The Aston Villa right-back was simply not good enough at the weekend.
Aston Villa’s performance against Brentford on Saturday ensured that practically all the players on show came in for some form of criticism, but some of the harshest was reserved for right-back James Bree.
The 19-year-old has been used relatively sparingly since his January move from Barnsley. However on this evidence he needs to get back to the training field and work on the basics if he wants to become a regular fixture in Villa’s starting XI.
Given his age, Bree was always going to take time to settle at a new club and it is unfair to single him out when so many of his more experienced teammates have flattered to deceive in the early weeks of the campaign.
Yet Saturday’s performance showed just how far he needs to go; with questions raised as to just what manager Steve Bruce has been working on if his right-back is this out of sorts so soon into the new season.
Bree was no worse than Glenn Whelan, who was absolutely shocking against a struggling Brentford side, but if the former wants to be the future of this once great club he needs to learn from his mistakes and ensure he keeps Alan Hutton out of the side for the long haul.
Shaky in defence, ineffective going forward and wasteful in possession, it is back to the drawing board for the Villa youngster, although Bruce needs to take his fair share of blame considering he has had nearly a year working with a player who racked up 61 appearances for Barnsley as an 18-year-old!
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