Leandro Bacuna scores against Man City in 2014
Leandro Bacuna scored against Man City in 2014 for Aston Villa
Aston Villa are among the many Premier League clubs who can only wonder what might have been following the verdict in Manchester City’s case with the Premier League. An independent commission found City guilty of 114 charges, including financial rule breaches spanning from 2009 until 2018, although the club were cleared on one count relating to non-cooperation with the investigation.
The sanctions are yet to be decided, and City still strongly maintain their innocence, having made it clear they intend to appeal the verdict. However, Villa fans, and football supporters more generally, will have their own thoughts on what would constitute an appropriate punishment.
The situation has rocked the footballing world, with City winning three Premier League titles during this period and their on-field success causing countless knock-on effects for other clubs.
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Several figures, including former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, have called for City to be stripped of their titles, relegated and heavily fined. Voiding City’s results creates intriguing new-look Premier League tables that show how Villa were potentially wronged and we have looked at the tables beginning with 2009/10..
2009/10
1. Chelsea 86
2. Man Utd 85
3. Arsenal 74
4. Tottenham 64
5. Aston Villa 63
6. Liverpool 61
7. Everton 55
8. Blackburn 50
9. Birmingham 49
10. Stoke 46
11. Fulham 45
12. Sunderland 43
13. Bolton 38
14. Wolves 37
15. West Ham 35
16. Wigan 33
17. Burnley 29
18. Hull 26
19. Portsmouth 19
20. Man City 0
Villa finished sixth in the Premier League during the first season in question and controversially lost to Man United in the League Cup final. Martin O'Neill's side also reached the FA Cup semi-finals that year.
In the Premier League, City’s switch from fifth place to 20th sees Villa jump up one place to fifth, while Burnley are bumped up to 17th, escaping relegation.
2010/11
1. Man Utd 76
2. Chelsea 68
3. Arsenal 64
4. Tottenham 61
5. Liverpool 55
6. Everton 48
7. Fulham 48
8. West Brom 47
9. Newcastle 46
10. Stoke 45
11. Bolton 45
12. Aston Villa 45
13. Sunderland 44
14. Blackburn 42
15. Wigan 42
16. Blackpool 39
17. Wolves 37
18. Birmingham 37
19. West Ham 33
20. Man City 0
O'Neill resigned just days before the start of the season, plunging Villa into turmoil before Gerard Houllier was appointed as his successor.
Elsewhere, City’s removal from third place sees Spurs climb into the Champions League places. At the bottom of the table, Blackpool would beat the drop, while Wolves fall into the bottom three after having the three points they picked up against City scrubbed out.
2011/12
1. Man Utd 89
2. Tottenham 69
3. Arsenal 67
4. Newcastle 65
5. Chelsea 61
6. Everton 53
7. Liverpool 51
8. Fulham 51
9. Norwich 47
10. West Brom 46
11. Swansea 44
12. Stoke 44
13. Wigan 43
14. Sunderland 41
15. Aston Villa 38
16. QPR 37
17. Bolton 36
18. Blackburn 31
19. Wolves 25
20. Man City 0
In Alex McLeish's first and only season, Villa would have finished in 15th place, without the Premier League champions’ results impacting the league table. Manchester United would have topped the table in City’s absence.
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2012/13
1. Man Utd 86
2. Chelsea 74
3. Arsenal 72
4. Tottenham 69
5. Liverpool 59
6. Everton 59
7. West Brom 49
8. Swansea 45
9. West Ham 45
10. Fulham 43
11. Stoke 41
12. Aston Villa 41
13. Newcastle 41
14. Norwich 41
15. Southampton 38
16. Sunderland 36
17. Wigan 36
18. Reading 28
19. QPR 24
20. Man City 0
Villa would have finished 12th in Paul Lambert's first campaign as Villa boss. Meanwhile, Spurs would claim a Champions League spot, Liverpool would qualify for the Europa League, and FA Cup winners Wigan Athletic would also beat the drop.
2013/14
1. Liverpool 81
2. Arsenal 78
3. Chelsea 76
4. Everton 72
5. Tottenham 69
6. Man Utd 64
7. Southampton 55
8. Stoke 49
9. Newcastle 49
10. Crystal Palace 45
11. Swansea 42
12. West Ham 40
13. Hull 37
14. West Brom 36
15. Aston Villa 35
16. Sunderland 34
17. Norwich 32
18. Fulham 32
19. Cardiff 27
20. Man City 0
City being stripped of their second league title would have seen Villa finish on 35 points in 15th place. Liverpool would claim their first Premier League trophy, ending their wait for a league title six years before Jurgen Klopp led the club to glory. Norwich City, who Hughton managed for most of the campaign, would survive relegation.
2014/15
1. Chelsea 85
2. Arsenal 71
3. Man Utd 67
4. Tottenham 64
5. Southampton 60
6. Liverpool 59
7. Swansea 56
8. Stoke 51
9. Everton 46
10. Crystal Palace 45
11. West Ham 44
12. West Brom 44
13. Leicester 41
14. Newcastle 39
15. Sunderland 38
16. Aston Villa 38
17. Hull 34
18. Burnley 29
19. QPR 29
20. Man City 0
It was another lowly finish for Villa, who dropped one place from the previous campaign to finish 16th. Under Tim Sherwood, Villa lost the FA Cup in this season.
City’s fall from second allows Spurs another Champions League campaign, while Swansea City qualify for Europe and relegated Hull City finish 17th.
2015/16
1. Leicester 77
2. Arsenal 67
3. Tottenham 64
4. Man Utd 62
5. Southampton 60
6. West Ham 58
7. Liverpool 54
8. Chelsea 50
9.Stoke 48
10. Swansea 46
11. Everton 45
12. Watford 45
13. West Brom 43
14. Crystal Palace 42
15. Bournemouth 42
16. Sunderland 39
17. Newcastle 36
18. Norwich 33
19. Aston Villa 16
20. Man City 0
There was no saving Villa from the drop this season, even if Man City's results were voided. The alternative table shows that Newcastle United would have avoided relegation.
2016/17
1. Chelsea 87
2. Tottenham 82
3. Arsenal 74
4. Liverpool 72
5. Man Utd 68
6. Everton 57
7. Bournemouth 46
8. West Brom 45
9. Southampton 45
10. West Ham 45
11. Stoke 43
12. Crystal Palace 41
13. Leicester 41
14. Swansea 41
15. Burnley 40
16. Watford 40
17. Hull 34
18. Middlesbrough 26
19. Sunderland 24
20. Man City 0
Consequently, Villa spent the 2016/17 season in the Championship and finished as low as 13th in the second tier as the club struggled to acclimatise to relegation.
In the Premier League, without Man City’s results, Arsenal rise from fifth to third place to secure a Champions League spot, while Hull once again survive relegation.
2017/18
1. Man Utd 78
2. Tottenham 77
3. Liverpool 72
4. Chelsea 70
5. Arsenal 63
6. Burnley 53
7. Everton 48
8. Leicester 47
9. Newcastle 44
10. Bournemouth 44
11. Crystal Palace 43
12. West Ham 42
13. Watford 41
14. Brighton 40
15. Huddersfield 36
16. Southampton 36
17. Swansea 33
18. Stoke 33
19. West Brom 31
20. Man City 0
Villa narrowly missed out on promotion this season, losing 1-0 to Fulham in the play-off final at Wembley, before being promoted the following campaign under Dean Smith.
City would have been stripped of a third league title, with Jose Mourinho’s Man United taking top spot. Elsewhere, Everton qualify for Europe and Swansea remain a Premier League side.