Game #5180
Saturday, 20 October 2012
Attendance: 25,693
Lost
Premier League
17th (-1)
Fulham
Last 5: 🟥 🟩 🟨 🟥 🟥
Craven Cottage
Villa lose for the fifth time in eight Premier League games under Paul Lambert and have now delivered their their worst top-flight start since they were relegated under Billy McNeill in 1986. Any manager needs time but there needs to be an inclination of competence to build on, sadly even communication was beyond the monosyllabic Lambert and only the pride of the Villa faithful - who had largely demanded his appointment - kept the protests at bay, a situation that though understandable was the worst possible approach.
Fulham
1-0
Aston Villa
Assist(s) | None
KEY MAN
Brett Holman is held back as Villa lose for a scarcely believable fifth time in eight Premier League games under Paul Lambert, Saturday, 20 October 2012.
RELATED MATCHES
MATCH TIMELINE
🕒 | HT Fulham 0-0 Aston Villa
🟨 | 50’ Booking, Karim El Ahmadi
🔁 | 62’ Sub off, Nathan Baker, Sub on, Eric Lichaj
🔁 | 66’ Sub off, Stephen Ireland, Sub on, Charles N’Zogbia
🔁 | 75’ Sub off, Darren Bent, Sub on, Christian Benteke
🟨 | 77’ Booking, Eric Lichaj
🥅 | 84’ Goal, 0-1, (Fulham), Chris Baird
🕒 | FT Fulham 1-0 Aston Villa
ON THIS DAY
Paul Lambert's Villa lose their fifth game in eight Premier League matches and fall to 17th in the table. For context it took Alex McLeish sixteen games to lose five in 2011-12 and fourteen under Houllier and MacDonald in 2010-11.
Aston Villa
European Cup / Champions League: 🏆
League Champions: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
FA Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
League Cup Winners: 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆
Last Trophy: 1995-96
Fulham
European Cup / Champions League: ❌
League Champions: ❌
FA Cup Winners: ❌
League Cup Winners: ❌
Last Trophy: ❌
FIXTURE HISTORY
Previous 5 vs. Fulham: 🟩 🟨 🟨 🟨 🟩
FIXTURE DETAILS
Season | 2012-13 |
Matchday | #10 |
League Game | #8 |
Manager Game | #10 |
Saturday, 20 October 2012
MATCH SUMMARY
Manager: Paul Lambert | 🏴 | Glasgow, 2012-2015
Referee: Chris Foy | 🏴 | St. Helens, 1996-2015
Kick off: 3.00pm
HT Score: 🟨 0-0
FT Score: 🟥 0-1
FT Result: 🟥 Lost
Last 5: 🟥 🟩 🟨 🟥 🟥
MATCH OFFICIALS
Referee: Chris Foy | 🏴 | St. Helens, 1996-2015
Previous 5: 🟥 🟥 🟨 🟨 🟥
Last Match: 🟥 24 Apr 12, Villa 1-2 Bolton (h)
Cards: 🟨 🟨 🟨
Assistants: Mick McDonough. Ceri Richards
CARDS
Villa
🟨 🟨
Fulham
🟨
TEAM NEWS
Stephen Ireland, Darren Bent and Nathan Baker (first start in 7) replace Ciaran Clark (injury), Marc Albrighton and Christian Benteke as Brad Guzan is once again preferred in goal to Shay Given.
TEAM STATS
Starting XI Average Age
| 25.77 |
Oldest Player |
F Darren Bent | 🏴 | 28.72 |
Youngest Player |
CB Nathan Baker | 🏴 | 21.51 |
MANAGER
Paul Lambert | 🏴 |
MANAGER
Martin Jol | 🇳🇱 |
Aston Villa
GK Brad Guzan | 🇺🇸 |
LB Joe Bennett | 🏴 |
CB Ron Vlaar | 🇳🇱 |
CB Nathan Baker | 🏴 | 🔁 |
RB Matt Lowton | 🏴 |
M Stephen Ireland | 🇮🇪 | 🔁 |
M Karim El Ahmadi | 🇲🇦 | 🟨 |
M Fabian Delph | 🏴 |
W Brett Holman | 🇦🇺 |
F Darren Bent | 🏴 | 🔁 |
F Gabriel Agbonlahor | 🏴 |
Fulham
GK Mark Schwarzer | 🇦🇺 |
LB Kieran Richardson | 🏴 | 🔁 |
LB John Arne Riise | 🇳🇴 | 🟨 |
CB Brede Hangeland | 🇳🇱 |
CB Aaron Hughes (ex) | 🇬🇧 |
RB Sascha Riether | 🇩🇪 |
M Chris Baird | 🇬🇧 | ⚽ |
M Steve Sidwell (ex) | 🏴 | 🔁 |
CF Dimitar Berbatov | 🇧🇬 |
CF Mladen Petrić | 🇭🇷 | 🔁 |
CF Hugo Rodallega | 🇨🇴 |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 RB Eric Lichaj | 🇺🇸 | 🟨 | for CB Nathan Baker | 🏴 | 62’ |
🔁 W Charles N’Zogbia | 🇫🇷 | for M Stephen Ireland | 🇮🇪 | 66’ |
🔁 CF Christian Benteke | 🇧🇪 | for F Darren Bent | 🏴 | 75’ |
SUBSTITUTES
🔁 | M Steve Sidwell (ex) | 🏴 | (M Giorigios Karagounis | 🇬🇷 |)
🔁 | LB Kieran Richardson | 🏴 | (W Ashkan Dejagah | 🇮🇷 |)
🔁 | CF Mladen Petrić | 🇭🇷 | (M Mahamadou Diarra | 🇲🇱 |)
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK Shay Given | 🇮🇪 |
M Barry Bannan | 🏴 |
W Marc Albrighton | 🏴 |
F Andreas Weimann | 🇦🇹 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES
GK David Stockdale | 🏴 |
CB Philippe Senderos | 🇨🇭 |
M Alex Kačaniklić | 🇸🇪 |
M Pajtim Kasami | 🇨🇭 |
SQUAD STATS
1st XI: £67.33m
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 6/11
Homegrown: 2/11
Squad:
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 8/18
Homegrown: 6/18
MATCHDAY SQUAD
SQUAD STATS
Team Cost: £21.53m
Home Nation 🏴 🏴 🏴 🇬🇧 : 4/14
MATCHDAY SQUAD
UNAVAILABLE
Injury | 3 |
CB Richard Dunne | 🇮🇪 |
M Gary Gardner | 🏴 |
CB Ciaran Clark | 🇮🇪 |
Illness | 1 |
M Stiliyan Petrov | 🇧🇬 |
Bomb Squad | 1 |
RB Alan Hutton | 🏴 |
Out on Loan | 4 |
M Jean Makoun | 🇨🇲 | Stade Rennais
F Nathan Delfouneso | 🏴 | Blackpool
LB Stephen Warnock | 🏴 | Bolton
F Daniel Johnson | 🇯🇲 | Yeovil
UNAVAILABLE
Not Reported
Player Abbreviations:
GK : Goalkeeper
LB, RB, FB : Left Back, Right Back, Full Back
CB, D : Centre Back, Defender
M, W : Midfielder. Winger
F, CF : Forward, Centre Forward
🟢 : Debut 🔴 : Final Game
Symbols:
⚽ | Goal
🔥 | Assist
🔁 | Substitution
🟨 | Booking
🟥 | Sending off
🆘 | Poor refereeing performance
DEBUT APPEARANCES
FINAL APPEARANCES
MATCH STATS
Possession F | 48%
Possession A | 52%
Shots F | 10
Shots A | 17
Shots on Target F | 4
Shots on Target A | 8
Corners F | 4
Corners A | 6
Fouls F | 11
Fouls A | 7
TABLE

PROGRAMME



MATCHDAY QUOTES
“I thought some of the football we played was great. I thought we gave as good as we got.
“We came here, where their form has been really good, and gave a good account of ourselves.
“There are a lot of good things. We have to turn the good things into wins. But to concede from a set-piece was disappointing.”
Paul Lambert, Saturday, 20 October 2012.
*BBC Sport*
Saturday, 20 October 2012
*Fulham returned to winning ways as Chris Baird’s late strike ensured Aston Villa’s miserable start to the Premier League season continued.*
Baird’s finish, from John Arne Riise’s corner, means Fulham have now taken 32 out of 42 points at Craven Cottage.
Villa, who have mustered only six goals in eight games, remain two points above the relegation zone following their worst top-flight start since 1986.
Substitute Christian Benteke missed toothless Villa’s best opportunity.
Scoring goals has been problematic for Villa this season and their lack of cutting edge was painfully obvious yet again.
Villa boss Paul Lambert, who restored the England international to his starting XI in a bid to rectify the problem.
But Bent was starved of service as the visitors, for all their neat and tidy build-up play, lacked penetration in the final third.
And they were made to pay the price as their resistance was finally ended six minutes from time by a rare goal from Baird.
The Northern Irish international, fresh from his country’s impressive midweek draw in Portugal, marked his 150th Fulham appearance in style to lift his team into eighth place.
However, Villa nearly snatched an equaliser within seconds as Benteke, who netted for Belgium in their midweek World Cup qualifying win against Scotland, smashed a snapshot wide from Charles N’Zogbia’s cross.
In contrast to Villa’s lack of goalscoring threat Fulham looked dangerous from the off, with Dimitar Berbatov again inspiring the Cottagers following his summer move from Manchester United.
The hosts were quickly into their stride in a high-tempo start and it was Berbatov pulling all the strings.
Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan had to be alert in the opening stages to parry the Bulgarian’s fierce shot from a tight angle, before denying Kieran Richardson from close range with his legs after intricate build-up play involving Berbatov and Sascha Riether.
Guzan continued to be the busiest of the two goalkeepers as Villa failed to stretch Fulham stopper Mark Schwarzer.
But Fulham began to lose their fluency after the half-time break, allowing the visitors to grow in confidence as they gained a foothold in the match.
Agbonlahor could not flick Stephen Ireland’s cross goalwards before heading over another right-wing centre from Bent at the far post.
Lambert would have been happier with a point than Fulham counterpart Martin Jol, but the visiting boss was left ruing his luck after Baird scored only the third goal of his Cottagers career.
And it means Villa are now winless in their last 12 Premier League away matches, spanning nine months, since beating Black Country rivals Wolves in January.
*Fulham boss Martin Jol:*
“It was a bit of a relief. At the end to score from a corner kick sums it up - scrappy. But we grinded out a result, which is good for us.
“At home I would like to see us dominate and get the goal - that’s not what we did today. But I’m happy to get the three points.
“Chris Baird is very good at attacking the near post, he is always close but he hasn’t scored for as long as I have known him.
“I was happy to see him score - especially because the corner kick probably was not the best.”
*Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert:*
“I thought some of the football we played was great. I thought we gave as good as we got.
“We came here, where their form has been really good, and gave a good account of ourselves.
“There are a lot of good things. We have to turn the good things into wins. But to concede from a set-piece was disappointing.”