Claret Villans
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Grading Aston Villa goalkeeper play in the 2017/2018 season

By Josh Tonti

MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND - MAY 12: Sam Johnstone of Aston Villa celebrates his sides victory after the Sky Bet Championship Play Off Semi Final First Leg match between Middlesbrough and Aston Villa at Riverside Stadium on May 12, 2018 in Middlesbrough, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND - MAY 12: Sam Johnstone of Aston Villa celebrates his sides victory after the Sky Bet Championship Play Off Semi Final First Leg match between Middlesbrough and Aston Villa at Riverside Stadium on May 12, 2018 in Middlesbrough, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /
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Welcome to Part 1 of a series where I grade Aston Villa on a position-by-position basis. Here I’ll review the peaks and troughs in the season that was for the claret and blues. There’s no better place to begin than the goalkeepers.

Flashback to last summer when we all wondered for the better part of two months whether Sam Johnstone would re-join Aston Villa. Ultimately, the three parties of Johnstone’s representatives, Manchester United, and Aston Villa came to an agreement on July 14, 2017.

He didn’t look back; Johnstone started 45 of 46 EFL Championship league matches and a further three in the play-offs. The Red Devils loanee made the Holte End his own conceding just 29 times in those 45 matches. If he was not the best goalkeeper in the Championship, he was certainly in the top-three at the position. Oh, and the best part about Johnstone? He can get a hell of a lot better, too. His distribution leaves more to be desired, while a few conceded goals were the result of poor claimed crosses (rather, lack thereof).

He wasn’t the only one that impressed either. Jed Steer’s season ended prematurely via shoulder surgery, but the 25-year old did a tremendous job in 4 separate cup matches. Should Villa fail to re-sign Johnstone, can Steer be trusted as a reliable number one ‘keeper? He’s always impressed when called upon, but his development might have stagnated due to a lack of game time (turns 26 in September with just 100 professional matches under his belt) and two serious injuries (achilles tear in 2016/2017 + season-ending shoulder surgery in 2017/2018).

Where would we be without mentioning Mark Bunn! Villa’s #3 served amicably in the reserve role following Steer’s injury. Bunn saved a penalty in the club’s final league match of the season, a 1-0 defeat to Millwall. In reserve, 20-year old Matija Šarkic and 19-year old Viktor Johansson anchored the under-23s to a Premier League Cup win, a PL 2 play-off final, and a Hong Kong Soccer Sevens victory.

Best Moment: Sam Johnstone establishing himself as a low-end Premier League goalkeeper (at worst) in the second division, en route to 4,050 healthy, reliable minutes.

Worst Moment: A devastating injury ruined another season of growth for Jed Steer.

Grade: A

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