Aston Villa 2021/22 Season Review: All the Emotions
The Top Villans (By Yours Truly)
Aston Villa’s Player of the Season: Matty Cash
Voted Aston Villa’s 2021/22 Supporters’ Player of the Season and rightly so. The right-back is electric, confident, and certainly a favorite of Gerrard’s. The potential for what he can bring to the table next season should excite the Villa fanbase.
Flop of the Season: Morgan Sanson
Not sure what happened or what’s currently going on with the exiled Frenchman, but I’m sure many who attend Villa Park regularly would like to know. The 2021/22 campaign was one more season of the player rarely receiving any minutes, and while it seemed Gerrard was willing to give him a chance a few months back, that no longer seems to be the case. Perhaps it’s time for the club and the player to finally part ways.
Reece James (5) is the only defender to score more Premier League goals this season than Matty Cash (4).
— Squawka (@Squawka) May 22, 2022
Villa haven't conceded this season when he's scored. 👀 https://t.co/JC0knJ6Jkd
Most Improved Player: Ollie Watkins
A few other players would be worth mentioning here, but Watkins takes this one due to the recently revitalized hunger the player takes on when it comes to scoring goals.
Watkins seemed almost too hesitant earlier in the season, too unsure of when to take a shot, so much so that received abuse from users on social media. But now, the forward is ready to pounce, and seeing him outrun Manchester City’s Fernandinho on Championship Sunday was quite a spectacle.
Unsung Hero: Emi Martinez
Another one where several players would be worth mentioning, but good, reliable Emi takes the cake here. Villa’s backline would have conceded way more goals without the always-alert Argentinian, and no goalkeeper effortlessly wastes time to wind the clock down quite as this guy does.
The signing of the Season: Philippe Coutinho
That’s it. That’s the sentence. I literally should not have to explain this one.
Team Rating: 6.5
As mentioned earlier, finishing 14th in the table just seems a bit low for what this team should have been able to accomplish with the squad that they possess.
There were quite a few games in March and April where Villa should’ve captured all 3 points, but with growing pains, development, and applying a new manager’s methods, these things naturally do take time.