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From ‘The Cazoo title race’ to finishing below Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United, there was plenty for the Claret & Blue contingent to shout about.
However, a number of injuries and the inability to find consistency ultimately hindered the great strides that Aston Villa were making towards the hierarchy of the Premier League.
With the antics of how the previous season went still fresh on the minds of those around B6, it was vital that Christian Purslow and NSWE dug deep into their pockets ahead of a pivotal campaign. The arrivals of Ollie Watkins, Matty Cash, Emi Martinez and Bertrand Traore as well as the loan signing of Ross Barkley in the summer window showed Villa’s intentions early on – to avoid a repeat of last year.
Spending almost £100,000,000 on a selection of players, improvements were made in the correct departments. The addition of former Arsenal man, Emiliano Martinez, would go onto be the signing of the season as voted for by supporters of Aston Villa.
Martinez wasn’t voted Supporter’s Player of the Season purely because of how likeable of a human being he is, he was deserving of the award through consistently performing above and beyond all expectations fans had for him. He has finished the season with the second highest save rate in the league. Saving 76.8% of shots directed at him, only bettered by Burnley’s Nick Pope at 77%.
This immense save rate materialised into 15 clean sheets, third most in the league and equalling the club record for clean sheets in a season. This is only made more impressive when you analyse the two keepers who had more than him this season, Ederson and Edouard Mendy.
Manchester City conceded 32 goals this season, the best defence in the league. Chelsea were a close second having only conceded 36 goals. For The 28-year-old and the Villa defence to be among the Champions League finalists in terms of defensive performance, outlines how impressive of a season it has been.
Martinez also faced 196 shots this season, whereas Ederson faced 92 and Edouard Mendy faced 84. Martinez has been tested a significantly larger amount than the two keepers ahead of him, emphasising how impressive this tally of clean sheets is.
The Argentine prevented 9.71 goals this season, the second most behind Nick Pope who prevented 12.26. Villa won by one goal on seven different occasions this season, Martinez was vital in securing these wins and without him Villa could’ve been in serious danger of relegation.
Scoring 41 goals in the previous season, reinforcements in the forward positions were in dire need. The failure of Ally Samatta and the enduring injury on Wesley, goals were a rare sight for the Villans. However, this wasn’t to be feared with the arrival of their record breaking signing – Ollie Watkins.
The 33 million pound man hit the ground running at Villa, scoring on his second start for the club in the Carabao Cup. Brentford’s former star has played a significant role in how the Lions play. Relentless running and high-pressing, the England international has caused plenty of nightmares for defenders in his debut season following his arrival from the Bees.
Ollie Watkins’ 14 league goals and 5 assists are a mammoth tally and have resulted in his transfer being deemed a huge success amongst fans and everyone in football more or less. The scary thing is it could’ve been even better. He accumulated an expected goals (xG) value of 16 xG and hit the woodwork 7 times. The second most in the league, behind his England counterpart Harry Kane (9).
There is no surprise to fans that have been watching him week in and week out in his 3328 minutes of football this season that he received this call up. His threat going forward is monumental, however this is merely the ‘tip of the iceberg’ in terms of his contributions.
A comparison with Timo Werner shows how well the Englishman has done this season. Both were new to the league, but Werner has struggled to with a clinical edge to his game. Scoring only six times from an xG of 11.9. The rate in which Watkins settled, and then contributed must be appreciated.
His work ethic is another aspect that must be applauded. He led the league in pressures in the final third of the pitch, which fans are all too familiar viewing. As Dean Smith wanted Watkins was the first line of defence for this team and set an example for everyone else on the team while he hounded the opposition.
He was also second in the league for shots that led to another shot for the team with 11. A good example would be Bertrand Traore’s first goal at home against Crystal Palace. The positions Watkins gets himself into create issues and force errors from the defending team. He is a constant nuisance. From these 11 shots, 4 created goal creating actions.
Smith’s side started the behind closed doors campaign at Villa Park in remarkable fashion, beating Sheffield United on the opening day of the season, fans were given a glimpse of what was to come under the new signings and nailed on philosophy of high-pressing football – At last a breath of fresh air.
The shock of the season came in their third match, when Aston Villa played host to the champions of England at the time, Liverpool. With Smith’s side firing seven past Jurgen Klopp’s Reds, there and then we had one of the most memorable moments. A Jack Grealish masterstroke and a perfect hat-trick for Watkins, the Villans showed no signs of mercy.
Aston Villa 7-2 Liverpool.
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— AVFC Archive (@AvfcArchive) March 7, 2021
By the fifth game week, much to the surprise of the entire league, the Villans found themselves in second place and four unbeaten. However, the impressive start to the season was brought to a halt as Leeds United ran riot at Villa Park with Patrick Bamford netting a hat-trick on the night.
Recording a league double over a ‘top six’ outfit was something that supporters of the Lions could dream of, well look no further. Having won at the Emirates as well as asserting their dominance on home soil, Villa recorded their first league double over Arsenal since the inaugural Premier League season back in 1992/93. Watkins was yet again at the forefront in their 3-0 win in the capital, scoring a three minute brace against the Gunners.
Despite their bright start to the behind closed doors campaign, the worst was yet to come. With COVID-19 arriving at Bodymoor Heath, the virus which put the world on hold for months had come to punish Aston Villa. Following an unbeaten month in December, the grim reaper that was the Coronavirus was like a football being pelted at a glass house, three weeks out of action for Smith’s men did plenty of damage to fitness and form.
There have been moments to forget this season – most embarrassingly Villa fell to defeat at Bramall Lane as Chris Wilder’s rock bottom Blades stung the Villans with a single cutthroat pass; sending them back on their way to the Midlands empty handed following David McGoldrick’s tap-in.
Much to their supporters surprise, Anwar El Ghazi enjoyed his best season yet in Claret & Blue, netting ten goals in 28 appearances. As a reward for the Dutchman’s fine form, the winger was named in Hollands’ provisional squad for the upcoming European Championships.
The 26-year-old has certainly risen above people’s expectations, having been labelled as a ‘Championship player’. El Ghazi has scored some big goals and made the step up when called upon this season.
Having won player’s player of the season, Matt Targett has been a blissful presence in Dean Smith’s back four, with the Eastleigh born defender has playing every game this season. During this time, Targett has been a revelation and a joy to watch.
Missing nearly a third of the season due to sustaining an injury to the shin, it was vital that the return of Grealish was timed to perfection in order to avoid aggravating the England international’s problems.
During his absence, Villa mustered a total of 12 points from 36. The effect of losing their most creative threat began the curse of inconsistency in the final months of the season and with Ross Barkley failing to make the step up in their time of need, it would be a rough few months until his return.
Arguably the most defining moment in the Villans’ campaign came in the final game prior to the recently converted winger’s injury, which was Brighton away. Villa tallied their lowest expected goals value since their return to the Premier League, with just 0.14xG. Smith’s men were lucky to come away with a draw.
In nine of the following 12 games Villa would play without Grealish, they were outscored on xG by their opponents, winning only three times. Villa without Grealish were a tough watch for fans, apart from the game away at Everton and the second halves against Fulham and West Bromwich Albion respectively. In these games, players such as Barkley or Trezeguet stepped up and performed in Grealish’s absence.
In the games he was injured, Villa’s average shot distance was 17.8 yards from goal. Whereas in games with Grealish, Villa were playing their best football, such as the Arsenal 3-0 win, Southampton 1-0 and Crystal Palace 3-0. The distance to goal was below 15 yards from goal. Villa struggled to mount meaningful attacks in the final third without their captain.
They also heavily missed his leadership, in the 22 games before his injury, Villa had one of the best defences in the league, conceding only 24 goals. In the 16 games following the draw against Brighton, Villa conceded 22 goals, averaging 1.1 goals conceded per game before and 1.4 goals conceded per game after his injury.
Villa had also only let one lead slip prior to Grealish’s injury, this was away at Burnley in a 3-2 loss. In his absence, old habits began to creep into their play. Villa let leads slip against Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester City, West Brom, Manchester United and Crystal Palace – dropping a total of 14 points.
On a positive note for the 2020/21 campaign, the Villans ended on a high, beating Tottenham and Chelsea in their final two games. The return of Grealish added inspiration and flair, starting both of their last games and playing a key role in them. It was clear that Aston Villa had finally found their feet in the Premier League.
But where does Dean Smith go from here and how do the Villans build upon a secure season?
With the summer transfer window upon us, you can expect a flurry of rumours linking the West Midlands club to names that we’ve seen before. The likes of Emi Buendia and Milot Rashica have already circulated and graced the Twittersphere, however both players have endured very different seasons.
Buendia has once again earned promotion to the Premier League with high-flying Norwich, whereas Rashica suffered relegation to Germany’s second division. The Werder Bremen playmaker had previously snubbed the Villans last summer, stating that he didn’t want to be in a relegation battle. However ten months later, Villa finished mid-table, whilst Bremen dropped to the 2. Bundesliga.
BirminghamLive’s Ashley Preece has stated that Aston Villa ‘will not go bezerk’ this summer, meaning that another deep splurge of the pockets of Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens is unlikely. With the Villa boss displaying confidence in his current squad, it appears that marquee signings may be off the cards despite it being public knowledge of how fond Smith is of Norwich’s Buendia.
With the emerging presence of academy players making the first team squad on a regular basis, supporters can expect the likes of Carney Chukwuemeka and Jaden Philogene-Bidace to be involved a lot more next season. The introduction of Jacob Ramsey went down quite a treat earlier in the league campaign as well. The future is looking bright over B6 with the feel good factor of Aston Villa finally returning
Whatever happens, the next chapter of the Villans’ fairy-tale will be enchanting. With no intention of letting Grealish go, Smith will look to continue building his side around the talisman with the dreams of leading the Lions into European football.
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