SB Nation - Ron Vlaar

Catch Villans On International Duty: Tuesday Schedule, TV Guide

Kirsten Schlewitz — Tue, 11 Sep 2012 14:07:47 -0000

Don't worry, everyone -- "real" football returns this weekend. But until then, satisfy your desire to watch a ball fly around an enclosed area by catching Aston Villa players in action across the world (hey, it's kinda neat to say that) (now we just need some South American players) (hint Villa hint). Here's how to watch:

Jordan v Australia

17:00 UK: British Eurosport 2

12:00 ET / 9:00 PT: Eurosport International (the US has this channel?)

Yes to Brett Holman, no to Chris Herd.

Hungary v Netherlands

20:30 Holland: SBS 6

19:30 UK: nowhere

14:30 ET / 11:30 PT: ESPN3

First Netherlands played Turkey. Now they play Hungary. There's a good joke in here somewhere. It probably has to do with Ron Vlaar's appetite. Our Villan was on for just the last four minutes of Holland's 2-0 win, so let's hope he gets a bit more time against Hungary, who lead the group after defeating Andorra 5-0. As though that's hard.

Belgium v Croatia

20:45 Belgium: Club RTL, Canvas

19:45 UK: Nowhere. I would also like to note that Croatia is not showing the match, although Bosnia is. Odd.

14:45 ET / 11:45 PT: ESPN3

Are we still acknowledging Christian Benteke as a player? Or are we waiting for that legal mess to pass? Anyway, Benteke remained on the bench for Belgium's easy 2-0 win over Wales, but with both these sides on top in Group A, things should be fun.

England v Ukraine

20:00 UK: ITV1, UTV

15:00 ET / 12:00 PT: Fox Soccer Channel, Fox Deportes, delayed on Fox Soccer 2go

Ok, I know there are no more Villans on the England squad. But I'm not so deluded to believe that most of you won't be watching this match. Can the Three Lions improve on their 5-0 win over Moldova?

Scotland v Macedonia

20:00 UK: Sky Sports 1

15:00 ET / 12:00 PT: ESPN3

What's that? You're Scottish, not English? Ok, you Andy Murray fans, here's your match. Let's hope it's a better one than the dour goalless draw with Serbia.

USA v Jamaica

1:00 Wednesday UK: Go to sleep, you crazies.

20:00 ET / 17:00 PT: ESPN2, Galavision, ESPN3

The United States have one just once in their group and currently sit third, having just lost the reverse fixture 2-1. I'm not saying Eric Lichaj would be a miracle worker, but could he really be any worse for this side?

Aston Villa Have Interesting Questions in Front as Play Resumes - Setting the Table

Robert Lintott — Mon, 10 Sep 2012 07:00:02 -0000

I forgot about weeks like this when I started this feature. Do you remember when Aston Villa last played a match? It seems like ages ago. And, since the transfer window is closed, there really hasn't been all that much important Villa news. I've said this in various places before, but whoever decided that we should have an international break right at the beginning of most domestic league seasons should be slapped. It really just kills all the momentum that fans and teams alike have built. Plus, it's really boring. I will admit that I've got little to no interest in most of the international play that happened, and the one match I did care about (Jamaica-USA) was just terrible.

So yeah, I'm glad Aston Villa will be back this weekend. This is a team that is exciting, even if they aren't necessarily great. They're just a team that I'm eager to watch.

Anyhow, onto the recap of the week that was and what to look forward to in the week to come!

Just The Facts, Please

	Position	W	D	L	GD	Pts
Aston Villa	17th	0	1	2	-3	1

Form (Last 5): - - L L D

Results Last Week: N/A

Upcoming Fixtures:

First Team:
Swansea City - Saturday, September 15, 1500 GMT, 1000 Eastern
Reserves:
N/A

Injuries

Aston Villa Depth Chart

New Injuries Last Week:

None

Returned from Injury

None (though Karim El Ahmadi is likely close)

The Week That Was

Some Villa players took part in the international break, but they did so in a largely cursory manner. Christian Benteke, Brad Guzan, and Karim El Ahmadi all watched their teams play from the sidelines, and only Benteke came away from the experience with a smile, as Belgium beat Wales 2-0.
Ron Vlaar and Alan Hutton both saw the pitch, though. Hutton started for Scotland in their 0-0 draw against Serbia. If twitter is to be believed, he tried to murder someone with a tackle, so it's nice to know some things don't change. Vlaar didn't play a big part in the Netherlands 2-0 defeat of Turkey, coming on for John Heitinga in the 86th minute.
The U-21 team played Southampton twice this week in an odd scheduling quirk. On the good side of things, the team scored five goals in the two matches. Five! That's quite a few goals!

The bad news is that they also allowed five goals. That's quite a few goals!

The somewhere in between news (though more bad) is that they managed to get two draws out of the fixtures, going 3-3 in the first match and 2-2 in the second. I say more bad because that's only 2 points, whereas losing one and winning one would have been 3. This is math. This is what happens when the international break leaves me with nothing to write about.

Danny O'Brien and Daniel Johnson each scored a goal in the first match, while Daniel Devine rounded out the Dan-Hat-Trick with the third. The team then gave up three goals in the second half. Oof. In the second match, Daniel Devine continued to be Villa's best Central Defense striker by scoring two goals. Josh Barton also netted one. "But wait," you say, "that makes six Villa goals!" Correct, good reader, but alas, Barton's was of the "own" variety, and thus counted towards Southampton's tally.

Match Notes

There were no matches. It was really really sad, though better than having had a match and losing it. Upside!

Looking Ahead

Oh thank God, football is back. We've got that to look forward to, no matter what. Better still, it returns to Villa Park.
Look to see some news about how the new signings are integrating with the team. Jordan Bowery and Ashley Westwood have both been featured in U21 matches.
Gabby Agbonlahor has been in those matches as well (each team can have a few exceptions to the U21 rule). It should make for some interesting conversation as Paul Lambert has to figure out who he starts up front. Dare we dream of him playing a 4-3-3? (I'd love to see a Holman-El Ahmadi-Bannan midfield and Bent-Weimann-Agbonlahor front three. Not sure if it'd be any good, but it would be fun to watch for at least a little bit.)

Last Thoughts

This should be a pretty fun week, and then we're in for a steady stream of Villa until mid-October. Hooray! I think.

Who Is Aston Villa's Most Impactful Player? - Friday Feedback

Robert Lintott — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 10:00:09 -0000

We're back to our regularly scheduled Friday spot. You know, since the universe isn't blowing up and there aren't eleventybillion (estimate) transfer stories. Remember those days? Those last Fridays? Those were fun, weren't they?

Anyhow, we thought that this week might provide an opportunity to take a step back and look as the Aston Villa squad as a whole. Until January rolls around, the squad that we see is the squad we've got. If you love what you see, that's great news. If you hate it, I'm so very sorry.

Nevertheless, we know who is around and who (presumably) will be getting some time on the pitch. So now it's time to play a little game of prediction:

This week's question: Now that we've seen what Paul Lambert will have to work with - at least until January - who do you think will be Aston Villa's most impactful player this season?

You'll find our answers below the jump and, as always, we hope to find yours in the comments!

Aaron: Karim El Ahmadi is the kind of player this club has needed for awhile*, and he's going to be especially important given the new style Villa are trying to play. He's not the world's most creative guy and he's not the dominant physical preference in the midfield a lot of folks are clamoring for, but his ability to read and react defensively and provide the kind of human metronome passing ability in transition that is pretty much a requirement in today's game is vital. He's also impressed me in terms of his ability to make good attacking runs, and that he has a pretty decent shot on him is a nice benefit.

*Jean Makoun looked like he was going to be this player, but we all know how that turned out.

Gareth: After the first few matches, I'm totally convinced that Karim El Ahmadi will be key to whatever Aston Villa will do this season. He's fit in perfectly, and is providing the assured presence on the ball in midfield that I had always hoped to see from Jean Makoun. He's also one of the few essential players (along with Darren Bent) for whom we have no real replacement. If El Ahmadi was knocked out for the season, God forbid, that could push Aston Villa into a relegation dogfight. I can't think of any other player I could say that about, except for maybe Darren Bent, as I mentioned before. It seems silly to say that about someone as new as El Ahmadi, but I genuinely think he will make or break our season.

Andrew: I'll go in a different direction and say Ron Vlaar. While Vlaar has already picked up a cult hero following among Villa fans who've labeled him Concrete Ron or Roncrete or what have you - he's got the task of being better than James Collins. Not exactly gargantuan task, I know but Collins was never as bad as I and a handful of other Villa fans like to remember him as being. The Dutch league isn't exactly known for defense so Ron is going to have to stay consistent whether he's alongside Ciaran Clark or Richard Dunne. So far I'd say he's been pretty damn solid.

Matt: Alan Hutton. Lambert isn't super tall, he might need a step ladder to see.

Kirsten: Also Bazza could use the Hutton-Ladder as well.

Robert: I am really tempted to say Brad Guzan (if he plays all the time, regardless of whether he is good or bad he is sort of, technically by default, the single most impactful player on the pitch), but I really have no idea how much he'll be playing. So instead of him, I'm going to go with the hive mind and say Karim El Ahmadi. He's the type of player who just naturally takes control of a game, and directs traffic in both directions. Thus far he's been better on offense than defense (at least I've noticed his contribution more), but he's sort of the spark plug around which the team will be built. Lambert obviously wants to play possession football, and he'll only be able to do that effectively if Karim El Ahmadi is making things happen.

Aston Villa Depth Chart, Week 4

Gareth Simpson — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 07:00:11 -0000

Despite the lack of a club fixture this weekend, it was deemed prudent to compile a depth chart in order to reflect Aston Villa's activity at the transfer window. I would speculate that Paul Lambert is not the type to throw new signings directly into the first team, and so I would be very surprised to see any of Villa's new players in the starting eleven against Swansea City. However, if Christian Benteke scores a hat trick against Wales, who knows what Lambert will do? (Play him, probably. It was a rhetorical question, if anything.) On with the chart!

Forwards: Darren Bent remains undroppable, so he stays at the top of the teamsheet here. The real question is whether Gabriel Agbonlahor will be preferred over Lambert's big deadline day purchase, Belgian international Christian Benteke. I've chosen to give Gabby the edge for now, but it remains a possibility that Agbonlahor will be moved out onto the wing to accomodate all three attackers. It's a possibility I'm not in love with, but that's a discussion for another day. As for Benteke's fellow newcomer Jordan Bowery, he's likely to start his Aston Villa career in the reserves.

Darren Bent
Gabriel Agbonlahor
Christian Benteke
Andreas Weimann
- Graham Burke (R)
- Jordan Bowery (R)

Midfielders: In what came as a bit of a surprise to me, the only remaining Charles N'Zogbia fan, the winger was dropped to the bench in the draw against Newcastle. He came on after Karim El Ahmadi pulled up with an injury, putting in what I thought was a decent shift on the right side of a forward three with Agbonlahor and Bent (who was relatively anonymous.) Barry Bannan was surprisingly productive on the left side of midfield, and I wouldn't be shocked to see him there again against Swansea, particularly if Karim El Ahmadi can regain fitness in time. There still has been little word of El Ahmadi's return, but I'm hoping that means he's expected to play, as he'll surely be essential against Swansea City. While I'm sure Andrew is hoping that Ashley Westwood slots straight into the first team, I'm a bit reticent. Hope he progresses quickly, though.

LEFT:

Barry Bannan (2)
- Charles N'Zogbia
- Brett Holman
- Gabriel Agbonlahor (2)
- Stephen Ireland (2)
  - Marc Albrighton (I)

RIGHT

Brett Holman
- Charles N'Zogbia
- Stephen Ireland (2)
  - Marc Albrighton (I)

CENTRE

Karim El Ahmadi (P)
Stephen Ireland
Fabian Delph
- Barry Bannan
- Ashley Westwood
- Chris Herd
  - Daniel Johnson (R)
    - Stiliyan Petrov (I)
    - Gary Gardner (I)
    - Samir Carruthers (I)

Defenders: This is the one position where I will put a new signing in the first team without a moment's hesitation. Congratulations, Joe Bennett! You're an actual left back, and are therefore qualified to replace Nathan Baker (who is a centre back) and Eric Lichaj (who was terrible against Newcastle.) Richard Dunne remains out of commission, so Ron Vlaar and Ciaran Clark will likely be paired again in the centre of defence. Matthew Lowton is Villa's only real right back, since we're still not talking about Alan Hutton, and because he was actually rather good against Newcastle.

LEFT

Joe Bennett
- Nathan Baker (2)
- Enda Stevens
- Eric Lichaj (2)
  - Stephen Warnock (R)

RIGHT

Matthew Lowton
- Eric Lichaj
- Chris Herd (2)
  - Alan Hutton (R)

CENTRE

Ron Vlaar
Ciaran Clark
- Nathan Baker
  - Derrick Williams (R)
    - Richard Dunne (I)

Goalkeeper: Brad Guzan got his chance against Newcastle, and there's no denying he made the most of it. The number 1 shirt is his until further notice, despite Shay Given's contract, which we'll ask you not to look at directly.

Brad Guzan
- Shay Given
  - Benjamin Siegrist (R)
  - Andy Marshall (R)

KEY:

(I) = Injured

(P) = Possibility

(R) = Reserves

(2) = Secondary Position

Catch Villa Players In Action Over The International Break

Kirsten Schlewitz — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 05:00:08 -0000

Wondering where you can catch your Aston Villa players in action over the international break? Well, look no further, because we've got that information right here:

Friday, 7 September

Wales v Belgium

19:45 UK : Sky Sports 1

14:45 ET / 11:45 PT: Unavailable

Tune in to see what role Christian Benteke plays!

Netherlands v Turkey

20:30 UK: ESPN UK

15:30 ET / 12:30 PT: ESPN3

Ron Vlaar should be starting for Holland

Jamaica v United States

1:00 UK: Like anyone will be awake and sober

20:00 ET / 17:00 PT: BeIN Sport

Well, if Tim Howard gets hurt, Brad Guzan is sure to make an appearance...But we (or at least one of us) will surely miss Eric Lichaj

Saturday, 8 September

Scotland v Serbia

15:00 UK: Sky Sports 2

10:00 ET / 7:00 PT: ESPN Deportes, ESPN3

Alan Hutton has been training as hard as he can to make an impression with Scotland. Alas, the Serbian side is used to his style of play and can disable him with one glare.

The International Break: Focus On The Netherlands

Kirsten Schlewitz — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 15:16:00 -0000

2014 World Cup Qualification

National Team: The Netherlands

Also known as: Holland, the Dutch, oranje (supposedly "The Flying Dutchmen," but I think wiki made that up)

Confederation: UEFA

Group: D

Opponents: Turkey, Hungary, Romania, Estonia, Andorra

Qualification thus far: Begins Friday, September 7

This week: Netherlands v Turkey

Key Players: Wesley Sneijder, Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie

Villans in Holland: Ron Vlaar

After making it to the final of the 2010 World Cup, it was expected that the Netherlands would once again impress at Euro 2012. This notion was further reinforced when the Dutch won 9 of their 10 qualifying matches, earning 27 points in their group and securing an impressive 29-point goal difference.

But perhaps it was something in the water in Poland and Ukraine, because Holland wilted faster than a tulip in the desert. The oranje failed to secure even one point in Group B, scoring just two goals in the process. The squad simply looked sloppy, and much of the blame landed on its star players, including Arjen Robben, Robin Van Persie and Wesley Sneijder.

Shortly after the failed campaign for Euro 2012 ended, Bert van Marwijk resigned as head coach. He was replaced by Louis van Gaal, most recently of Bayern Munich, although he also coached the national side in the early 2000s. His side looks as though it may be taking a different approach than van Marwijk's: He's left behind the former coach's son-in-law, Mark van Bommel, as well as noted karate expert Nigel de Jong.

The shift from the side's focus on reliance on a defensive midfield will hopefully make Holland a more enjoyable side to watch once again. They've got plenty of talent going forward: in addition to the key players mentioned above, there's Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (assuming he comes down off his ego trip and can contribute to the side); Dirk Kuyt, who's enjoying a revival at Fenerbahce; and the young Bas Dost from Wolfsburg, hoping to earn his first senior cap.

It's interesting that van Gaal is removing such destroyers from his squad, as his defence is rather inexperienced. He retains Joris Mathijsen and John Heitinga, and, of course, Ron Vlaar. Former Villan Wilfred Bourma gets the axe, as does Gregory van der Wiel, which is unsurprising considering his performance last time around. Their fourth defender will be 18-year-old Jetro Willems, and the bench will be made up of youngsters plying their trade in the Eredivisie.

It's unlikely that Holland will sweep their group this time around, but the squad that van Gaal has put together at least looks more enjoyable to watch than that of van Marwijk's reign. And we've got a Villan in oranje!

Newcastle vs. Aston Villa, Player Ratings

Aaron Campeau — Mon, 03 Sep 2012 19:27:20 -0000

It will never cease to amaze (or amuse) how much one game can legitimately change the way a team is perceived. If Aston Villa can play like that with any consistency, this season could be pretty fun.

Starting XI:

Brad Guzan: An excellent showing from Guzan, coming up with a Givenesque few highlight-reel saves as well as managing to command his box in a way that we haven't seen from Villa keeper since, well, the last time Brad Guzan was starting. In my mind, the starting keeper's spot is Guzan's to lose.

Rating: 8

Matthew Lowton: Probably the young right back's most difficult assignment to date, and encouragingly his best performance to date. Never looked especially uncomfortable, made some very good stops and in general put in a very solid performance. Encouraging from the youngster.

Rating: 6.5

Ron Vlaar: I love this man more and more each week. Tremendous performance, both defensively and in terms of his distribution from the back. Vlaar looks as though he is going to be a big part of this team for years to come.

Rating: 7

Ciaran Clark: After a nightmare performance against Everton, many were calling for Clark to be dropped. Let's all be glad he wasn't. Continues to show that he's a real threat in the attacking phase and defensively he may well have outshone Vlaar. The kind of bounce-back performance that should be incredibly encouraging from a young player.

Rating: 7.5

Eric Lichaj: Making his first start of the season at left back and being asked to shut down Hatem Ben Arfa, Lichaj put in an admirable shift. He's clearly not as comfortable on the left as he is on the right and there were times (especially going forward) that he looked a bit awkward, but he got the job done. Good shift in a situation that could charitably be described as less than ideal.

Rating: 6.5

Brett Holman: Easily the Australia international's best day in a Villa shirt. Active and tireless, Holman made it his business to harass whichever Newcastle player that stumbled into his line of vision in every part of the field. Perhaps could have done better on Ben Arfa's screamer, but Holman is an attacking midfielder and ideally shouldn't even be marking him in the first place. Positive showing.

Rating: 6.5

Karim El Ahmadi: In a somewhat unexpected twist, the player that has been Villa's best through the first two games put in what was by far his worst individual performance on the day his team but in their best. KEA didn't have a bad game by any stretch, but he was more giveaway prone than he has been in the past and looked a bit flustered at times defensively. Still, if this is KEA's worst, we're in pretty good shape.

Rating: 6

Stephen Ireland: Dear lord, what frustrating player. Showed flashes, but was Villa's worst player for most of the day. If we didn't all know he was capable of better, it wouldn't be nearly as bad.

Rating: 5

Barry Bannan: Bannan starts on the left, is one of Villa's best players, sets up goal from a cross. Now who's the dean?

Rating: 7.5

Andreas Weimann: I love this kid so much. He's going to be a really, really good player. Another game in which he didn't do anything spectacular or find himself on the scoresheet, but he does almost everything right. When he finds that cutting edge (and I think that he will) he's going to be trouble. There's no doubt in my mind that he's Bent's best strike partner right now.

Rating: 6.5

Darren Bent: Hey big fella! We missed you. Good to have you back.

Rating: 6.5

Substitutes

Gabby Agbonlahor: Make a massive impact the second he stepped on the pitch. It's increasingly clear that Gabby isn't going to be the player we might have once thought he'd become, but he's still a really nice guy to have around. So close to setting up Bent for the winner, and the way he absolutely torched Newcastle's defense on a few occasions is likely indicative of the way Lambert is going to use him much of the time this year. So good to have him back in the team.

Rating: 6.5

Charles N'Zogbia: Not sure what to say. Wasn't actively bad, had a few good moments, still incredibly frustrating. There's no way he went from the player he was at Wigan to barely passable overnight. I just have no idea what's going on.

Rating: N/A

Aston Villa Summer 2012 Transfers: The List

Robert Lintott — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 23:58:24 -0000

The past week has been absolutely insane in terms of transfers, so we thought it would be helpful to get a complete list of what has happened with the team since Paul Lambert has arrived. At some point we'll be rating these moves, but for now this is just a place to take it all in. And there is a lot to take in.

Players Brought In:

Brett Holman (Technically brought in by McLeish) - from AZ Alkmaar (story)
Karim El Ahmadi - from Feyenoord (story)
Matthew Lowton - from Sheffield United (story)
Brad Guzan - released earlier and re-signed (story)
Ron Vlaar - from Feyenoord (story)
Michael Henke (Head of European Scouting. Yes I know this isn't a transfer, but it's worth remembering)
Joseph Bennett - from Middlesbrough (story)
Jordan Bowery - from Chesterfield (story)
Christian Benteke - from Genk (story)
Ashley Westwood - from Crewe Alexandra (story)

Players Sent Away:

James Collins - to West Ham United (story)
Jean Makoun - to Rennes (story)
Nathan Delfouneso - loan to Blackpool (story)

Players Still Inexplicably Here:

Minus those last two lines, it's hard to argue that this was a pretty good summer window. It also represents a pretty wholesale reformation of the team. Paul Lambert came and Randy Lerner gave him the means to craft a team that he wanted. Now we get to see what the gaffer can do with what he made.

Aston Villa Depth Chart, Week 3

Gareth Simpson — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 07:00:26 -0000

This week's edition of the Aston Villa Depth Chart feels terribly unsettled. It could be due to the vagaries of the transfer market, or perhaps it's because I feel like Paul Lambert is considering shaking things up. But to the best of my knowledge, what appears beneath the jump is totally accurate. Chime in with your thoughts and how you'd shift things around in the comments.

STRIKER

Darren Bent
Andreas Weimann
- Nathan Delfouneso
- Jordan Bowery (?)
- Brett Holman (2)
  - Graham Burke (R)
    - Gabriel Agbonlahor (I)

LEFT MIDFIELD

Brett Holman

Barry Bannan (2)

Charles N'Zogbia (2)

Stephen Ireland (2)

Gabriel Agbonlahor (I)

Marc Albrighton (I)

RIGHT MIDFIELD

Charles N'Zogbia

Stephen Ireland (2)

Brett Holman (2)

Barry Bannan (2)

Gabriel Agbonlahor (I)

Marc Albrighton (I)

CENTRAL MIDFIELD

Karim El Ahmadi

Stephen Ireland

Fabian Delph

Barry Bannan

Chris Herd

Daniel Johnson (R)

Stiliyan Petrov (I)

Gary Gardner (I)

Samir Carruthers (I)

LEFT BACK

Nathan Baker (2)

Joe Bennett

Enda Stevens

Ciaran Clark (2)

Stephen Warnock (*)

RIGHT BACK

Matthew Lowton

Eric Lichaj

Chris Herd (2)

Alan Hutton (*)

CENTER BACK

Ron Vlaar

Ciaran Clark

Nathan Baker

Chris Herd (2)

Eric Lichaj (2)

Derrick Williams (R)

Richard Dunne (I)

GOALKEEPER

Shay Given

Brad Guzan

Andy Marshall (R)

KEY:
(I)-Injured
(2)-Secondary position
(R)-Reserve-level player
(?)-Transfer not finalised
(*)-Let's not talk about it

Aston Villa vs. Everton, Player Ratings

Aaron Campeau — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 12:00:46 -0000

What an awful game.

Starting XI:

Shay Given: Not a good performance from Shay, and worryingly reminiscent of his horror-show during the Euros. Tough to blame him for Steven Pienaar's opening goal, but the second was almost entirely his fault and he really should have done better on the third. A very forgettable afternoon.

Rating: 4

Matthew Lowton: Far from the most culpable among Villa's defense, but not a good performance by any stretch. The first real tough day for Lowton in a Villa shirt; it will be interesting to see how he responds.

Rating: 4.5

Ron Vlaar: It's difficult to pinpoint any real egregious errors by Vlaar, but he was on the back foot most of the day just as much as the rest of his teammates. On a day that was desperately crying out for someone to take over the defense and regroup, Vlaar wasn't up to the challenge. He can't necessarily be faulted, but it would have been nice to see.

Rating: 5

Ciaran Clark: A day to forget. I still think Clark can be a good player for Villa, but he can't have many more days like this.

Rating: 3

Nathan Baker: A lone bright spot. I'm still unconvinced by Baker as a left back and his weaknesses in wide areas were still evident, but he was excellent after shifting to the center and had a few nice forays going forward (including one of the nicest crosses of he day.) His showing so far may have him ahead of Clark on the depth chart.

Rating: 6.5

Chris Herd: So far as tactical decisions are concerned, Paul Lambert's choice to play Herd wide with Bannan in the middle was rather questionable. The plan was likely to run with a midfield diamond and Herd spent most of his time drifting inside, but some forays down the flank are necessary; Herd didn't provide that, but I have a hard time placing too much of the blame on his shoulders.

Rating: 5

Barry Bannan: I like Barry Bannan and I think he has a place on this team, but I'm less and less convinced that said place is in deep central midfield. I don't know if that's a function of his skillset or the construction of this team, but Bannan was overpowered and crowded out much of the day. He's not always going to have to battle it out with Marouane Fellaini, but without a true destroyer alongside it's a concern. However, I'm willing to kick his rating up slightly because he won a header against Fellaini and it made me cackle with glee.

Rating: 5

Karim El Ahmadi: KAE was pretty much helpless most of the day, but he was likely Villa's best player once again, even before his stunning 30-yard strike. It's early days, but this is looking like a very good bit of business.

Rating: 6.5

Charles N'Zogbia: N'Zogbia was probably Villa's best attacking player, but that's like saying he was the best fire repression system on the Hindenburg (TOO SOON!) A few decent moments, but he has to be better.

Rating: 5

Nathan Delfouneso: :(

Rating: 3.5

Darren Bent: Bent's heat map from this game is more depressing than the second season of Breaking Bad.*

Rating: 5

Substiutes

Brett Holman: This was the right sub to make, but it was way too far gone at halftime for it to make much of a difference. Everton was pretty well bunkered down and Holman didn't have much to do. Still, a few nice moves later on after Villa got on the board were a cause for optimism.

Rating: 5.5

Eric Lichaj: Looked decent on the left, though he was exposed a time or two. He was generally able to recover and made some nice attacking runs. I see little reason that he's being picked behind Baker for the position.

Rating: 5.5

Andreas Weimann: Weimann continues to look solid and at this point I think he's earned the right to start alongside Bent in the withdrawn forward position. Good runs, good vision, and had his shot that hit the bar been just an inch or two to the left things may well have gotten incredibly interesting.

*I just finished watching the second season and I swear to god if there are any spoilers in these comments I will ban you to death.