Player Power Ranking Top 10
A traditional article in American sports journalism is to rank NFL, Basketball or Baseball teams or key players like NFL quarterbacks in a ranking system that indicates who is essentially hot at that moment in time.
With that in mind, MOMS will be doing a monthly power rating this season for Aston Villa players, so readers can see who are the team’s top men and who is moving up and down the ratings month-to-month.
Villa have already used 25 players this season (including the now departed Leandro Bacuna), and the first MOMS Aston Villa Player Power Ranking Top 10 will be based on performances since the start of this season.
Rankings also takes into consideration expectations, form, surprise impacts, consistency, value to the team, rather than just perceived ability and stats.
Obviously, it’s opinion and perception, so if you have differing views please do add your Top 10’s to the comments sections or send them to MOMS via social media.
So, to kick-off, on the first page, here’s rankings 10 to 6…
10. Robert Snodgrass ????
While Snodgrass hasn’t been at the top of his game yet in a Villa shirt, he’s still chipped in with a couple of goals and assists in his 10 league starts for the club.
The best is yet to come, one hopes in terms of his contribution going forward.
One of the often overlooked assets he brings to the team has been the tenacity brings to the Villa midfield, which has been missing from the team in recent seasons.
Snodgrass allows Bruce to play 4-4-2 when the game suits, although recently against Sheffield Wednesday, it perhaps wasn’t the brightest idea to play the Scotsman in such a formation, when he was carrying two broken ribs.
If Villa are to turn into a promotion force, an increased contribution from Snodgrass will no doubt be at the heart of it.
The only question mark that remains is will West Ham’s new boss David Moyes try to tempt the midfielder back to the Premier League?
9. Neil Taylor ????
When Villa traded Jordan Ayew to Swansea City for Neil Taylor and some cash, most Villa supporters thought ‘whatever’. Villa needed a left-back, but Taylor, struggling to get into the Swansea team, came with mixed reports.
Until his suspension though, Taylor was ever-present in the Villa team and helped shore up the back-line and turn them into a consistant unit that soon racked up the clean sheets.
In more recent games, Taylor was starting to show a bit more worth going forward too.
While Alan Hutton deputised admirably during Taylor’s absense and has kept him out of the team since, for the sake of having better balance on the left-flank, you’d expect Taylor to return into the team after the international break.
Having two right-footers in Hutton and Adomah on the left-flank isn’t an ideal long-term strategy for the team.
8. Josh Onomah ????
Brought in by Steve Bruce to cover Jack Grealish’s injury, the Spurs loanee has at times provided Villa with the kind of spark and drive they’ve often lacked in midfield.
The talented midfielder has especially linked up well with Keinan Davis and he gives Villa more of an energy in the middle of the park, with his instinct to drive the team forward.
While there are question marks about his consistency after going missing against the Blues, a run in the team can only help. Onomah has already shown he also has an eye for goal scoring a couple of goals.
Whether there’s room in the team for him and Grealish to start remains to be seen, but it could be an interesting combo to see play together.
7. Ahmed Elmohamady ????
When Bruce signed his former Hull City player, most supporters saw Elmo playing either right wing-back or in a more advanced right wing position. Villa already had three recognised right-backs, each one potentially good enough start in this division.
Despite the odds though, the Egyptian international has beaten all comers to be Villa’s first choice right-back and the team’s top assist provider with three.
While recent games have seen him retreat into his shell a little in terms of going forward, if the Villa midfield can sort itself out, then there’s no doubt that Elmohamady will once again be able to support Villa’s attacks via the flank and add to his assist tally.
6. Conor Hourihane ????
Back in January, Steve Bruce very much saw Conor Hourihane as the answer to many of Villa’s problems. Villa needed to be more dynamic in midfield, drastically improve their poor set pieces and also they needed some match-winning spark and inspiration.
The end of last season didn’t close that well for the Irish midfielder. Bruce pinpointed confidence issues, suggesting the player being successful as a big fish in a small pond, but struggled when he was now placed in a bigger pond with bigger fish.
Meanwhile, some supporters (including MOMS) thought the midfielder was being shackled in the role he was asked to play.
Cue this season and the influence of Hourihane has been increasingly seen. From his hat-trick against Norwich to his match-winning freekick against Nottingham Forest, the midfielder has started to have an impact in helping his team pick up the points.
His five goals this season, sees him as Villa’s joint top scorer alongside Albert Adomah.
What’s been as equally as impressive has his goals, as been his tackling back and his box-to-box play.
It would be no surprise to see Hourihane comfortably top five in the rankings, if he continues to improve and impress.
Aston Villa Player Power Rankings 1-5
