Aston Villa - Analysis

My short analysis on the main Aston Villa players and their general contribution to the team.

Players Analysis

Shay Given – Excellent goal keeper and stunning shot stopper but needs some protection from swinging crosses and the team benefits from a central midfield that pushes up to pick up rebounds from short clearances or 50/50 headers. Fairly quiet communicator.

Brad Guzan – Stronger communicator, good shot stopper, decent with crosses but lacks match practice. Solid and determined.

Alan Hutton – Quick and strong tackler who likes to get forward and overlap. Poor timing in the challenge, average in the air and poor positioning when anticipating defensive and attacking play; benefits from a covering winger. Links up well with wingers but does lack the confidence to play incisive pass and move football and put in accurate crosses.

Stephen Warnock – Decent passing ability with a strong slide tackle and decent positioning. Does throw in rash tackles which means he is out of position but has the desire to get back and make up for his mistakes. Follows wingers and offers an outlet but prefers to cross from deep and pass back when he is near the opposition corner flag. Looking slow as the years progress in both physical attributes and in making right decisions but allows attacking team mates players a lot of space.

Carlos Cuellar – Quick, strong, good in the air but can seem a little slow reading and making decisions of the play developing around him. Decent footwork and is happy to have the ball at his feet but hasn’t had a run of games in any set position. Is sometimes prone to wandering from central defence but overall sticks close enough to his partner. Goes to ground for tackles as much as Collins but perhaps lacks the same timing.

James Collins – Strong in the air and likes to clear the ball when pressure is high. Comes out of defence a lot to pressure attacking players, in many cases creating huge holes in his backline  Collins has an excellent ability to block strikes and generally has good timing in his tackle, this cannot be said for his anticipation and he is easily caught out by quick interplay. Has a decent cross field pass but perhaps uses this poorly with the long straight ball which floats and gives the opposition time to reset.  Rarely disheartened but needs quick defenders around him to cover for his mistakes.

Richard Dunne – Despite losing some pace he has excellent awareness on the ball with decent first touch and ball control. Strong in the air, strong in the tackle and excellent at anticipating even the quickest strikers to keep himself goal side or in control of the play. Decent coming out with the ball and although he rarely uses it can be an incisive long passer. Sometimes scores own goals but this underlines his determination to defend and clear the ball at any cost. Benefits from a quick agile partner who can take orders well and cover his lack of pace.

Ciaran Clark – An intelligent centre back with midfield qualities, but not a midfielder; has benefited from playing with Petrov and shields the ball well. Strong enough in the tackle, decent feet and takes direction well but does need to improve his ability in the air as he sometimes anticipates the header poorly. Happy to drive forward with the ball, be part of passing play and be a nuisance in the box, either late in play or on set pieces. Sometimes his poor acceleration can cause him difficulties in midfield and his anticipation is developing but he shows signs of becoming a good Premiership player.

Chris Herd – Not enough seen really, he has good anticipation and a well timed tackle but can get stuck on the ball. Likes to push on and support attackers and isn’t afraid to play the ball forward and start a counter. Needs games to develop but he is determined in the defensive half and effective on the attack. In defence he appears decent in the air but in attack seems very motivated to win the ball from set pieces.

Stiliyan Petrov – Improved fitness but lost a lot of pace. Excellent passer of the ball but fragile in defence and a poor tackler. Well versed in winning free kicks, rarely loses the ball due to brilliant body shape and has an excellent anticipation of opposition player’s movements, however at times his fitness makes it difficult for him to keep up. Less inclined to pass forward and although his footwork is good he uses it to move backward rather than forward. An interesting clever player who adds little box to box tenacity to a midfield but a lot of experience; neither a defensive or attacking player. Consistently shows these attributes.

Stephen Ireland – Excellent passer, great interplay, happy to run with the ball and take players on but prefers to create rather than finish and will pass rather than shoot. A confidence player which explains his desire to pass and not shoot but someone who can be really effective if he has movement around him and players to play off.  When confident he admirably covers the pitch and will try his hardest to be play box to box. Not really a physical presence but has good feet and ability so is difficult to get the ball from. Fairly ineffective if players around him are static or has nobody to play sharp interplay with.

Barry Bannan – Lightweight but determined, good ball skills with a swagger of arrogance but a desire to work hard. Excellent passer on the floor, in the air and spotting killer balls. When he has space he relies on the killer ball a little bit too much but is very happy to drop deep or move forward in order to receive the ball. Always wants to be part of play and has a sweet left foot when he is on the edge of the box. Good free kick and corner taker but in play would benefit from someone alongside him that plays one touch football and another player running off him. Lacks the physical presence to defend but not the heart.

Marc Albrighton – Quick enough, good ability to turn players and move the ball away from defenders, has a dangerous early cross. When he has space he sometimes needs to grow into games and he does benefit from having someone supporting him that can release him or play quick football with. Good first touch and ability to bring the ball down but prefers to take the ball on the run, or use his first touch to get moving. Easily disposed of when marking close due to his size but he always wants the ball and always wants to take the defender on which in some games can make him unplayable. Needs management belief rather than personal confidence as he does have the quality to deliver an excellent ball from all angles. Top notch work rate and a willingness to cover and run for as long as he is on the pitch.

Gabriel Agbonlahor – Very quick, very strong and good body shape. Does have quick feet but perhaps poor decision making and poor anticipation of defending players. Rarely makes incisive movements up front but is happy to be part of team play. A decent crosser on both feet but not a natural, a good first time finisher but can be predictable when he has time. He can seem very despondent and look lazy on the pitch though this is probably down to poor reading/anticipation of the play around him. Rarely drops to get the ball deep and drive at defenders but will take on anybody down the wing or if he has space. Defensively he works as hard as anyone can but sometimes this causes him to be stuck in the defensive half and not realise he can be released to form a counter attack. While his crossing has developed over the years his positioning hasn’t particularly flourished and when on the wing looks less motivated than when up front.

Charles N’Zogbia – Skilful, clever and creative but sometimes likes to play with the ball rather than play with his team. Likes to take the ball forward with his first touch and brilliant at drawing a player in but sometimes look despondent when he fails to beat his defender. Enigmatic player who would benefit from learning to play with certain players in order to find space but he likes to have a ball as much as possible and show his skills. Excellent technique and when he fancies it is unplayable. Gets back and has strong upper body strength; happy to give away a free kick in midfield and drive at defenders on the counter but isn’t the quickest at top speed perhaps because he draws defenders in before beating them.

Darren Bent – Quick enough, decent feet and works hard to get back. Okay in the air from long balls but excellent in the box. A finisher who consistently hits the target but couldn’t really be considered consistently clinical and isn’t the strongest shooting from outside the box. Can look very isolated up front if he has no support but has improved hugely at returning deep to support the midfield. While not the quickest he is extremely sharp at getting in front of defenders or anticipating where the ball will go, or what the opposition may do. Makes life very difficult for defenders and his anticipation needs to be used through early and many crosses. Drags defenders away extremely well but sometimes needs to check around him to keep himself onside; through balls may aid him as he is always looking to turn and break forward. A goal scorer and not really a forward.

Aston Villa

Currently there isn’t really any fluidity in the way they play, Robbie Keane has helped bring Ireland into games and allowed the younger players to play alongside him with quick passing play. Younger players such as Albrighton and Bannan would benefit from playing more regularly and in the future Gardner could be an excellent central midfield prospect.

In attack central midfield is a problem that Aston Villa have, Petrov is an excellent player but he does slow the play which makes other attacking players turn back when they move too far from the player with the ball. Petrov is neither defensive or offensive but allows the most forward players time to get forward even if they are released a little slowly. A better midfielder partner, or pairing would help massively as players such as N’Zogbia, Agbonlahor or Albrighton break quickly. Albrighton especially likes to get play moving and involve supporting midfielder's.

Making use of crosses would definitely help Bent to score more regularly, the team often gets stuck in central midfield and although passing can be neat players are infrequently released early and the opposition is rarely on their heels.

In defence Dunne seems to have trouble coping with Collins charging from his position and isn’t helped by Hutton who can fail to anticipate his defensive responsibilities. Warnock closes players down well but this also causes Dunne problems on his side when he does miss a tackle. Though adept Warnock is still struggling to show his form from a few years ago but his passing has improved hugely; Hutton however is having real difficulty gelling. In the final third Hutton gives great support but he still looks lost in defence and in midfield.

The team rarely play attacking incisive football for long periods of time but when they do they look dangerous and mobile; on too many occasions their play is spoiled and they go into their shell to hold their position instead of playing through teams, this causes the defence to play long balls which is evidenced by the addition of Keane who drops between defence and midfield but regularly watches the ball fly over his head.

The recent addition of Keane has helped the attack use the space they find but the defence struggles to push up or remain solid which has them tracking back.

The biggest problem this season will be Keane leaving as he is a class above most players at getting into space, better play may come from the youth teams experience together or Keane’s experience but with Aston Villa teetering above the relegation vacuum they need to continue believing and playing football instead of going into their shell and holding their lead.