Their destiny changed by a mid-season change in the dugout, Aston Villa's Premier League campaign travelled the road from grim mediocrity to European qualification, as the West Midlands side posted their best league finish for over a decade.
Going nowhere in the latter stages of Steven Gerrard's ill-fated reign, Villa were transformed under Unai Emery, who led his new club steadily up the standings and into the playoffs for a Europa Conference League place.
Since November, the Villans' Basque boss has overhauled the team's style and approach, with his tactical framework and clear-minded coaching bringing a disunited unit together and starting a march up the table - victory on the final day saw them secure seventh and a long-awaited return to continental football.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look back at Aston Villa's comeback campaign of 2022-23.
SEASON OVERVIEW
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Final league position: 7th
EFL Cup: Third Round
FA Cup: Third Round
Top scorer: Ollie Watkins (16)
Most assists: Jacob Ramsey (7)
For all the joy and optimism within Villa Park after their last-day triumph over fellow European qualifiers Brighton, Aston Villa's season started in wildly contrasting style back in August, when they were humbled by a Bournemouth side in apparent disarray.
Beaten 2-0 by the newly-promoted team described by their own boss as "under-equipped" for the top flight, Villa had added two major signings to an expensive squad during the summer, but Diego Carlos soon succumbed to injury and Boubacar Kamara took time to adapt following his arrival from Ligue 1.
Villa remained uncomfortably close to the bottom three as rumblings of discontent grew among the fanbase and apparently within the club, with rumours of Steven Gerrard 'losing the dressing room' leaking out while results steadfastly failed to improve.
Days after defeat at home to Chelsea, the Villans' late-October loss at Fulham - when Douglas Luiz was dismissed in a 3-0 reverse at Craven Cottage - finally saw the axe fall, at a time when several clubs took the chance to make a managerial change ahead of the impending World Cup break.
Gerrard's stint in B6 was over, and uncertainty surrounded a club in reverse following their promotion and subsequent survival under his predecessor Dean Smith. So who could steady the ship?
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Winning his first game in charge - and bringing about Aston Villa's first home victory over Manchester United since 1995 - set the tone for Unai Emery's reign, and after the ex-Arsenal coach arrived from Villarreal, the gloom gradually began to lift.
Soon making the previous year seem like a distant memory, Emery's influence introduced forgotten concepts such as flair and tactical versatility, and fans began to dream of a potential top-half finish.
Making clear Emi Buendia and Ollie Watkins were to be the focus of his side's attack - while sidelining Philippe Coutinho and ultimately moving on Danny Ings - a manager with vast experience and a track record of success at mid-table clubs began to shape his squad, making just one major winter signing: attack-minded left-back Alex Moreno.
Between the start of 2023 and May, Villa kept nine clean sheets too, thanks to the revival of a central-defensive partnership drained of confidence under the previous management. As Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa reached new levels of consistency, the club began a steady ascent away from danger towards the top 10.
Early cup exits frustrated the Villa Park faithful once again - their team went out in the third round of both knockout competitions - but how events unfolded in the Premier League more than compensated.
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Quite cathartically, a 3-0 win over Bournemouth kicked off Villa's five-game victory streak from March into April, with successes against Chelsea, Leicester City, Nottingham Forest and - most impressively - top-four contenders Newcastle United taking them into the mix for European qualification.
Successive setbacks against Manchester United and Midlands rivals Wolves were to follow for the Birmingham club, but taking seven points from their final three fixtures proved enough to pip Tottenham to seventh place in the final league standings and stoke further optimism in the claret-and-blue half of the second city.
PREMIER LEAGUE STATS
Wins: 18 (=6th)
Draws: 7 (=11th)
Losses: 13 (13th)
Goals scored: 51 (=10th)
Goals conceded: 46 (=15th)
Yellow cards: 80 (=4th)
Red cards: 1 (=10th)
Passes: 15,940 (12th)
Shots: 431 (11th)
Big chances missed: 40 (12th)
Saves: 109 (14th)
Tackles: 632 (10th)
Own goals: 4 (=4th)
Hit woodwork: 21 (2nd)
Clearances: 663 (14th)
HOW DID IT COMPARE TO LAST SEASON?
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Much like an ultimately successful 2022-23 season, Aston Villa's more mediocre 2021-22 campaign could be clearly split into two sections, with an autumn change in the dugout coming about on both occasions.
Last term, Dean Smith was removed from his position on the back of three wins and seven defeats from Villa's first 11 fixtures, and a five-match losing streak led to the promotion-winning coach being replaced by a more high-profile option, Steven Gerrard.
Many bought into the signing of a big-name boss, and optimism initially grew at Villa Park as Gerrard started by beating Brighton and Crystal Palace; picking up 12 points from a possible 18 to breathe new life into an ailing side.
However, Villa posted just six wins after the turn of the year, as the ex-Rangers boss had his limitations exposed and media appearances became both terse and repetitive.
In contrast to the recent uplift under his Spanish successor, early momentum soon dissipated and Gerrard's team seemed directionless, with mid-season signings such as Philippe Coutinho failing to have the effect winter arrival Alex Moreno has managed this term.
Villa finished 14th last May, having lost exactly half of their games and with only 10 points separating them from the Premier League drop zone. Twelve months later, that script has been flipped and the continental champions of 1982 are heading back into Europe.
PLAYER OF THE SEASON: OLLIE WATKINS
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Considering a number of players had their fortunes changed radically when Aston Villa's hierarchy pulled out the club chequebook to release Unai Emery from his obligations at Villarreal, there are surely several contenders to be named 'Player of the Season'.
Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa have both performed defensive heroics during 2023 to date, while Douglas Luiz and John McGinn grew to dominate games in the engine room; young Jacob Ramsey has established himself as a likely senior England international with a series of impressive displays and a growing catalogue of assists.
However, without Ollie Watkins adapting to the demands of his new boss so seamlessly, Villa would not have boasted the cutting edge that has seen them surge up the standings over the past six months.
Emery identified the ex-Brentford striker as the man to lead the Villans' front line - shipping out Danny Ings to West Ham in order to end confusion up top - and Watkins was ordered to occupy more central positions rather than relentlessly running throughout the final third.
Though Gareth Southgate recently declined to reward such improved performances with an England call-up, Watkins has since proved himself among the most effective forwards eligible for the Three Lions, scoring 11 league goals in a 12-game hot-streak between January and April.
The first player to score in six consecutive away fixtures in the Premier League since Sergio Aguero, the hard-working frontman had been given a new lease of life by Emery and - notwithstanding the odd wayward finish - appears more confident and focused in the opposition area.
STANDOUT RESULT: ASTON VILLA 3-0 NEWCASTLE UNITED
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Sealing a five-game winning streak in the Premier League for the first time since 1998, Villa reached the symbolic total of 50 points by vanquishing any doubts about the durability of their top-seven challenge.
While Villa Park victory over Manchester United in Unai Emery's first match was a long time coming - over two decades, in fact - beating a strong Newcastle side so comprehensively at such a crucial juncture of the season really defined the progress made in recent months.
Ollie Watkins set the tone by striking the post after 28 seconds, before setting up Jacob Ramsey's 11th-minute opener and then bagging himself a brace after the break - only a tight VAR call denied the striker his hat-trick.
It may have been a rare off-day for Eddie Howe's high-flying Magpies, but Villa's clarity of purpose and resolve to win shone through and secured three points that kept momentum building.
> Click here for a full list of Aston Villa's results from the 2022-23 season
BEST MOMENT
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Doing the double over Brighton to secure European football. Finally toppling Man United at Villa Park. Crushing Newcastle to reassert themselves as a force to be reckoned with in the top flight, after more than a decade of disappointment.
All are worthy moments that will be cherished by Aston Villa fans for different reasons, but surely none of it would have been possible without the October appointment of Unai Emery.
Villa's brilliant Basque boss left La Ceramica for the Midlands with a point to prove in the Premier League, and he delivered spectacular results: getting the most out of a talented and expensively-assembled squad to join Brighton in upsetting the established order.
When Christian Purslow and the club owners finally admitted the error of their ways by parting with Steven Gerrard, persuading the former Paris Saint-Germain coach - who has enjoyed continental success with both Sevilla and Villarreal - to sign on the dotted line was a transformational decision, and one that could herald brighter times in B6.
TOP PRIORITY FOR SUMMER
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After hitting upon a winning formula - other than champions Manchester City, no team has accrued more Premier League points than Aston Villa in 2023 - there is clearly no need for a radical overhaul this summer.
While the Villans' squad will have to be trimmed and several new players brought in to cope with the rigours of a potential Thursday-Sunday fixture schedule - should they enter the Europa Conference League group stage via a playoff - retention is perhaps the most important item on Unai Emery's agenda.
Douglas Luiz has finally fulfilled his potential, and following his failed move to Arsenal and then a spell locked outside the starting XI, the Brazil international is a constant source of inspiration in the Villa midfield.
Elsewhere, goalkeeping colossus Emi Martinez may have his detractors due to time-wasting antics and so on, but his presence in goal - and in the dressing room - offers assurance on days when the back four are not fully up to speed.
Both must be persuaded to extend their stays in Birmingham despite inevitable interest from clubs across Europe, with a handful of quality arrivals - ideally near the start of the transfer window - demonstrating to the South American duo that Villa really do mean business.
Young Colombian striker Jhon Duran has demonstrated promise in several cameo appearances since joining in January, but further competition for Ollie Watkins will be a priority; while adding a ball-playing centre-back to the mix could help Villa step up another level.
Certainly not afraid to spend, given their track record to date, the club owners are sure to back their boss financially, so there can be no excuses for taking a backwards step next season.
FINAL VERDICT
Concluding with joyous scenes at Villa Park, as they secured European football for the first time since 2010, Aston Villa's 2022-23 season unfolded in improbable fashion, with fans' dreams exceeded by Unai Emery's unified squad.
Bringing a defined style and strategy to the club, the Spanish coach has certainly set the bar high following the dismal reign of his predecessor, and Villa have become more attractive to watch as well as showing an awareness of game management when required.
Finishing seventh, ahead of two teams that competed in the Champions League knockout stages, represents a remarkable shift in fortunes, and years of struggle to survive could be consigned to the past - at least for now.
Maintaining such a trajectory will prove challenging, given likely revivals for Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs next term, but Emery's record in cup competitions stands up particularly well, and with the right moves in the market he could even steer Villa to some longed-for silverware in 2024.
Jonathan O'Shea
