James Bree has struggled to break into the starting line up since swapping Barnsley for Aston Villa – and Fulham ruthlessly exposed his shortcomings.
Perhaps it’s a little unfair to criticise a defender for struggling against the most prolific attack in the league. Yet, the fact that Fulham took their remarkable goals tally from 75 to 78 on Easter Monday was certainly helped by James Bree’s shaky performance on the right hand side of Aston Villa’s back four.
The 19-year-old, a January addition from Barnsley, was billed as the long-term replacement for the ageing Alan Hutton. However, with the Scotland international making enough appearances to trigger a one-year contract extension and cementing his place as the club’s first choice number two with a string of solid displays, Bree has struggled to make his mark in the Midlands.
In fact, his outing against Slavisa Jokanovic’s Fulham was his first in a month. And it’s fair to say it wasn’t exactly worth the wait. Caught out of position for The Cottagers’ second in a 3-1 win, Bree was ran ragged by the hosts’ pacey attack and innate link-play.
Bree even failed to make a single tackle.
By seventy minutes, manager Steve Bruce took him out of his misery and consigned him to the substitute’s bench. And, if he is to force his way into the manager’s first-team plans on a more regular basis, Bree will need to up his game and fast.
Because, although Hutton is far from the most universally popular member of the squad, his return to the side would go down rather well after Villa dampened their supporters’ back holiday weekend.
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