Nigel Reo-Coker

It was a low-key season for Nigel Reo-Coker in 2009-10, but he earned the distinction of being the last Villa captain to lift a trophy.

Although the box-to-box midfielder struggled to dislodge in-form players Stiliyan Petrov and James Milner in the central ground, his campaign began in glory.

With Petrov sustaining an injury early on during the pre-season Peace Cup tournament in Spain, Reo-Coker took on the captaincy as Villa toppled Mexican side Atlante and former European champions Porto and Juventus to win the competition.

The former Wimbledon and West Ham United star missed out on a starting spot for the Premier League opener against Wigan Athletic but dominated the middle of the park in a famous win against Liverpool at Anfield just over a week later.

From there on, Reo-Coker's season was stop-start, although he did captain the team in an emphatic 5-1 victory over Bolton Wanderers in November, 2009.

The ex-England under-21 skipper sees midfield as his best position but he demonstrated his versatility during the 2008-09 campaign by filling in at right-back on occasions.

While he is generally regarded as a defensive player, Reo-Coker has often proved he is capable of making runs into the heart of the opposition defence.

The Croydon-born ace signed for Villa from West Ham in July 2007, for a fee in the region of £8.5m.