Ever since Paul Lambert took charge of Aston Villa in 2012, the Birmingham-based outfit have struggled to retain their Premier League status.
It's a state of affairs that has proved too much for some supporters, who have called for the Scot to be sacked.
However, he remains at the Villa Park helm and here, Sports Mole has reflected on how Villa have fared during the opening five months of the 2014-15 campaign.
August
The Villans got their Premier League campaign off to a winning start in mid-August thanks to a narrow 1-0 victory away to Stoke City, while their first home match of the season saw them draw 0-0 with Newcastle United after failing to break down the 10-man Magpies.
Their first taste of defeat came in embarrassing fashion as a 1-0 loss at home to Leyton Orient saw them exit the League Cup in the second round.
Despite that result, Paul Lambert's side made sure of an unbeaten August in the league with strikes from Gabriel Agbonlahor and Andreas Weimann helping them to beat Hull City 2-1.
September
While Villa were handed a favourable run of fixtures to get the new season up and running, September saw them take on three of English football's top teams.
Their recent hoodoo over Liverpool continued with a 1-0 win at Anfield as Agbonlahor netted the decisive goal, but they were brought back down to earth with a bang the following weekend when Arsenal eased past them 3-0 on home turf.
As if facing Liverpool and Arsenal in successive games was not tricky enough, the month was rounded off with a trip to Stamford Bridge to play a dominant Chelsea. As expected, Villa struggled against Jose Mourinho's men, losing 3-0 for the second game in a row.
October
Villa's problems in front of goal were made apparent during a woeful October as they failed to score in three demoralising defeats.
Their patchy home form continued against champions Manchester City, losing 2-0, before a 3-0 defeat away to Everton pushed them further down the table and dangerously close to the drop zone.
A poor month concluded with a trip to fellow strugglers Queens Park Rangers, who picked up a 2-0 victory with goals either side of half time from Charlie Austin.
November
Villa ended a run of five games without a goal at the start of November when Andreas Weimann gave them the lead against Tottenham Hotspur, but things went wrong after that as Christian Benteke was sent off before Spurs hit back to clinch a 2-1 victory.
Three draws then followed, with points against West Ham United, Southampton and Burnley allowing the team to gain some momentum after six straight losses.
There were headlines off the pitch at the end of the month when Roy Keane left his role as assistant coach. The club claimed that Keane departed in order to focus on his duties with the Republic of Ireland, though there were reports that the former midfielder had ruffled one too many feathers among the squad with his firebrand style.
December
The final month of the year saw Villa pick up two consecutive victories for the first time thanks to triumphs over Crystal Palace and Leicester City.
Christian Benteke netted his first goal of the campaign during the team's 1-0 win at Palace, while the Villans fought back to beat Midlands rivals Leicester City 2-1 five days later.
Another derby came soon after, but this time Villa were on the wrong end of the result as West Bromwich Albion edged them out 1-0 at The Hawthorns.
A credible 1-1 draw with Manchester United followed, with Villa having to play much of the second half with 10 men after Gabriel Agbonlahor was sent off, while a defeat to Swansea City and a stalemate with Sunderland capped off an average start to the campaign.
Star player so far: Alan Hutton
Must do better: Gabriel Agbonlahor
Where they need to strengthen in January: Attack
Position start at 2015: 13th
Mid-season Grade: C
To see Aston Villa's remaining fixtures in 2014-15, click here.
