Player #836 for Aston Villa, Charles N’Zogbia played as a winger for the club in Villa’s 2011-12, 2012-13, 2014-15 and 2015-16 Premier League campaigns, with the latter ending in Villa’s first relegation from the top tier in nearly 30 years. N’Zogbia made 93 appearances and scored 5 goals.

N’Zogbia was born in Harfleur, France on 28 May 1986.

Alex McLeish had signed N’Zogbia from Wigan Athletic for £9,720,000 on 30 July 2011 and yet again on pure playing capability McLeish had made another astute signing that should have brought some dynamism and creative potential to Villa’s wide positions to exploit the talents of Villa’s out and out in the box goalscorer Darren Bent.

That was the plan but it is fair to say that Villa boss Alex McLeish had an extremely unlucky time with transfers. He had brought in players of the calibre of Jermaine Jenas, Shay Given, Charles N’Zogbia, Alan Hutton and Robbie Keane but for differing reasons all would be unable to show their full potential for Villa during their stays. Yet regardless the squad building done by McLeish was significantly better than under his immediate predecessor.

McLeish handed N’Zogbia his debut in Villa’s opening day 0-0 Premier League draw at Fulham on Saturday, 13 August 2011 aged 25 and he went on to name N’Zogbia in 23 of his 24 first team squads through to Saturday, 14 January 2012 with N’Zogbia making 16 starts and 3 substitute appearances. Over that initial run N’Zogbia contributed two assists with his first coming for Stephen Warnock in Villa’s 1-4 defeat at Manchester City on Saturday, 15 October 2011. His second assist came in more positive circumstances as N’Zogbia created the first goal for Stephen Ireland in Villa’s 3-1 win at Chelsea on Saturday, 31 December 2011.

Injury then began to interrupt N’Zogbia’s progress and in the final 18 matches of the season N’Zogbia made 8 starts and 4 substitute appearances but created his 3rd, 4th and 5th assists of the season and scored his first two goals for the club. Unfortunately for N’Zogbia his 2 goals and 5 assists had delivered 3 losses, 2 draws and just 1 victory as Villa struggled under McLeish.

With Alex McLeish’s departure, his successor Paul Lambert was installed and N’Zogbia was given two successive starts at the beginning of the 2012-13 Premier League season before the ever bewildering Lambert - preferring his own lower league imports - relegated N’Zogbia to the substitutes bench. N’Zogbia would make just one start in the next 8 games but that would come in Villa’s 4-2 League Cup 3rd Round win at Manchester City on Tuesday, 25 September 2012 in which the recalled N’Zogbia scored Villa’s crucial third goal on 96’.

In response Lambert dropped N’Zogbia back to the bench for the next three Premier League game before N’Zogbia’s first significant injury ruled him out until New Year 2013.

On his recovery Lambert reinstated N’Zogbia to the starting line up for eleven League and Cup matches with N’Zogbia contributing four assists and one goal but Villa still struggled under Lambert and lost 6 and drew 3 of those matches.

Lambert dropped N’Zogbia back to the substitutes bench in the search for wins and with N’Zogbia out of the starting line up Villa did indeed see improved form, winning three and losing one.

Lambert, however, recalled N’Zogbia to the starting line up for Villa’s Premier League game with Fulham on Saturday, 13 April 2013 and N’Zogbia rewarded his selection with the goal that earned Villa a disappointing home draw.

A second successive start resulted in a 0-3 defeat to Manchester United before N’Zogbia was benched and unselected for the final four games of the season as Villa won two to secure their Premier League status for the 2013-14 season.

The signs were that Lambert didn’t have confidence in N’Zogbia.

That lack of confidence proved irrelevant however as N’Zogbia was ruled out for the entirety of the 2013-14 Premier League campaign due to injury as Villa once again fell further in quality and stature under Paul Lambert.

N’Zogbia would regain fitness for 2014-15 and once again he started the season in the side, but once again Lambert chopped and changed his team with the only consistency being the regularity of defeats.

In sum, N’Zogbia made 11 starts under Lambert and contributed just a single assist up to Lambert’s eventual sacking in February 2015.

With the arrival of Lambert’s successor Tim Sherwood, N’Zogbia was reinstated as a starter and made 14 appearances in the final 15 games of the season including the FA Cup Semi Final and Final at Wembley.

With N’Zogbia fit and a more attack minded interim manager having brought him back into the first team fold, the expectation was that a new managerial appointment would have a strong foundation upon which to build with N’Zogbia at long last.

2014-15 however threw up it’s own surprises with Tim Sherwood retained as manager despite the significant downturn in form at the end of the prior campaign and N’Zogbia’s latest injury ruling him out of the season start.

By the time N’Zogbia was able to be considered for selection, Sherwood was gone and his successor Rémi Garde in post. Garde named N’Zogbia in his first two squads, appearing from the bench each time but his 74’ appearance for Jack Grealish on Saturday, 21 November 2015 would prove to be his last for Villa before retiring from football due to injury in July 2016 aged 30.

N’Zogbia had played under Alex McLeish, Paul Lambert, Tim Sherwood and Rémi Garde.