It's been another turbulent 12 months for Aston Villa fans as they saw star players leave and Gerard Houllier replaced by former Birmingham City boss Alex McLeish.
But what have been the top five most read stories of 2011?
Find out in the Birmingham Mail's definitive top five most read Aston Villa stories on Birminghammail.net in 2011.
**What do you think have been the biggest stories for Aston Villa this year?**
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Darren Bent faces the press with Gerard Houllier as the striker is unveiled
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The picture of Stewart Downing with Andy Carrol in a Spanish bar was declared a fake
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Alan Hutton played on the right wing against Spurs at White Hart Lane
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Alex McLeish walks into his first press conference as Aston Villa boss
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A mocked-up picture of a homeless man and the Holte End at Villa Park
COUNTDOWN TO THE TOP FIVE MOST READ ASTON VILLA STORIES OF 2011
5. Aston Villa state that Stewart Downing Liverpool picture is fake
As rumours circulated that Stewart Downing would be leaving Aston Villa for Liverpool (despite publicly saying that he was going to stay at Villa Park), a photograph appeared on the internet which appeared to show him with Andy Carrol holding a Liverpool flag.
The picture was quickly confirmed as a fake...
"A PICTURE of Villa star Stewart Downing holding a Liverpool scarf in a Spanish bar has been denied as a fake by Villa officials.
The image of the 26-year-old winger, whose future at Villa remains uncertain, holding the scarf with red’s striker Andy Carroll caused a stir on social networking site Twitter yesterday .
Its appearance was all the more provocative as rumours persist of the Mersyside club’s interest in the left footer." Read more
It was a January transfer window signing that came as a bolt from the blue for Aston Villa fans. Chairman Randy Lerner not only brought in a proven Premier League striker but broke the club's transfer record in doing so.
The news lifted the club and the fans and was the good news that many had been looking for.
Here's Aston Villa correspondent Mat Kendrick's report on the day Bent was officially unveiled at Villa Park.
"DARREN Bent will be officially unveiled as Villa’s £18 million star striker today after chairman Randy Lerner astonishingly smashed the club’s transfer record.
And manager Gerard Houllier will NOT be forced to cash in on prize assets Ashley Young and Stewart Downing this month to finance Villa’s biggest ever deal.
Bent’s transfer fee could rise to as much as £24 million, depending on add-ons, which would double the claret and blues’ previous highest £12 million outlay on a player." Read more
3. Aston Villa: Alex McLeish stands by decision to play Alan Hutton on the right wing
In what many fans considered to be Aston Villa's most disappointing performance under Alex McLeish, the claret and blues boss played Alan Hutton on the right wing.
The decision did not go down well with supporters and dozens of fans left messages on Birminghammail.net to vent their frustration.
Here is the Birmingham Mail article and 66 comments from November 22.
"ALEX McLeish stood by his decision to play Alan Hutton as a right winger after conceding that Villa and Spurs’ differing aspirations are a 'fact of life'.
McLeish felt employing Hutton in midfield and selecting Carlos Cuellar at full-back to double up on wing wonder Gareth Bale was the correct course of action.
But Villa’s boss admitted the Scottish defender was not the “ideal man” for the role after Bale still managed to set up both of Emmanuel Adebayor’s goals." Read more
2. Aston Villa: Homeless man found living under the Holte End stand in a 'shanty town' house
It was a story that seemed to come from nowhere but it will surely be one that will go down in Aston Villa folklore. Had a homeless man really been living at Villa Park without the knowledge of club officials?
Here is the report from March 11...
"A DESTITUTE man has been living rough in a makeshift secret shelter hidden inside one of the main stands at the home of football giants Aston Villa.
While thousands of fans flocked to see the team’s highly-paid Premier League stars perform on the pitch, the ‘hermit of the Holte End’ was just yards from the action snuggled away in the shanty town-style dwelling hidden in the bowels of the Villa Park stadium.
Despite high-tech CCTV systems scanning most of the 42,000-seater ground and an army of security guards on round-the-clock duty, the terrace tramp managed to stay undetected until a routine sweep of the stadium by groundstaff, according to club insiders." Read more
>>>>REVEALED ON THE NEXT PAGE - THE MOST READ ASTON VILLA STORY ON BIRMINGHAMMAIL.NET IN 2011>>>>
