Aston Villa: Grading the club before the first international break
By Josh Tonti
Aston Villa breaks into the first FIFA international window on five points from five league matches. The season began poorly, but a pair of cup victories provided smaller amounts of optimism.
At first glance, there isn’t a whole lot that went well for Steve Bruce to begin the year. Five from five? Extremely disappointing considering the manager was aiming for ten.
Whereas the Carabao Cup victories over Colchester United and Wigan provided relief, it’s the league, and promotion back to the top flight, that ultimately matters.
However, not all is lost.
Aston Villa drew at home with Hull City (currently 9th) despite vastly outplaying The Tigers. Then, Villa lost a pair of tough road matches to Cardiff City (currently 1st with a perfect 15 points from 15) and Reading (11th).
A convincing victory over Norwich (22nd) preceded a road draw in Bristol (13th). In all, Villa played three on the road with only two home matches. Of those, four of the clubs would be considered “top-six contenders”, at least loosely.
The claret and blue’s current goal differential remains at -2, a bit concerning, but it’s still early.
Let’s grade every facet of club through the first seven matches across all competitions.
The Manager: C-
Meh. Recruitment aside, Steve Bruce leaves a lot to be desired tactically. He has yet to find a preferred formation either at home, or on the road. Moreover, some of his personnel selections were beyond mind-boggling. His initial reliance on Gabby Agbonlahor and Alan Hutton is proof of this; despite the fact he had better options on the bench, that he brought to the club.
But, to his credit, it’s getting a little better. He’s really utilizing his Academy players well – which is awesome. Keinan Davis and Andre Green remain fixtures in the first team, at least for the time being. Moreover, Easah Suliman, Mitch Clark, Jake Doyle-Hayes, and Callum O’Hare all made their Aston Villa debuts under the current manager. All are teenagers.
The Goalkeeping: B
All good here. Jed Steer has been fantastic in two cup matches. Sam Johnstone is leaking a few too many goals, but no errors thus far. Distribution still needs some work, however.
The Defense: D+
On the surface, nine goals conceded from five isn’t the worst, but it’s not great. James Chester has been his old reliable self. John Terry shows pure class about half the time, and then his weaknesses are exposed the other half. He gets pushed out wide a bit too often by disappearing fullbacks. Chris Samba does not have enough body of work to grade, but he seems an adept defender. Neil Taylor isn’t offering anything in the attack, but he’s generally solid enough at left back.
Conversely, the right back carousel continues year after year. Alan Hutton remains first choice, but outside of the Hull match, he’s been very bad.
The Midfield: B-
This one is tough to grade. On one hand, Glenn Whelan started poorly, but has been better of late in the number six hole. On the other, Conor Hourihane is banging in goals left and right from central midfield.
Wide-area play is creating good scoring opportunities through Andre Green, Albert Adomah, and company. The midfield needs to be at an “A” for promotion. Expect a boost once Mile Jedinak regains full match fitness.
Next: Player Grades: Villa vs. Bristol
The Attack: B-
In the absence of Jonathan Kodjia, the attack has stood its ground. Scott Hogan has three goals in Carabao Cup play, but none where it matters: The Championship. Keinan Davis had one great game against Norwich and another solid outing against Bristol City.