Villa 0-1 Wolves - Player Ratings
By Tom Bason
March 20 2011
Sorry these are a bit late, but here are my player ratings from yesterday:
Wayne Hennessey: Aside from two crosses in quick succession in the first half that he got absolutely nowhere near, he had a solid game. Admittedly Villa never really tested him – Marc Albrighton had one shot straight at him while Ashley Young crashed an effort off the underside of the bar, but he dealt with most that came his way. One note is his distribution; with Villa pressing high up the pitch, he was rarely in a position to throw the ball short, being forced to kick long most of the time. As such, he completed just 11 passes of his attempted 38, constantly giving possession back to Villa.
Kevin Foley: I generally prefer Foley to Ronald Zubar at right back, but today he struggled a little, winning just one tackle all match. Villa played with two wide wingers (Albrighton and Stewart Downing) who look to attack the fullbacks. However, once Albrighton was removed for Gabby Agbonlahor, Villa played with very little width on the left and so Foley was able to come into the game a little more. He played an important part in the last 10 minutes in keeping possession allowing the clock to wind down.
George Elokobi: This was pretty much a typical game from Elokobi – one or two terrific challenges, a couple of stupid ones, and giving the ball away too much. Early on, it looked like Albrighton might give Elokobi a bit of a run around, but Elokobi came back into the match well. He was a little hesitant to push forward, possibly wary of the pace of Albrighton and Kyle Walker on the counter attack. In general, he had a decent game and is slowly turning into a decent Premier League left-back.
Richard Stearman: Stearman is another who is proving plenty of fans wrong, another solid game for him today. While he was fortunate not to concede a second half penalty, he successfully won five out of five tackles with another three interceptions. His pace is key to the Berra/Stearman partnership. One slight annoyance is his tendency to knock the ball long - he is good enough in possession to bring the ball out of defence, and I wish he would do this more.
Christophe Berra: It seems like Berra and Stearman are developing into a good quality partnership – Stearman has the potential to be the ball playing defender, while Berra is the solid player who will stick his head in the way of anything. He is still looking for his first Wolves goal, and would have had it today but for a (admittedly correct) linesman’s flag. I think it is testament to the way that the defence played that Darren Bent had just one blocked shot, while completing just 13 passes in the match.
Karl Henry: Is he starting to play like he did before THAT tackle at Wigan? Snapped into one second half tackle that was timed perfectly, making a further four interceptions, three of them on the edge of our penalty area. He had an 80% pass completion rate, and kept things simple in the midfield knowing he has Jamie O’Hara and Nenad Milijaš to try the complicated stuff. Henry played the majority of the game in our half, and did a decent job in denying Ashley Young the space to play, often pressuring him into giving the ball away.
Nenad Milijaš: I actually thought that this was one of Milijaš’ worst games in a while. At times, he appeared to be playing in the more advanced role in the midfield, rather than O’Hara. I don’t think this position suits Milijaš, he doesn’t really have the pace or energy to break beyond Kevin Doyle and he tends to play far better when dictating play from deep. However, for a player of his quality, he gave the ball away too much, often under little pressure. He made three interceptions though, showing his intelligent positioning, and forced Brad Friedel into two good stop. Despite this, considering the quality of his shooting, he should have more than two goals this season and this is something I’d definitely like to see him work on over the course of the remainder of the season.
Jamie O’Hara: Again, like Milijaš he at times struggled to impose himself on the game, Villa’s two energetic midfielders (Nigel Reo-Coker and Jean II Makoun) denied them the time on the ball that they’d have liked. However, his leadership qualities shone through again, and a pass completion if 78% was bettered only by Henry and Reo-Coker in midfield, two players who keep the passes a lot simpler than O’Hara does. He won just one out of five attempted tackles, but made one important block in the penalty area. He has been a very important signing, and I very much hope we continue to see him in a Wolves shirt next season.
Adam Hammill: Started very well, to the extent that Nathan Baker, his direct opponent, was substituted after just 33 minutes. One excellent cross set up Berra’s offside goal, and he had one chance in the inside right channel. However, when Fabian Delph came on, his extra pace and energy helped to shut Hammill down, and it was no surprise when he was withdrawn. With Michael Kightly back fit, and potentially Stephen Hunt returning, Hammill will have to up his game if he is to retain his place.
Matt Jarvis: A lovely finish today. After two poor misses in quick succession against Bolton and West Brom, he has followed this with two cracking goals against Blackpool and Villa. A snap volley from the edge of the area left Brad Friedel with absolutely no chance. Other than that, he didn’t have his best match, up against one of the Premier League’s form fullbacks in Kyle Walker. He did make one excellent defensive interception, highlighting the importance of his defensive work. His pace could have been used better late on as Villa’s defence was stretched, but a number of poor decisions failed to find him. Unusually, he made just one pass into the box, indicating how well Walker defended against him.
Kevin Doyle: Perhaps unlucky to have one goal ruled out, although in fairness Friedel had stopped. At times he was more isolated than he has been in recent weeks, and wasn’t at his best in the air, winning just three of his eight headers. However, he held the ball up well, only giving the ball away when attempting a forward pass, and occupied Carlos Cuellar and youngster Chris Herd. He finished the game wide right following the introduction of Sylvan Ebanks-Blake where his hold up play was invaluable in winding down the clock.
Sylvan Ebanks-Blake: I’ve been critical of his work rate before, but it looked like he picked up a knock yesterday, hampering his movement. One poor touch prevented him getting a shot in when clean through on goal, but in general he held the ball up well.
Stephen Ward: Not much to say. Of his 150 appearances in a Wolves shirt (of the current squad, only Jody Craddock, Kevin Foley and Karl Henry have more), this will surely be the least memorable. One successful pass was his only contribution.
Mick McCarthy: This was the obvious line-up to pick, and it seems like he’s stumbled on a team to see out the rest of the season. The substitutions made sense, and we closed out the match as well as I’ve ever seen us do.
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However I do think you have underestimated the role of Milijas in the game. I thought he had a great game, was thoroughly involved and brought out two really good saves from Friedel. I think he has the signs of becoming a really quality midfield player for us, and if only Doyle had looked up and seen him free on the left of the goal before shooting into the side netting Ned would have had the goal he deserved.
I agree O'Hara has much promise for the future, but again he could have given Jarvis the chance to score another goal like his against Blackpool, so he may well have to remember to pass sometimes rather than pursuing his quest for goals.
All in all I thought it was a terrific team performance, and that is the main difference between us and some of our competition - we play as a unit, there are no prima-donnas in our team, which is typified by Doyle's attitude and performance, compared to the somewhat lazy efforts of some of the highly paid Villa players.
With Milijas, yes he got forward well, but at times he was sloppy in possession, often when he was not under pressure. I love Nenad, at the moment he's getting my vote for POTY, but I thought he was poor on Saturday.
I agree about O'Hara as well, he was a little selfish, but that will come as he gets used to the positions taken up by the rest of the players
toomb's twitter
I think the improvement in Wolves performances are all about the improvement in their respective techniques.
Jarvis's shooting ability has noticably improved over the last couple of months. Accidently? No - specific training!
Stearmans reading of the game and his positional play accordingly is another example. I was all for giving him time in the reserves to sort it out, but circumstances meant he could not do that - and I was wrong anyway. He's come on leaps and bounds. Could be added confidence - now he and Berra know each others inclinations - from feeling safe with his partner.
We can work around the whole team and say much the same. Last season they were, to all intents, a newly assembled
I still believe Hunts signing for Christmas was a calculated gamble to buy quality into our midfield that didn't really come off. Better, for me, that money spent on chiveying O'Hara to Wolves - but perhaps that was the first option and didn't work. There is a lot behind the scenes we never hear about - regardless of '37's claim to have insider knowldege.
I could go on but . . . I think every season in the Prem, at the top of European, if not World football, is captivating, whether it's for the title or against relegation. This season is no different and the added advantage is I was involved last season, am involved this season, and will be involved next season - all thanks to the Wolves.
Keep up the bl**dy good work! Astound your betters, create envy in your peers, and stuff the doubters!