Conor Hourihane, Aston Villa’s Best Player?

Conor Hourihane’s arrival at Aston Villa brought a breath of fresh air to a beleaguered position in the squad. For years, Villa struggled at linking the midfield with the attack. Have they found the answer to their problem?

Conor Hourihane scored his first Aston Villa goal – a scrappy finish from an Albert Adomah miss-hit. Hourihane’s finish brings his season tally to seven league goals with an astonishing eleven (!) assists in 34 total league matches.

Aston Villa have never had that type of production from a central midfielder. Hourihane, 26, reminds the Villa faithful of players that have not been in the claret and blue for quite some time.

James Milner, Gareth Barry, and Fabian Delph were the last three truly superb Villa central midfielders, but none have the goal scoring record of Conor Hourihane. The Ireland international started slowly following his transfer from Barnsley. A slight training injury ensued – leaving him out for the win over Derby County.

Four days later, Hourihane returned to the bench. His absence did not continue for long as Gary Gardner came off through injury, to be replaced by CH.

Hourihane brings an element to Aston Villa that can make the players around him especially lethal. His season WhoScored average stands at a staggering 7.56. Moreover, he is an expert dead-ball specialist, a far cry from the times of Ashley Westwood taking free kicks and corners.

One can make the argument that having Conor Hourihane in the summer would have drastically changed Villa’s fortunes this season. One can also make the argument that Hourihane, when fully fit, is Villa’s best overall player.

Next: Aston Villa v. Bristol City Player Ratings

We linked a poll to our twitter page, but I will leave here as well. Who do you think is Aston Villa’s best player.

Mile Jedinak receiving lots of love so far.