Aston Villa added some of the best players in the Championship to their squad, but is it going to be enough?
Brentford’s Scott Hogan joined Aston Villa on the 31st January 2017
It’s been two weeks since the January transfer window was slammed shut and Aston Villa officials and fans alike were able to get back to focusing on the football after signing no less than seven new players, with three coming in on deadline day.
Midfielders Henri Lansbury, Conor Hourihane and Birkir Bjarnason all signed permanent deals with the club, as did defenders Neil Taylor, James Bree and Jacob Bedeau along with Brentford striker Scott Hogan.
Despite this roster of impressive new recruits, Aston Villa have slumped to four straight defeats, losing to Brentford, Nottingham Forest, Ipswich Town and Barnsley. Conceding nine goals in these games, Villa’s defence clearly still needs some work, despite Bruce’s three new recruits.
The goals also don’t seem to be firing, with Villa scoring just two over those four games. Relying heavily on Ivorian frontman Jonathan Kodjia, Steve Bruce will be hoping Scott Hogan soon finds his scoring boots, to alleviate some of the pressure on the former Bristol City striker.
Aston Villa’s Jonathan Kodjia
So where do Villa go from here? The first thing Steve Bruce should be surely looking at it is nailing down one formation to stick to. Over the last two weeks, Bruce has employed a 4-2-3-1, a 5-3-2 and a 3-4-1-2. This changing of the style of play each week must surely be difficult for his players to adapt to. Can Bruce find a system that fits all of his impressive new signings?
Another thing Villa need to focus on is service. There’s no point having two of the best strikers in the division up-top for you, if you don’t ever pass them the ball. Whatever system Bruce settle’s on, it will need to be one which gets his expensive forwards into play.
Aston Villa Manager Steve Bruce
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