Six shots but just 22 passes, Jonathan Kodjia continues to divide the Aston Villa fanbase.
Aston Villa legend Paul McGrath was driven to apologise after criticising Jonathan Kodjia on Twitter after last week’s 2-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest.
The Ivory Coast international opened the scoring with a sublime first-time shot, although his overall performance left plenty to be desired.
Yet McGrath was not questioning the finishing ability of Villa’s 10-goal top scorer. Instead, he was lamenting Kodjia’s apparent lack of work rate and his rather individualistic mind-set.
And although the former Bristol City striker accepted the feedback with good grace and respect, his performance in Villa’s 1-0 home loss to Ipswich on Saturday, their fifth defeat in six, suggests he is yet to act on such constructive criticism.
Instead of laying the ball off and linking the play, Kodjia frequently ran at the visitors defence, getting shots off as early as possible and, essentially, attempting to turn a team game into a one-man show.
Alhough his approach can be attributed to a desire to succeed rather than a yearning to overshadow his team-mates, it’s difficult not to be reminded by McGrath’s point when Kodjia wastes an opportunity with a fellow claret-and-blue clad player in a more presentable position.
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Against Ipswich, Kodjia mustered the most shots of any Villa player (6) but only the ninth highest number of passes, according to WhoScored.
He may be their top scorer, a talismanic figure at times, but he is not immune to criticism. And nor should he be.
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Because if Villa are to turn around a run that continues to ruin all the initial progress made under Steve Bruce, they need to perform as a unit.
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