Pepe Reina and Robert Pires playing for Aston Villa with blurred faces standing infront of Villa Park at the Holte End
Credit: Imago, Birmingham Live
Max Wilkins
Sun 16 November 2025 12:20, UK
Aston Villa have welcomed a wide range of players to Villa Park over the years.
Villa may have beaten PSG in a Champions League quarter-final last season under Unai Emery, despite losing on aggregate, but things haven’t always been so rosy.
The Villans recently lost away to Liverpool, with Villa last winning at Anfield back in 2014, just two years before relegation from the Premier League.
Villa made numerous poor signings during this era, and many of them have since flown under the radar and been forgotten.
With that in mind, I’ve gone through the last 15 years’ worth of Villa Park madness and assessed 11 players you may have forgotten played in claret and blue.
Tifo of the Aston Villa Villan hanging from the Holte End at Villa Park
credit: Imago
Pepe Reina strangely became a cult hero at Villa Park
Villa have conducted good business in the transfer market since being promoted to the Premier League.
The first two windows after the play-off final win were difficult, and many additions went on to be failures due to the situation the B6 club found themselves in.
MORE VILLA STORIES
Liverpool icon Pepe Reina looked set to be one of those, especially after his infamous error against Leicester City, but he certainly managed to turn things around.
He maintained a 73 per cent pass accuracy against West Ham and helped secure a much-needed draw to avoid relegation.
Singing ‘La Bamba’ in the London Stadium dressing room after that achievement is iconic, but it still seems like a fever dream that the then 37-year-old played for Villa, regardless.
Similar things can be said of the full-backs on this side, with loanees Ryan Bertrand and Kyle Walker both performing well for Villa; however, after their short-term deals ended, they left for good.
Chris Samba and Philippe Senderos were featured across more than one year in B6, but they are still a faint memory to many, largely due to their limited minutes and impact.
Robert Pires was a shock signing at Aston Villa
A midfield pairing of Jermaine Jenas and Tom Carroll has to take a place in this forgotten XI for similar reasons to the defensive duo.
Both are former Tottenham men, and both failed to make an impact in claret and blue, combining for a total of five appearances in the Midlands.
Joe Cole features on the right after his move from West Ham, but despite featuring in the relegation season, he is hardly remembered for his time with the Villans.
Robert Pires falls into a similar bracket after being brought in from Villarreal by the late Gerard Houllier in his one and only transfer window in charge.
The Arsenal legend scored just one goal in nine outings and didn’t make a significant impact at Villa, and fans outside of B6 may be unaware that he even played for the Villans.
Why did Aston Villa sign Grant Holt?
No one but Paul Lambert could possibly have the idea to bring Grant Holt to Villa Park, based on 14 goals for Norwich City across one and a half seasons.
The forward came in on loan for half a campaign, scored one goal and was seen as a bit of a laughing stock among the Villa Park faithful.
It is safe to say that supporters did their best to forget his signing.
Aston Villa forgotten XI since 2010
Aston Villa forgotten XI since 2010
Robbie Keane, however, fans will remember him for his brace against Wolves and not much more.
The Ireland legend netted against his former side at Molineux, but only got one more throughout his strange loan from LA Galaxy.
He had his moments, but most people forget that he ever wore a Villa shirt, given the career he managed to have with Tottenham and Liverpool.
Enjoyed this article? Stay connected with all the latest Aston Villa news, updates, and behind-the-scenes content by following us on our new Instagram account –@villanews247