 February 2010), Birmingham City (25 April 2010)
Lowest home attendance	22,527 vs Cardiff City (23 September 2009)
Home colours Away colours Third colours
← 2008–09 2010–11 →

Second City Derby

54--36--28

← 2007–08 2010–11 →

Villa on 20 August 2009 in Vienna.

This term marked the first for the club without long-term player and former captain Gareth Barry following his £12 million move to Manchester City on 2 June 2009. Barry had been at the club since 1997.

The Birmingham Derby made a return to the Premier League after local rivals Birmingham City were promoted to the top tier. Villa won the first of two fixtures 1–0 at St Andrew's on 13 September 2009 with Gabriel Agbonlahor scoring the winning goal. Villa also won the return fixture at Villa Park 1–0 on 25 April 2010, thanks to a James Milner penalty. Villa also played games against newly promoted Wolves from nearby Wolverhampton, resulting in a 1–1 draw at Molineux and a 2–2 draw at Villa Park.

The club progressed to the final of the League Cup during this season, eliminating Cardiff City, Sunderland, Portsmouth and Blackburn Rovers along the way. However, Aston Villa were beaten 2–1 by Manchester United in the final at Wembley Stadium on 28 February 2010. Villa's other domestic cup venture also took the club to Wembley in the FA Cup, where they were defeated 3–0 by Chelsea in the semi-final. Aston Villa finished 6th in the Premier League for the 3rd year in a row, with 2 points more than previous season, they also qualified for the Europa League for the 3rd year running.

Kit

Kit Supplier	Sponsor
Nike	Acorns*

*Villa passed up sponsorship for the 2008-09 season and instead displayed the children's hospice charity, Acorns.

Transfers

Transferred in

Date	Pos	Player	From	Fee
20 June 2009	AM	Samir Carruthers	Arsenal	Free transfer
16 July 2009	LM	Stewart Downing	Middlesbrough	£12,000,000
4 August 2009	CM	Fabian Delph	Leeds United	£6,000,000
7 August 2009	RB	Habib Beye	Newcastle United	£2,500,000
13 August 2009	GK	Andy Marshall	Coventry City	Free transfer
27 August 2009	LB	Stephen Warnock	Blackburn Rovers	£7,000,000
1 September 2009	CB	James Collins	West Ham United	£5,000,000
1 September 2009	CB	Richard Dunne	Manchester City	£6,000,000
				£38,500,000

  Record (equal)

Loaned in

Date	Pos	Player	From	Loan End

Transferred out

Date	Pos	Player	To	Fee
1 July 2009	CM	Gareth Barry	Manchester City	£12,000,000[1]
1 July 2009	GK	Stuart Taylor	Manchester City	Free transfer[2]
1 July 2009	CB	Martin Laursen	Retired	—
21 July 2009	CF	Sam Williams	Yeovil Town	Free transfer[3]
25 July 2009	CB	Zat Knight	Bolton Wanderers	£4,000,000
26 January 2010	CM	Craig Gardner	Birmingham City	£3,000,000
				£19,600,000

Loaned out

Date	Pos	Player	To	Loan End
5 August 2009	GK	David Bevan	Ilkeston Town	5 September 2009
18 September 2009	CB	Shane Lowry	Plymouth Argyle	1 January 2010
26 September 2009	CF	Marlon Harewood	Newcastle United	31 December 2009
26 October 2009	CB	Nathan Baker	Lincoln City	1 January 2010
26 October 2009	CF	James Collins	Darlington	22 January 2010
26 October 2009	RB	Eric Lichaj	Lincoln City	1 January 2010
7 November 2009	CM	Isaiah Osbourne	Middlesbrough	5 January 2010
19 November 2009	CM	Jonathan Hogg	Darlington	2 January 2010
24 November 2009	LB	Nicky Shorey	Nottingham Forest	26 January 2010
26 November 2009	CM	Barry Bannan	Blackpool	31 May 2010
26 November 2009	CM	Chris Herd	Lincoln City	26 December 2009
5 December 2009	GK	David Bevan	Solihull Moors	5 January 2010
30 January 2010	CB	Shane Lowry	Leeds United	31 May 2010
1 February 2010	LB	Nicky Shorey	Fulham	31 May 2010
26 March 2010	RB	Eric Lichaj	Leyton Orient	31 May 2010

Overall transfer activity

Expenditure £38,500,000

Income £19,600,000

Balance £18,900,000

First team squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  USA Brad Friedel 2 DF  ENG Luke Young 3 DF  NED Wilfred Bouma 4 MF  ENG Steve Sidwell 5 DF  IRL Richard Dunne 6 MF  ENG Stewart Downing 7 MF  ENG Ashley Young 8 MF  ENG James Milner 10 FW  NOR John Carew 11 FW  ENG Gabriel Agbonlahor 12 MF  ENG Marc Albrighton 14 FW  ENG Nathan Delfouneso 15 DF  ENG Curtis Davies 16 MF  ENG Fabian Delph

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 FW  ENG Emile Heskey 19 MF  BUL Stiliyan Petrov (captain) 20 MF  ENG Nigel Reo-Coker 21 DF  ENG Nicky Shorey 22 GK  USA Brad Guzan 23 DF  SEN Habib Beye 24 DF  ESP Carlos Cuéllar 25 DF  ENG Stephen Warnock 26 MF  ENG Craig Gardner 29 DF  WAL James Collins 33 GK  ENG Andy Marshall 45 MF  AUS Shane Lowry 47 DF  ENG Ciaran Clark

Left club during season

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 9 FW  ENG Marlon Harewood (on loan to Newcastle United) 21 DF  ENG Nicky Shorey (on loan to Nottingham Forest and Fulham) 26 MF  ENG Craig Gardner (to Birmingham City) 27 MF  ENG Isaiah Osbourne (on loan to Middlesbrough) 44 DF  USA Eric Lichaj (on loan to Lincoln City and Leyton Orient)

No. Pos. Nation Player 45 MF  AUS Shane Lowry (on loan to Plymouth and Leeds United) 46 MF  SCO Barry Bannan (on loan to Blackpool) 48 DF  ENG Nathan Baker (on loan to Lincoln City) 49 MF  AUS Chris Herd (on loan to Lincoln City) 50 MF  ENG Jonathan Hogg (on loan to Darlington)

Reserve squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 9 FW  ENG Marlon Harewood 17 MF  TOG Moustapha Salifou 27 MF  ENG Isaiah Osbourne 42 FW  AUT Andreas Weimann 43 GK  ENG Elliott Parish

No. Pos. Nation Player 44 DF  USA Eric Lichaj 46 MF  SCO Barry Bannan 48 DF  ENG Nathan Baker 49 MF  AUS Chris Herd 50 MF  ENG Jonathan Hogg

Kit changes

The club once again dismissed sponsorship payments to allow Acorns as a charitable sponsor. A new away kit was unveiled on 24 May 2009 and inspired by the England national football team. It features a white and gray halved style with pinstripes and a navy accent, intended to pay tribute to the 67 Villa players that have appeared for the country while at the club.^[4] The blue and black away kit of 2008–09 also became this season's third kit.^[5] The new home kit was unveiled the day before the first clash of the Peace Cup 2009, which was against Málaga on Saturday 25 July.^[6]

Premier League

Main article: 2009–10 Premier League

Final league position

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification or relegation
4	Tottenham Hotspur	38	21	7	10	67	41	+26	70	Qualification for the Champions League play-off round
5	Manchester City	38	18	13	7	73	45	+28	67	Qualification for the Europa League play-off round[a]
6	Aston Villa	38	17	13	8	52	39	+13	64
7	Liverpool	38	18	9	11	61	35	+26	63	Qualification for the Europa League third qualifying round[b]
8	Everton	38	16	13	9	60	49	+11	61

Source: Premier League
Notes:

1. Since Manchester United won the League Cup and then qualified for the Champions League, their spot in the Europa League was passed down to the 6th-placed team. The 6th-placed Aston Villa was coincidentally also the League Cup runners-up.
2. Originally Portsmouth qualified for the third qualifying round of the Europa League as the FA Cup runners-up, replacing the winners, Champions League-qualified Chelsea. However, they failed to apply for a UEFA licence. Therefore, Liverpool as the best placed team not qualified for the European competitions took their place.

Results

Results by matchday

Matchday	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27	28	29	30	31	32	33	34	35	36	37	38
Ground	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	A	H
Result	L	W	W	W	W	L	D	W	D	D	L	W	D	D	W	W	W	W	L	L	D	D	W	D	D	W	D	W	D	D	L	W	D	W	W	W	L	L
Position	16	12	8	6	5	7	7	6	7	7	7	5	5	6	5	4	4	4	4	6	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	7	6	5	6	6

Source: worldfootball.net
A = Away; H = Home; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Aston Villa v Wigan Athletic

15 August 2009 1	Aston Villa	0–2	Wigan Athletic	Birmingham
			Rodallega 31' Koumas 56'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 35,578

Liverpool v Aston Villa

24 August 2009 2	Liverpool	1–3	Aston Villa	Liverpool
	Torres 72'		Lucas 34' (o.g.) Davies 44' A. Young 75'	Stadium: Anfield Attendance: 43,667

Aston Villa v Fulham

30 August 2009 3	Aston Villa	2–0	Fulham	Birmingham
	Pantsil 3' (o.g.) Agbonlahor 60'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 32,917

Birmingham City v Aston Villa

13 September 2009 4	Birmingham City	0–1	Aston Villa	Birmingham
			Agbonlahor 85'	Stadium: St Andrew's Attendance: 25,196

Aston Villa v Portsmouth

19 September 2009 5	Aston Villa	2–0	Portsmouth	Birmingham
	Milner 34' (pen.) Agbonlahor 43'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 35,979

Blackburn Rovers v Aston Villa

26 September 2009 6	Blackburn Rovers	2–1	Aston Villa	Blackburn
	Samba 24' Dunn 88' (pen.)		Agbonlahor 3'	Stadium: Ewood Park Attendance: 25,172

Aston Villa v Manchester City

5 October 2009 7	Aston Villa	1–1	Manchester City	Birmingham
	Dunne 15'		Bellamy 67'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 37,924

Aston Villa v Chelsea

17 October 2009 8	Aston Villa	2–1	Chelsea	Birmingham
	Dunne 32' Collins 52'		Drogba 15'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 39,047

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aston Villa

24 October 2009 9	Wolverhampton Wanderers	1–1	Aston Villa	Wolverhampton
	Ebanks-Blake 83' (pen.)		Agbonlahor 79'	Stadium: Molineux

Everton v Aston Villa

31 October 2009 10	Everton	1–1	Aston Villa	Liverpool
	Bilyaletdinov 44'		Carew 46'	Stadium: Goodison Park Attendance: 36,648

West Ham United v Aston Villa

4 November 2009 11	West Ham United	2–1	Aston Villa	London
	Noble 44' (pen.) Hines 90'		A. Young 52'	Stadium: Boleyn Ground Attendance: 30,024

Aston Villa v Bolton Wanderers

7 November 2009 12	Aston Villa	5–1	Bolton Wanderers	Birmingham
	A. Young 5' Agbonlahor 43' Carew 53' Milner 72' Cuéllar 76'		Elmander 44'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 38,101

Burnley v Aston Villa

21 November 2009 13	Burnley	1–1	Aston Villa	Burnley
	Caldwell 9'		Heskey 86'	Stadium: Turf Moor Attendance: 21,179

Aston Villa v Tottenham Hotspur

28 November 2009 14	Aston Villa	1–1	Tottenham Hotspur	Birmingham
	Agbonlahor 10'		Dawson 77'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 39,866

Aston Villa v Hull City

5 December 2009 15	Aston Villa	3–0	Hull City	Birmingham
	Dunne 13' Milner 29' Carew 88' (pen.)			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 39,748

Manchester United v Aston Villa

12 December 2009 16	Manchester United	0–1	Aston Villa	Manchester
			Agbonlahor 21'	Stadium: Old Trafford Attendance: 75,130

Sunderland v Aston Villa

15 December 2009 17	Sunderland	0–2	Aston Villa	Sunderland
			Heskey 24' Milner 61'	Stadium: Stadium of Light Attendance: 34,821

Aston Villa v Stoke City

19 December 2009 18	Aston Villa	1–0	Stoke City	Birmingham
	Carew 61'			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 35,852

Arsenal v Aston Villa

27 December 2009 19	Arsenal	3–0	Aston Villa	London
	Fàbregas 65', 81' Diaby 90'			Stadium: Emirates Stadium Attendance: 60,056

Aston Villa v Liverpool

29 December 2009 20	Aston Villa	0–1	Liverpool	Birmingham
			Torres 90+3'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 42,788

Aston Villa v West Ham United

17 January 2010 21	Aston Villa	0–0	West Ham United	Birmingham
				Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 35,646

Aston Villa v Arsenal

27 January 2010 22	Aston Villa	0–0	Arsenal	Birmingham
				Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 39,601

Fulham v Aston Villa

30 January 2010 23	Fulham	0–2	Aston Villa	London
			Agbonlahor 40', 44'	Stadium: Craven Cottage Attendance: 25,408

Tottenham Hotspur v Aston Villa

6 February 2010 24	Tottenham Hotspur	0–0	Aston Villa	London
				Stadium: White Hart Lane Attendance: 35,899

Aston Villa v Manchester United

10 February 2010 25	Aston Villa	1–1	Manchester United	Birmingham
	Cuéllar 19'		Collins 23' (o.g.)	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 42,788

Aston Villa v Burnley

21 February 2010 26	Aston Villa	5–2	Burnley	Birmingham
	A. Young 32' Downing 56', 58' Heskey 61' Agbonlahor 68'		S. Fletcher 10' Paterson 90'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 38,709

Stoke City v Aston Villa

13 March 2010 27	Stoke City	0–0	Aston Villa	Stoke-on-Trent
				Stadium: Britannia Stadium Attendance: 27,598

Wigan Athletic v Aston Villa

16 March 2010 28	Wigan Athletic	1–2	Aston Villa	Wigan
	Caldwell 27'		McCarthy 25' (o.g.) Milner 63'	Stadium: DW Stadium Attendance: 16,186

Aston Villa v Wolverhampton Wanderers

20 March 2010 29	Aston Villa	2–2	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Birmingham
	Carew 16', 82'		Craddock 23' Milner 38' (o.g.)	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 37,562

Aston Villa v Sunderland

24 March 2010 30	Aston Villa	1–1	Sunderland	Birmingham
	Carew 30'		F. Campbell 22'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 37,473

Chelsea v Aston Villa

27 March 2010 31	Chelsea	7–1	Aston Villa	London
	Lampard 15', 44' (pen.), 62' (pen.), 90+1' Malouda 57', 68' Kalou 83'		Carew 29'	Stadium: Stamford Bridge Attendance: 41,825

Bolton Wanderers v Aston Villa

3 April 2010 32	Bolton Wanderers	0–1	Aston Villa	Bolton
			A. Young 11'	Stadium: Reebok Stadium Attendance: 22,000

Aston Villa v Everton

15 April 2010 33	Aston Villa	2–2	Everton	Birmingham
	Agbonlahor 72' Jagielka 90' (o.g.)		T. Cahill 23', 74'	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 38,729

Portsmouth v Aston Villa

18 April 2010 34	Portsmouth	1–2	Aston Villa	Portsmouth
	M. Brown 10'		Carew 16' Delfouneso 82'	Stadium: Fratton Park Attendance: 16,523

Hull City v Aston Villa

21 April 2010 35	Hull City	0–2	Aston Villa	Kingston-upon-Hull
			Agbonlahor 14' Milner 76' (pen.)	Stadium: KC Stadium Attendance: 23,842

Aston Villa v Birmingham City

25 April 2010 36	Aston Villa	1–0	Birmingham City	Birmingham
	Milner 83' (pen.)			Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 42,788

Manchester City v Aston Villa

1 May 2010 37	Manchester City	3–1	Aston Villa	Manchester
	Tevez 42' (pen.) Adebayor 43' Bellamy 90'		Carew 16'	Stadium: City of Manchester Stadium Attendance: 47,102

Aston Villa v Blackburn Rovers

9 May 2010 38	Aston Villa	0–1	Blackburn Rovers	Birmingham
			Dunne 84' (o.g.)	Stadium: Villa Park Attendance: 41,799

Cup matches

FA Cup

Main article: 2009–10 FA Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
02/01/2010	R3	Blackburn Rovers	H	3–1	25,453	Delfouneso, Cuéllar, Carew (pen.)
23 January 2010	R4	Brighton and Hove Albion	H	3–2	39,725	Delfouneso, A. Young, Delph
14 February 2010	R5	Crystal Palace	A	2–2	20,486	Collins, Petrov
24 February 2010	R5 (R)	Crystal Palace	H	3–1	31,874	Agbonlahor, Carew (2 pen.)
07/03/2010	R6	Reading	A	4–2	23,175	A. Young, Carew (3, 1 pen.)
10/04/2010	SF	Chelsea	N	0–3	85,472

League Cup

Main articles: 2009–10 Football League Cup and 2010 Football League Cup Final

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
23 September 2009	R3	Cardiff City	H	1–0	22,527	Agbonlahor
27 October 2009	R4	Sunderland	A	0–0	27,666	(Pens: Carew, Collins, A. Young)
0–0 after extra time – Aston Villa won 3–1 on penalties
01/12/2009	QF	Portsmouth	A	4–2	17,034	Milner, Heskey, Downing, A. Young
14 January 2010[7]	SF (1)	Blackburn Rovers	A	1–0	18,595	Milner
20 January 2010	SF (2)	Blackburn Rovers	H	6–4	40,406	Warnock, Milner (pen.), Nzonzi (o.g.), Agbonlahor, Heskey, A. Young
Aston Villa won 7–4 on aggregate
28 February 2010	F	Manchester United	N	1–2	88,596	Milner (pen.)

UEFA Europa League

Main article: 2009–10 UEFA Europa League

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
20 August 2009	Play-off Round (1)	Rapid Vienna	A	0–1	17,600
27 August 2009	Play-off Round (2)	Rapid Vienna	H	2–1	22,563	Milner (pen.), Carew
2–2 on aggregate; Rapid Vienna won on away goals

Friendly matches

Date	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
18 July 2009	Peterborough United	A	3–0		Weimann, Davies, Sidwell
21 July 2009	Colchester United	A	2–2		Sidwell, McGurk
04/08/2009	Oxford United	A	0–2	12,000
08/08/2009	Fiorentina	H	1–0	22,915		Heskey

Peace Cup

Main article: 2009 Peace Cup

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Result	Attendance	Scorers
25 July 2009	Group C	Málaga	A	0–1	4,000
29 July 2009	Group C	Atlante	N	3–1	1,000		Albrighton, Carew, A. Young
31 July 2009	Semi-Final	Porto	N	2–1	26,000		Heskey, Sidwell
02/08/2009	Final	Juventus	N	0–0		(Pens: Bannan, Lowry, A. Young, Cuéllar)
0–0 after extra time – Aston Villa won 4–3 on penalties

Goalscorers

Name	Premier League	FA Cup	League Cup	Europa League	Total
John Carew	10	6		1	17
Gabriel Agbonlahor	13	1	2		16
James Milner	7		4	1	12
Ashley Young	5	2	2		9
Emile Heskey	3		2		5
Richard Dunne	3				3
Carlos Cuéllar	2	1			3
Stewart Downing	2		1		3
Nathan Delfouneso	1	2			3
James Collins	1	1			2
Curtis Davies	1				1
Fabian Delph		1			1
Stiliyan Petrov		1			1
Stephen Warnock			1		1
Opposition own goals	4		1		5
Total Goals	52	15	13	2	82

Appearances

Name	League	FA Cup	League Cup	Europe	Start	Sub.	Total
Ashley Young	37	6	5	2	50	0	50
James Milner	36	5	6	2	48	1	49
Carlos Cuéllar	38	4	6	2	48	0	48
Stilyan Petrov	38	3	6	1	47	0	48
Gabriel Agbonlahor	36	2	6	2	43	3	46
Richard Dunne	35	4	5	0	44	0	44
Brad Friedel	38	3	1	0	42	0	42
John Carew	33	5	3	1	27	15	42
Emile Heskey	31	4	5	2	26	16	42
Stephen Warnock	31	6	5	0	42	0	42
James Collins	30	5	5	0	39	1	40
Stewart Downing	23	6	4	0	33	2	35
Steve Sidwell	25	4	3	1	14	19	33
Luke Young	16	3	1	0	18	2	20
Fabian Delph	8	4	2	1	10	5	15
Nigel Reo-Coker	10	1	1	1	9	4	13
Nathan Delfouneso	9	3	1	0	2	11	13
Habib Beye	6	2	1	2	10	1	11
Brad Guzan	0	3	5	2	10	0	10
Marc Albrighton	3	1	1	1	1	5	6
Nicky Shorey	3	0	1	2	6	0	6
Curtis Davies	2	1	0	2	4	1	5
Craig Gardner	1	0	1	1	2	1	3
Shane Lowry	0	1	0	2	0	3	3
Ciaran Clark	1	0	0	0	1	0	1

See also

• 2009–10 in English football
• List of Aston Villa F.C. seasons