The 2012-13 season was Aston Villa's 21st season in the Premier League. The 2012–13 Premier League season was the club's 102nd season in the top flight, and 25th consecutive season in the Premier League. The club was managed by Paul Lambert, their third manager in three seasons, after Alex McLeish was sacked on 14 May 2012, having himself only been in charge for 11 months and 4 days. Lambert's first competitive match came on the opening day of the Premier League season on 18 August 2012, a 1–0 defeat to newly promoted West Ham United at Upton Park. Their first Premier League win came on 15 September 2012, a 2–0 victory against Swansea City at Villa Park. Lambert was handed a one-match touchline ban on 21 November 2012 for comments relating to a penalty decision in Villa's defeat to Manchester City. On his first return to Carrow Road, Lambert received a mixed reception from the Norwich fans on 11 December 2012 in a League Cup quarter-final which his Villa team won 4–1.
On 23 December 2012, Villa were defeated 8–0 against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the club's heaviest ever defeat in top-flight football. This was followed by consecutive home defeats, with Villa losing 4–0 to Tottenham Hotspur and 3–0 to Wigan Athletic, leading to increased pressure on Lambert's position. On 22 January 2013, Villa played Bradford City in the second leg of the League Cup semi-final at Villa Park, having lost the first round tie 3–1 at Valley Parade. The final score on the night was a 2–1 win for Villa, leaving an aggregate score of 4–3 to Bradford. Lambert kept his job despite the poor run as the team flirted with the relegation places continuously over the next few months. Lambert did however manage to get Villa to record back-to-back wins for the first time since May 2011, as they defeated fellow relegation rivals Reading and Queens Park Rangers. He then oversaw the club's biggest victory since 2008, as Villa thrashed Sunderland 6–1.
Villa finished 15th with the youngest starting eleven in the Premier League, leading to praise from pundit Alan Hansen, who said that Lambert was "a contender for "Manager of the Season." Highlights of the season included Lambert's summer acquisition of star striker Christian Benteke, the introduction of Villa's Player of the Season, goalkeeper Brad Guzan, reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup and securing Villa's place in the Premier League for the 2013–14 season. An under-21 Aston Villa team competed in the new Professional Development League 1 that replaced the Premier Reserve League. The under-19 Aston Villa team once again took part in the NextGen Series, after competing in the inaugural season and reaching the quarter finals. The team went all the way to win the competition to become only the second team to be crowned NextGen champions.
Review Pre-season
The club began making plans for pre-season as early as 12 March 2012, when the free transfer of Australian Brett Holman was announced, with the player officially joining on 1 July after his deal with former club AZ expired. Later that month, the club announced a pre-season tour of the United States that would see them travelling to Chicago, Philadelphia and Portland. Following the conclusion of the previous season, Alex McLeish was sacked as manager on 14 May 2012 as a direct result – after Villa finished 16th in the league. Managerless Villa then released a number of players on 23 May 2012 after their contracts had expired. First team players released included Carlos Cuéllar, Emile Heskey and Brad Guzan, as well as a host of academy players. Villa hired Paul Lambert as their new manager on 2 June 2012, after the manager had impressed during his three-year spell at Norwich City. The move was endorsed by players and fans alike who, after the disappointing previous season, saw this as a major positive step for the club. Lambert set about making the job his, by appointing his two trusted allies: Ian Culverhouse, who became the new Villa Assistant Manager, and Gary Karsa, who was given a new role of "head of football operations" from old club Norwich as they were deemed surplus to requirements by Lambert's replacement, Chris Hughton. Long-time staff member Kevin MacDonald, who had been with the club since 1995 in a number of roles, most recently as reserve team manager but former caretaker manager in 2010, left the club on 9 June 2012. On his departure, MacDonald stated, "I've had an incredible 17 years at Aston Villa, one of the biggest clubs in the country, and wish to thank all the staff and players I have worked with during my time at the club. I wish Aston Villa every success in the future."
Lambert made his first signing a month into his reign (2 July) at Villa, when he signed Moroccan midfielder Karim El Ahmadi from Feyenoord for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £2 million. El Ahmadi stated before his arrival that joining the club, and playing in the Premier League, would be a "dream come true" and that he was looking forward to "dictating games" for Villa. Four days later (6 July), Lambert made his second summer signing when young defender Matthew Lowton joined for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £3 million from Sheffield United Following his move to Villa, Lowton stated that he hoped to emulate former Sheffield United player Phil Jagielka in reaching the England squad. The new manager announced on 16 July that the club would be re-signing Brad Guzan on a three-year deal, after he was previously released in May. Lambert later stated that he had re-signed Guzan so that he could challenge Shay Given for the number one spot, and Guzan backed this up by declaring he had not returned to sit on the bench. 1 August 2012 saw two transfers at the club – one in, one out – as James Collins returned to his former club West Ham United for £2.5 million, to pave the way for Villa to recruit central defender Ron Vlaar from Feyenoord – the second player of the summer to join Villa from the Rotterdam club (after El Ahmadi) and the third from the Eredivisie (after El Ahmadi and Holman). The club again announced the transfer as an undisclosed fee but the media reported the deal to be worth about £3 million. Vlaar immediately declared his ambition to become a Villa great and aimed to become a club legend in central defence, just as Paul McGrath and Martin Laursen had done so previously. It was announced that Darren Bent would become Villa's new club captain whilst Stiliyan Petrov was absent, recovering from acute leukaemia.
Villa's schedule saw them kick off their pre-season at Burton Albion on 14 July, with the Villans winning 2–1 thanks to an own goal and a debut goal for Brett Holman. The Villa squad then made their way to the US for their tour with matches against Philadelphia Union, Chicago Fire and Portland Timbers. The first two games resulted in 1–0 victories for Villa, with Nathan Delfouneso and Gabriel Agbonlahor getting the goals against Philadelphia and Chicago respectively.
The final game turned out to be a dramatic 2–2 draw with the Villa goals scored by defenders Ciaran Clark and new boy Matthew Lowton, who chalked up his first goal for the Claret and Blues. Ironically, both Villa goals came from set pieces, a feat Villa failed to achieve in the entirety of the last season. The Timbers equalised twice with goals from Sebastián Rincón and Rodney Wallace, which sent the game into a penalty shootout (a tradition for pre-season games in the U.S.). Villa eventually ran out winners after a tense 5–4 shootout win. The squad returned to England after staying undefeated in their tour and played their next friendly six days later against Peterborough United. The club continued their unbeaten pre-season record by recording a 2–0 win, courtesy of goals from youngster Daniel Johnson and a second goal for the club for Brett Holman. Lambert and his new look Villa side eventually suffered defeat in the next match, a 1–3 defeat by Nottingham Forest. Barry Bannan's free kick, which levelled the scores at 1–1, was not enough for the Villa after two goals from Lewis McGugan and a killer third from Marcus Tudgay sealed victory for the Championship side. The last fixture in their pre-season schedule saw Villa travel to Germany for a friendly against four-time Bundesliga champions Werder Bremen. The match was the final chance for Lambert to test out his new squad and hopefully decide his starting line up for the opening fixture against West Ham a week later. An exhilarating match that brought six goals in a 3–3 draw saw Villa lose the lead twice after initially being 1–0 down and Darren Bent grabbing a brace. Ciaran Clark scored his second goal of pre-season with Niclas Füllkrug, Eljero Elia and Aaron Hunt getting the goals for Bremen. Lambert said after that the brace for Bent would fill him with confidence ahead of the upcoming season.
August
MonthGamesWonDrewLostScoredConcededPointsOtherAugust3102440Progression to League Cup third round
The Premier League fixture list was announced on 18 June 2012 and it gave Villa an away tie against newly promoted West Ham United to open the new season. There were no meetings between the two clubs last season as West Ham were consigned to the Championship, but ironically this was the opening fixture for Villa in the 2010–11 season which resulted in a 0–3 victory in Villa's favour, in which James Milner scored his last goal in his final appearance for the Villans before his move to Manchester City. The League Cup second round draw also took place in August with Villa being handed a home tie versus League One side Tranmere Rovers to be played on 28 August. Villa's first league game of the new season ended in defeat as they went down 0–1 to West Ham, courtesy of a Kevin Nolan strike, at Upton Park. On 24 August, the club were dealt a massive blow when promising young midfielder Gary Gardner was ruled out for the entire season with an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury in his right knee. This was his second ACL injury after previously injuring his left knee, in December 2009. The same day, Jean Makoun completed a long-awaited loan move to French Ligue 1 club Rennes. After experiencing supposed work permit issues making him unable to take any part as a player of Aston Villa, Paul Lambert admitted he had never even met the player and that he was not part of his plans. A day later, Villa lost their second league game of the season 1–3 to Everton. Goals from Steven Pienaar, Marouane Fellaini and Nikica Jelavić gave the Toffees a 0–3 half-time lead, before Ciaran Clark was sent off for Villa after fouling Jelavić, who at the time was the last man. Karim El Ahmadi scored from 30 yards, his first for Villa, but ultimately it was just a consolation. Villa and Lambert's first win of the new season came in the League Cup against Tranmere Rovers. Goals from Fabian Delph, Chris Herd and a first competitive goal since February 2012 for Darren Bent sealed a 3–0 victory for the Villans. The following day, Villa signed England under-21 left back Joe Bennett from Middlesbrough on a four-year deal, for a fee rumoured to be between £2.5 and 4 million. Upon his arrival, Bennett stated, "I am really excited to have joined a massive club in Aston Villa and I'm eager to fight for a starting place and get in the team." On 30 August, Villa drew Manchester City in the third round of the League Cup. The match took place on 25 September at the Etihad Stadium.