During lockdown, I have had time to sit and reflect on what has been a strange season for Villa. A season that didn’t feel real at the beginning has quickly become very real, and in danger of turmoil.
On February 27th 2019, the Villains sat outside the top half of the Championship. Fast-forward three months and Villa are parading the play-off final trophy around Wembley and preparing for a season in the Premier League.
As I’ve spoken about before, Villa needed a lot of additions to the squad after releasing a hefty amount of senior players. In this post I shall rank Villa’s 2019/20 squad one-by-one on the season they’ve had thus far.
1. Tom Heaton – Arguably Villa’s best signing of the summer, an experienced international between the sticks can be the key to survival and for the first half of the season this looked to be the case. After a mistake on his Villa Park debut he went on to be a stand-out performer, but a nasty knee injury on New Year’s Day saw him ruled out for the season. 8/10
3. Neil Taylor – A player who wouldn’t have expected much game time this season after the arrival of fellow left-back Matt Targett. He started the season well, keeping Targett out of the team for longer than most fans would have thought. 6/10
4. Danny Drinkwater – A January loan signing from Chelsea after being surplus to requirements at Burnley. Brought in by Dean Smith to add some steel and Premier League experience to the side, but has failed to do so. Seemed off the pace due to a lack of fitness in all four appearances. 1/10
6. Douglas Luiz – A Brazilian international, heavily praised by Pep Guardiola, Douglas Luiz came to B6 with a lot of expectations from fans. It’s fair to say that he hasn’t quite lived up to them yet, but that’s not to say he won’t. At times he’s looked magnificent, showing his Brazilian flair and scoring three goals, two of these being arguably Villa’s best of the season. But in lots of games he has looked off the pace and naïve, giving the ball away too much for a Premier League midfielder. 5/10
7. John McGinn – The Scottish ace took the Premier League by storm, scoring on the opening game of the campaign versus Spurs. His good form continued, being nominated for the Premier League ‘player of the month’ award in October. His form dipped in November however and he picked up an injury, putting him on the side-lines for the remainder of the season. 8/10
8. Henri Lansbury – Being limited to substitute appearances is something Henri has had to get used to in recent years. He has appeared nine times this season, making two non-effective starts at Brammal Lane and Vicarage Road, both ending in defeat. His most notable contribution of the season so far came at Selhurst Park, scoring a late equaliser, sending the Villa faithful wild. Only for it to be ruled out by the referee as Jack Grealish was deemed to take a dive outside the box before Lansbury’s strike. 3/10
9. Wesley – The young Brazilian had a lot of responsibility on his shoulders at the start of the season as he was Villa’s go-to man for goals. This responsibility seemed to get the better of him as he struggled to find form. His most notable moments came when he got on the scoresheet in a 2-0 victory against Everton at Villa Park, sent Villa fans crazy at the Emirates with a goal and scored two goals in a 5-1 win at Carrow Road. Unfortunately, in the same game as Heaton, Wesley picked up a knee injury and was ruled out for the season. 6/10
10. Jack Grealish – ‘Super Jack’ has been Villa’s stand-out player by a country mile this season, captaining his boyhood club he has scored some spectacular goals and been a name on pundits’ and fan’s lips. He has scored nine goals and got eight assists in all competitions, his most notable contributions came at Old Trafford with a spectacular goal in a 2-2 draw and a brilliant strike to salvage a point at the Amex. If the Euros were to commence this summer, you would fully expect his name to be in the squad. 10/10
11. Marvelous Nakamba – At times this season Marvelous has lived up to his name, notably in the 5-1 victory against Norwich and at Wembley in the Carabao Cup Final. However, at times he has looked weak and lacked quality on the ball. 6/10
12. Jed Steer – The goalkeeper that played a massive part in Villa getting to the Premier League, with penalty heroics against West Brom in the play-off semi-finals. Only one league appearance this season, coming at Molineux but he had to be replaced through injury. 4/10
14. Conor Hourihane – A talisman at B6 since joining from Barnsley in 2017. Featured 25 times, scoring seven goals in all competitions this season. A man who seems to perform better when he comes off the bench with a point to prove, often fails to please when he starts. Villa do seem to keep possession better when he plays and he has good chemistry down the left-hand-side with Targett and Grealish. Villa miss his set-piece deliveries when he doesn’t feature. 7/10
15. Ezri Konsa – The young defender has been thrown in at the deep end this season after only one year of regular football at Brentford. At times he has looked a classy centre-half, calm on the ball and tough in the tackle. His highlight so far comes in a 2-1 victory over Watford, rifling the ball into the net in injury time in front of the Holte End, only to have the goal given to Tyrone Mings after a slight deflection. However, only two clean sheets in fifteen appearances hasn’t pleased the Villa faithful. 6/10
17. Trézéguet – The Egyptian winger hasn’t done enough in a Villa shirt so far, his three league goals have all come in defeats. His most notable moment was an injury time winner against Leicester to send the claret and blue army to Wembley. 4/10
18. Matt Targett – A promising young left-back who arrived in the summer from Southampton. It took a while for him to break into the team and find his match fitness but once he did, there was no looking back. A consistent performer and a man at the heart of lots of Villa’s attacks down the left-hand-side. His biggest moment came early in the season, scoring a 94th minute winner against Brighton at Villa Park. 8/10
19. Borja Bastón – A January loan signing from Swansea, he’s made a couple of late substitute appearances. I could probably count the amount of touches he’s had in a Villa shirt on one hand. 2/10
20. Mbwana Samatta – A January signing from Genk, the first Tanzanian player to play in the Premier League has become a shining light for Villa fans in a short space of time. He scored on his league debut against Bournemouth and at Wembley in the Carabao Cup final. The idea of him and Wesley up front next season is a promising one. 7/10
21. Anwar El Ghazi – The winger was vital to Villa’s promotion last season, scoring many goals throughout the campaign and a vital header at Wembley in the play-off final. However, since scoring against Everton in the third game of the season, he has underwhelmed massively. 5/10
22. Björn Engels – The Belgian centre-half started the season promisingly, looking commanding and calm on the ball alongside Tyrone Mings. However, after a poor run of form he was axed from the side as the system changed to three centre-halves. Recently he has come back into the side and looked better, despite costing the side a point against Spurs late in the game. 6/10
23. Jota – The Spaniard was controversially brought from the other side of the city in the summer, since then he has rarely featured in the side and was close to going out on loan in January. His most notable contribution came in an assist for Wesley’s opener against Everton. 3/10
24. Frédéric Guilbert – The Frenchman was signed in the January of 2019 and joined up with the squad at the end of that season. However, unexpectedly Villa ended up being in the Premier League, so it’s possible that Guilbert was signed as a Championship right-back. At times this has shown to be right, he often loses confidence in games. However, he shows great pace going forward and recovering, his sliding tackles have become a trademark. 7/10
25. Ørjan Nyland – Due to injuries to Heaton and Steer, Nyland has featured more than he may have expected this season. Eight appearances in all competitions making some unbelievable saves along the way, notably a ‘man of the match’ performance against Leicester in the second-leg of the semi-final of the Carabao Cup. 7/10
27. Ahmed Elmohamady – ‘Elmo’ has featured 19 times in all competitions so far this season and Villa have needed him, being one of the most experienced players in the squad. Rarely performs below a 7/10 so that’s what I’ll give him. 7/10
29. Pepe Reina – The experienced Spanish keeper was brought in on loan from AC Milan in January and hit the ground running, having influential performances in his first few games. However, he was calamitous at both Southampton and Leicester and he’s failed to keep a clean sheet in six games. 5/10
30. Kortney Hause – Another player who has featured maybe more than he expected to. Brought into the side on New Year’s Day’s victory at Turf Moor, he has been a regular in the team since, offering balance on the left side of a back three. Seems slightly out of his depth in the league and would be better suited to the Championship. 6/10
39. Keinan Davis – The young striker has made only eight substitute appearances in the league after suffering with multiple injuries, scoring 0 goals. When fit, he can be a handful for defenders. 4/10
40. Tyrone Mings – The centre-half had his move made permanent from Bournemouth in the summer after impressing on loan last season. He started the season in confident form and earned himself an England call-up. However, since then his domestic form has dipped and he has been at fault for several goals. Villa will need his leadership if they are to remain in the league. 7/10
Tom Hartley's blog 