Sherwood knows what he’s doing
With only Ashley Westwood remaining in the starting line-up from the final at Wembley, Sherwood has clearly brought in changes, and with four of the players starting at Bournemouth, from France this summer, there was a worry that they might not settle in, and be able to step up to the Premier League. It turns out our manager clearly knew what he was doing. With some good performances today there is plenty of optimism in the new signings and excitement. For example, Veretout and Amavi showed the exact sort of quality Villa needed and also Idrissa Gueye who worked his socks off in the centre of midfield for the whole 90 minutes.
Villa still have a physical threat in front of goal
For some Villa fans this summer, there was a real doubt that Villa may not be able to replace Christian Benteke and his massively important goals over the past few seasons. Although tonight, the Villa faithful will be relieved, after finding a new talisman, in the name of Rudy Gestede, who climbed highest to head the ball home to win the game today. The super-sub has definitely made the instant impact Tim Sherwood would have wanted, for the £6million signing from Blackburn Rovers. The 6ft4 forward will be hoping to continue with goals this season, and prove why he is the man to replace Christian Benteke.
Captain Richards could solve Villa’s problems at the back
Micah Richards was confirmed captain for Aston Villa earlier in the week, and today he led his side to a brilliant start to the season, with a clean sheet and a victory. Over the last few seasons, Villa have had one major downfall and that was leaking goals. But at the Vitality Stadium captain, Micah Richards, showed that he could be the man to solve Villa’s defensive woes. It was a brilliant start for the new signing and he will look to continue with his solid performances and leadership, throughout the campaign.
Guzan has returned
With no pre-season games for Brad Guzan after competing in the Gold Cup for America, he looked to be a real doubt to start in the opening game of the season. But Guzan returned with a superb performance pulling off some crucial saves in the first half, to keep it at 0-0. The saves he made could have easily been the difference in Villa’s win. Brad Guzan showed the Villa fans exactly why Sherwood has decided to give the American international, his number one spot back.
