While I think the main subject throughout the 2015-2016 season for Aston Villa will be how do we stick the bloody ball in the back of the net more often? I thought why not look at an area that is near complete – Aston Villa’s defense. We all remember Martin O’Neill’s (2009-2010) impressive defensive line-up consisting of Warnock, Dunne, Collins and Cuellar. The season brought one of the best defensive records in the premier league leading us to a 6th place finish, a semi-final in the FA Cup as well as runners-up in the League Cup. Do we think our current backline is capable of similar achievements this season?
Out of the ten summer signings so far two of them have been defenders. Could this mean Tim Sherwood believes we have a good enough defensive unit to keep as many clean sheets?
One defender that I’m sure all fans are happy with is our new left back – Jordan Amavi. The 21 year old has already come in and made a massive impression on the fans and players alike. A few days ago Bacuna raved how good a player he was in training saying how he just wants to “get forward and get crosses in.” But we don’t need to be told this as we all saw the performance against Manchester United, after beating Mata more than once, galloping down the lane and whipping in some really fantastic crosses, he’s one we’re excited to watch again and again. If we can just get Rudy Gestede starting we may have a chance of putting a few headed goals in the back of the net. The perfect left back aside, how will the rest of the defense take shape? Especially the issue of right back – which happened to be the side Mata slipped the ball through to Januzaj the goal scorer.
Now, if Hutton and Bacuna could merge into one footballer I could make the case for Hutton-Bacuna to be slotted in on the right as Bacuna’s attacking style and Hutton’s defensive strength creates what we see in Amavi. Sadly, this is not the case. Richardson is also a potential candidate but he’s become more of a substitute who comes on to close the game out with his seasoned experience, however, there are already rumors of him being transferred back to Sunderland. So how about on-field captain Micah Richards?
We all know how good Richards is at going forward, once he gets going he’s likened to a freight train with no brakes. Sure he needs to work on a few things, mainly his passing having given the ball away one too many times against Manchester United. But his past shows just how suited he is for the right-back role. At Manchester City Richards owned the position right up until the arrival of Zabaleta. Richards pointing out “for my career I felt I had to move on… I couldn’t stay second choice.” Subsequently, the loan move to Fiorentina didn’t allow much more comfort or playing time with a 3-5-2 formation. Nevertheless, he is now with us and in his prime footballing years, why not shift him to the right and get those bursts forwards we’re growing use to seeing? I don’t see anybody else bringing what Richards can in that position, do you?
So, if Sherwood reads my column and heeds my advice, then not only can I take the credit for the line-up but we then also have a consistent left and right back for Aston Villa. Being consistent early on only aids in the way a team plays going forward. Subsequently, Sherwood would be able to experiment with the two central defenders and he is not short on options having Okore, Clark, Crespo, Baker and Senderos.
Philippe Senderos is a plausible choice with his vast experience but his age is against him. He’s also been linked with a summer move away from Villa Park. Personally, the obvious first choice is Ciaran Clark. He has been groomed for the position for the past few seasons and his confidence and leadership is starting to pay dividends. He’s also strong in the air and is not afraid of putting in a hard tackle. In a few short words, I like him. Similarly, another player I like is Jores Okore. I feel he needs to be given more of a chance in the first team because where Richards lacks the passing and vision qualities Okore seems to bring more of a confidence in the way he passes, making the right choices more often and losing the ball less – we can’t score if we don’t have the ball.
Tim Sherwood certainly has a tough job making his starting selection. Especially with the likes of Adama, Grealish and Gil fit and ready for first team action. Defensively, however, I feel it’s almost near perfected. Or do you disagree? Do we need one more signing at the back? 31-year-old Jose Fonte has been linked to move to Villa Park, maybe this could be the central defender to allow Richards to shift to the right? What are your thoughts?
The Author
Sean Boulanger
An Aston Villa fan living 14,722 km south of Villa Park. Follow more of my far away views on Twitter @BoulangerSean.Comments 24
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Good write up.
I hope we aren’t seeing an o’neil team….defend for your lives and counter! I want to see us keep the ball and be good in possession!
Richards may play right back due to injuries to others but his days of sprinting up and down the wing are over i think. He said himself he is bigger now and playing cb keeps the injury risk down. Crespo will play rb when fit and 1 more experinced cb to come i reckon.
No, I don’t think this team is anything like a Martin O’Neill side. O’Neill played low possession but fast counter attacking football. The current side, whilst not as good as O’Neill’s, is fairly high tempo but the emphasis is more on possession.
The new signings look decent. Amavi, Richards and Gueye look like superb acquisitions and have instantly found their feet. Veretout and Ayewe look like they have ability but will take time to adjust to The Premiership. Veretout especially needs to work on reaching a higher level of fitness. He reminded me of Milner but without the engine.
We will benefit enormously from the return of Gil and Grealish as well as the addition of Traore. The one thing I totally disagree with Sherwood on is the selection of Bacuna instead of Hutton at right back. It beggars belief.
Nice write up Sean. 100% agree that this is the strongest back line we have available, Iv seen it that way since pre season. Amavi’s position is not in doubt, he’s been our best player so far this season. Richards – I always felt his best position was CB. As we can see with his passing he is not the best technically, the reason why he succeeded at City there was his drive and determination – two attributes that help him at CB too. Utd tactically were good in that they always had a man on Westwood and Gueye making it hard for them to pick the ball up from the back, meaning we relied on Richards passing to get the ball into midfield too many times, and as we saw its poor. We need to have a plan to combat that should others try the same in the future. At RB he would lose the ball way too often. I was slightly concerned that maybe he wasnt tall enough at just under 6ft but his physique is massively intimidating and he looks bigger than he is. Very strong, powerful and quick. He does frighten me when he masquerades up the pitch, great when it comes off but he looks so not in control of the ball, the only thing that gets his through is his determination. He will get caught out by it at some point, almost did once against Utd.
Im a big fan of Bacuna at RB, going forward he is great. His delivery is brilliant, his passing good – pass of the season for Cleverley’s goal against Everton. He is lacking defensively but makes up in some way with his work rate. My biggest concern for him and for Richards is their concentration and positional awareness is lacking at times, although Richards cant really be blamed for that goal he could have anticipated better than he did, which left him a lot to do and he went diving in and got done. In terms of Hutton vs Bacuna, Id pick Bacuna all day long. Hutton better at tackling but his concentration is also lacking at times and he is rash, technically not as good going forward and also seems lazy at times when he’s not up for it.
Clarke has grown so much into his role the past season or so. Before he could be accused of being inconsistent but now he is the model of consistency. The rock in our defense, he is one of the first names on the team sheet. I feel he has gotten so much better since he has assumed responsibility for the defense, before he used to be led by whatever partner he had and it led to indecision. Puts in a great tackle too.
I rate Okore think he will develop into a top defender, atm he is quite rash but his recovery is outstanding. Similar to Richards in a lot of ways with strength, power and speed but taller and has the potential to be better all round. He will get plenty game time but for me he’s one that will really shine in the future.
So a back 4 of Bacuna, Richards, Clarke and Amavi is the way to go and is looking very solid right now. They havent given up too many chances so far. A backup of Hutton, Okore, Baker and Bennet is decent, better than we have had in recent seasons. This may well be the best back 4 we’ve had since the MON era. A point on that, I used to hate it when MON played Cuellar RB or Young LB, really hurt us going forward. I hated the ball playing abilities of Dunne and Collins especially, I liked Dunne cos of his attitude – he was our rock back then. Collins Iv never rated, he was always liable for a bunch of mistakes, he looked better than he was because we had a solid team around/ahead of him. Id say this back 4 has potential to be much better than the MON back 4.
Funny how people can have massively different opinions on the same person @ Droyd!
I really REALLY dont like Hutton. I think he’s a fraud just picking up a pay check. Sure he played well at times since being brought back into the fold but I cant forget his Warnock-esque calamities that put him in the bomb squad in the first place. He was one of our worst players under McLeish. His play for Arsenal’s second in the cup final, the way he let Sanchez get the ball and cut in so easy, confirmed to me that this guy is useless. He has no potential to be better in the future. Whereas not only is Bacuna MUCH better going forward right now, he has room to improve on his defensive game. As I said before his work rate is really good, and he does get caught out at time – just like Hutton – but he makes up in his recovery and what he offers in an attacking sense.
He had 5 assists since Sherwood took over, having not played much before – enough to put him top of the assists! 4 Crosses to Benteke for goals and that pass to Cleverley. Hutton didnt have a single one in double the games! Granted he did have a goal but that was laid on plate for him by Benteke. I wouldnt be against us buying a new RB if he’s better than Bacuna but then Id get rid of Hutton. He is the last person in our squad I want to be starting games. I prefer Bennet and the new guy Crespo – even though I havent seen him play!
Just looking at stats, Hutton has just 5 assists in 131 league games since 2009/10… Bacuna has that many in his last 13!
Thanks @Andrew. I was more aligning the MON team with its defensive similarities. I agree that we should not be looking to defend and counter anymore. I do see us holding the ball more often and keeping possession, however, the issue is our final third of play. I’m looking forward to what Adama, Gil and Graelish can bring in terms of attacking threat.
@The Droyd I do see your point. I was more looking at the similarities in terms of the defensive unit from MON’s era and now Sherwood’s.
I do like seeing us hold on to more possession of the ball. However, again its what we do with that possession in the final third that is lacking. That may change with Adama, Gil and Graelish back in contention. Personally, Gabby has not been able to adapt his game and still plays the counter attacking football like the days of MON.
I’m a massive fan of Gueye, his work rate is great and I think he will grow into the role more. Veretout is still yet to prove his potential, but its still very early days in terms of making any calls on the new players.
Additionally, I don’t think Hutton brings much to the game. He’s always seems like a big risk when it comes to being carded. We do need someone to come in at right back, maybe Hutton is the only available option right now but I feel we need someone with more quality. Bacuna does put in some great crosses and brings a lot of energy but his defending makes us vulnerable at the back.
Thanks @Ree. I agree that United’s marking made Richards have to step up and make a lot more passes. Which is why we saw a few errors. Perhaps the game against Palace we’ll see more action from Gueye, I don’t think Veretout is going to start and I’m really excited to see if Adama and Graelish will start and what they’ll bring in terms of attacking threat. We seriously need to be more dangerous going forward and put more goals in the back of the net. Having majority possession is great but not doing anything with it is just a waste.
I think Veretout might be dropped as well possibly for Sanchez. He will get better with time but right now he doesnt seem up to the speed of the game. Grealish will start hopefully and give us that link between attack and midfield. We could go back to the two 10’s formation with Grealish and Ayew behind Gabby. I think Sinclair is most in danger in getting dropped out of the forwards, although it should be Gabby. Gestede probably is not fit enough to start but could cause Palace problems off the bench. Excited to see Gil and/or Traore make an appearance at some point. It will be a tough game though
Hello Sean.
“Personally, Gabby has not been able to adapt his game and still plays the counter attacking football like the days of MON.”
Even Alex McLeish said so a few years back. He said Gabby needed to add a few new tricks to his game. I’m usually a Gabby fan, but sooner-or-later, when a striker isn’t scoring, we get to a point where we start asking questions. Gabby seems to have a lot to say about his striking partners, but it’s only fair that he’s not going to be their striking partner long if he’s not up to starting games. I’d like to see Ayew given a chance with Gestede starting. As Mark said, that partnership needs to develop. Gabby can play from the bench.
@Trinity I still admire the ball being launched for Gabby to chase after, his speed is still incredibly fast and his holding up is good enough. However, its his vision and finishing skills that haven’t improved.
I may even say perhaps one up front – Gestede. Then Graelish playing the number 10 role with Adama one side and Gil/Sinclair/Ayew on the other side?
@Ree I think it’ll be a very entertaining game with a lot of attacking threat on both sides. This will be the time for the defensive line to show just how strong they really are!
Good write-up, Sean.
I think Richards wants to settle in at CB, prolong his career there. Bacuna and Hutton…I like Bacuna, but he does get exposed and beaten too easily at times, and does seem to switch off. I’d like to think he can be coached into better defending, but maybe not.
Hutton on the other hand…He seems just as much a liability defensively, but without the talent going forward. They’re both at their best in close pursuit. They both fail in letting attackers get too much separation and either concede the crosses or get beat on the dribble. Neither can afford that separation. Bacuna edges it for me, but that’s damning with faint praise at the moment.
Curious to see what Crespo can do. If we could find a real RB, we’d be a much better team overnight.
I can’t stand Hutton. He is in my bomb squad along with Gabby, nzog, cole, richardson, senderous, guzan.
I am willing to bet in the next 2 or 3 transfer windows these guys will be gone.
@Andrew I was so excited when N’zgobia signed with us but has been one of the biggest let downs. The only one on the list that may still be here in two years is Guzan. I don’t think Bunn will replace him this season or next.
Thanks @John. I agree, neither one are good enough currently for that role. We may need to sign one more player before the end of the transfer month. Unless Crespo comes in and shows us what he is made of. But all RB aside, we may have the best left back in the league.
How about:
Guzan
Bacuna Richards Clark Amavi
Westwood Gueye
Gil*
Traore Gestede Grealish
*If Gil is fully recovered (he came off with a tight groin in the U21 match). If he isn’t, put Grealish in his spot and Sinclair out wide on Amavi’s side.
** Sub Kozak for Gestede at the hour mark, Sinclair for the first of the Traore/Gil/Grealish trio that isn’t fitting in or tires. If we have a lead late and need to park the bus, then remove the #10 and replace with Sanchez playing “destroyer” DM right in front of the back line.
I also wonder, when choosing between Gil and Grealish — which one is the more natural #10 and which is better out wide. My initial tentative impression is that Grealish might be slightly more effective with the greater amount of space out wide, and Gil slightly better in crowded areas. I’m certainly looking forward to seeing how they mutually develop.
Hi Sean
My concerns in defence other than the lesser of 2 evils on the right is Clarke to work in tandem with Amavi. Sinclair has come on leaps since Amavis inclusion as I thought he would, Sinclairs better outings have been with richardson before he got injured, the lad can play football and needs someone to play with. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Grealish in a loose left side 10 role those three would be a nightmare to stop. I don’t think Sinclair has played with grealish yet? the mouth waters 🙂
I don’t think Gil will start as Sherwood still has fitness concerns with him, same for Traore but he could get a cameo.
think we could see
Guzan
Bakuna richards clark amavi
vertout Gueye westwood grealish
sinclair/Ayew
Gestede
Of course the chances are Gabby will start on the right 🙂
I still think 1-2 even 3 might come in and a few go hopefully
With everyone fit i reckon we are set to line up 4231
Guzan
Crespo richards clarke amavi
Vertout. Gana
Adama. Gill. Grealish
Ayew
That front fours pace and movement excites me 🙂
mark i think we will get 2 or 3 in too. Deadline day might be exciting for once.
Austin scores again…..please get him.
@Texas Villain that line up is mouth-watering. Although I might want to see Gestede play lone striker instead of Ayew. Even though its early in the season, I’d like to see what Gestede can do playing all 90 minutes.
@Andrew Austin would be such a fantastic signing.