The Athletic’s Aston Villa podcast Gregg Evans has claimed that the club’s full-backs are struggling if the club are to improve in the coming weeks, per the 1874 podcast (March 12th, 3:35).
What’s the word?
Villa are still attempting to climb away from the relegation zone.
They lost 4-0 to Leicester City on Monday evening and are currently 19th in the Premier League, losing four of their last five games.
They sit two points away from Watford in 17th and Evans believes that the defence is a major issue.
Indeed, they have shipped 56 goals in 28 games, more than any other club in the top-flight, and Evans has claimed that Smith should drop Frederic Guilbert, while insisting that his team-mate Matthew Targett isn’t exactly setting the world alight either.
He said: “Dean Smith and his team are struggling to get this defence to tighten up.
“A lot of it is, I think, to do with the midfield. I think that they don’t support the backline enough.”
He added: “The full-backs are struggling massively. Frederic Guilbert needs to be taken out of the team. He’s struggling and to be honest Matt Targett isn’t doing much better either.”
Red Herring or Real Hero: Only hardcore Villa fans will get all of them right….
Their first priority
This is absolutely key.
If Villa really want to remain in the division which, clearly, they do, they desperately need to improve the backline.
Guilbert has played primarily as a right-back this season, scoring two goals and registering two assists, but he has struggled, as Evans has alluded to.
Per WhoScored, he is dribbled past on 1.3 occasions per game and averages 1.5 fouls too, along with 3.1 tackles, and a passing accuracy rate of just 68.7%.
Targett, at left-back, has played at both left-back and on the left of midfield, registering two assists and scoring once in the league, while being dribbled past 1.2 times per game, averaging one foul, 1.9 tackles, and a pass completion rate of 73%.
Neither have been good enough and both are recent signings; Guilbert cost £5m last January, while Targett was an £11.5m signing in the summer.
They haven’t lived up to their price tags and one simply must question the recruitment policy that allowed the two to come into the club and become first-choice selections.
Meanwhile, Villa fans have swooned over one man!
