Aston Villa Report Card: Grading position groups at the one-third mark

Goalkeepers:

Ørjan Nyland: 15

Mark Bunn: 1

André Moreira: 2 Carabao Cup starts

(Jed Steer: 1)

These grades are weighted averages per appearance. Therefore, in this instance, it really comes down to Ørjan Nyland’s performances with a thought for the latter two. The Norwegian international is trending in the right direction, but it was ugly though the first 12-13 starts.

He is among Villa’s worst-rated on WhoScored, completing just 49% of his kicked balls. More worrying, however, are the amount of errors directly leading to opponent scoring. Errors against Norwich City, Bristol City, Sheffield United, and Millwall have altered results for the claret and blue. It’s cliché to say a goalkeeper is a good shot-stopper that struggles in other facets…but that’s exactly what Nyland has shown. Mark Bunn has overtaken André Moreira for the #2 position under Dean Smith. Moreira showed well in two cup matches against lower-level competition.

Goalkeeper Position Grade: C-

Right-Backs:

Ahmed Elmohamady 14 + (1)

Alan Hutton: 17

Axel Tuanzebe: 14

James Bree: 1 + (2)

Aston Villa’s circus of right-backs has been, well, a circus. Alan Hutton and Ahmed Elmohamady have become the preferred options, but both have seen equal amount of playing-time at other positions too. For Hutton, that was left-back under Steve Bruce, and for Elmo, playing on the wing.

Of all the defender position groups, this one has been the most consistently solid in terms of defensive solidity and offensive production (which, of course, isn’t saying a whole lot). Villa are fortunate for having 3-4 amorphous options at right-back, but lack a truly game-changing quality player.

Right-Back Position Grade: B-

Centre-Backs:

James Chester: 16

Axel Tuanzebe: 14

Mile Jedinak: 9

Alan Hutton played a match at centre-back whilst Kevin MacDonald was interim manager, but I’m just going to ignore that one. This position group has been bad, up until very recently. Despite his best efforts, Mile Jedinak has, as of yet, to fully adapt to central defense. He and James Chester’s early struggles were a huge part of the club’s struggles.

At centre-back, Axel Tuanzebe has been excellent.

Centre-Back Position Grade: C+

Left-Backs:

Alan Hutton: 17

Neil Taylor: 8 + (2)

17 games, zero assists, zero goals. The attacking production of Aston Villa’s two left-backs is abysmal. It wouldn’t be so bad had the club been able to put-up a stout defense. With 23 goals conceded, that isn’t quite the case. Neil Taylor has been better under Dean Smith, though.

Left-Back Position Grade: D+