The Aston Villa defender has not been good enough this season.
Aston Villa have a number of under-performing players this season but arguably the one that has attracted the most criticism in recent weeks is centre-back Tommy Elphick.
The 29-year-old has been in and out of Steve Bruce’s starting line-up but with Villa losing all three matches he has started this month he should be dropped in favour of Nathan Baker.
The latter should be playing alongside James Chester week in, week out, and in so doing Villa should start to put in the defensive performances needed to help them climb the Championship table.
Baker has finally overcome his injury problems to be a regular in Villa’s match day squad this season, and he is a far better option than Elphick, even if he has seen his fair share of defeats in recent weeks.
The simple fact is Elphick is not good enough for a Villa side scrapping at the wrong end of the table. He has had his chance and he has failed to impress, while Baker has the fighting spirit and innate talent to form the bedrock of Bruce’s defence for the rest of the campaign.
Small changes can make all the different and in this instance Elphick should be given a prolonged spell on the bench.
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