At any level of the game, Westwood’s pass completion stats were pretty dire against Norwich.
Whether you’re Barcelona strutting your stuff at the Camp Nou or stumbling around a Sunday league mud bath in a post-hangover haze, winning the midfield battle is essential at every level of football. It may be one of the most overused clichés in the game but there’s a reason for that; because it matters.
Therefore, Steve Bruce’s fury was understandable. At Carrow Road on Tuesday, Mile Jedinak and Jack Grealish stood idly by as Norwich full-back Ivo Pinto stormed through to set up Nelson Oliviera’s first-half winner.
To channel our inner Alan Shearer, Villa’s inability to take the game by the scruff of the neck or stamp their authority on the midfield set the tone for by far their worst performance of Bruce’s tenure.
And it doesn’t help when one of your most important players, the man charged with dictating the game and monopolising possession in the centre of the park, manages a grand total of 21 passes throughout the 90 minutes, per WhoScored.
Ashley Westwood has never been much of a fans favourite at Villa Park. Far removed from the heady days of Gareth Barry, James Milner or Stiliyan Petrov, the former Crewe captain has, in the eyes of some supporters, come to epitomise the club’s decline.
And it doesn’t help his cause that 21 Championship goalkeepers completed more passes in the most recent round of midweek fixtures. Meanwhile, Daniel Bentley of Brentford and Adam Davies of Barnsley equalled Westwood’s tally.
In fact, the only starting shot-stopper mustering a lower number of passes than the Villa midfielder was Bristol City’s Frank Fielding. He was subbed off injured after 30 minutes.
Last season may have proven quite emphatically that Ashley Westwood is not exactly Premier League class but he has a lot to do to show he can make it in the Championship too.
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