Jonathan Kodjia’s 19 goals last season highlighted a major problem within the Aston Villa set-up. Despite the Ivorian’s incredible tally, the claret and blues still finished in 13th-place with a negative goal differential.
Aston Villa struggled at putting the ball in the back of the net. More accurately, everyone except Jonathan Kodjia, and to a lesser degree, Jack Grealish, struggled at putting the ball in the back of the net.
The club’s incessant reliance on Jonathan Kodjia caused problems when the striker was not available. Therefore, Aston Villa must lean towards increased secondary scoring for an elusive top-six finish.
Let’s compare the scoring charts for Aston Villa and Championship winners, Newcastle United.
Newcastle: Dwight Gayle, 23; Matt Ritchie, 12; Ayoze Perez, 9; Christian Atsu, Daryl Murphy, Jonjo Shelvey, Yoan Gouffron, 5; Aleksandar Mitrovic, 4; Mo Diame, Ciaran Clark, Jamaal Lascelles, 3.
Aston Villa: Jonathan Kodjia, 19; Jack Grealish, 5; Rudy Gestede, 4; James Chester, Ross McCormack, 3
Ross McCormack and Rudy Gestede’s names are highlighted for one simple reason: they didn’t even finish the season with the claret and blues. Rudy Gestede moved to Middlesbrough in January after four goals and spontaneous playing time under manager Steve Bruce. Likewise, Ross McCormack moved to Nottingham Forest on-loan after a falling out with management.
Newcastle United had one of the finest attacks ever for a Championship club. The quality and depth shown by several attackers and midfielders reveal the key to promotion. Outscore your opponent to a level at which they simply can’t keep up with.
Under Rafa Benitez’s leadership, The Toons overcame Brighton & Hove Albion for the title.
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Villa’s role players and secondary attackers must show penetration in the final third this fall. Players like Scott Hogan, Conor Hourihane, and Henri Lansbury were brought in, at least partially, to increase production in the attack.
With Jonathan Kodjia set to miss at least the first month due to ankle surgery, this issue becomes all the more imperative.