It appears though as Tim Sherwood will stick with Brad Guzan as he is set to start the crucial game against Swansea. Guzan made the howler that led to Costa’s goal in Villa’s 2-0 defeat over the Premier League weekend. Last season, during Guzan’s error that gifted Aguero a goal, Guzan was dropped for Shay Given. The same won’t be happening this weekend.
Guzan has no performed well at all this season, often showing a lack of confidence between the posts and his distribution has been poor. But this decision does make sense. Unlike last season, Villa don’t have a top keeper on the sidelines. Mark Bunn has been brought in this season from Norwich on a free transfer, but he is not the same calibre as Guzan. In fact, Bunn didn’t even start the League Cup match against Birmingham City last month. That shows that Sherwood, perhaps doesn’t have too much confidence in Bunn either. Bunn has never really been a first team keeper in any team, minus his few appearances for Norwich during their previous Premier League campaigns.
Villa do boast a large selection of young keepers, but a young keeper will never replace Guzan. The only keeper that has had some kind of Premier League experience is Jed Steer. But he is out on loan at the moment, and one Premier League appearance doesn’t really count for much. If Sherwood does stay as boss, I’m fairly certain that this will be Guzan’s last season with Aston Villa, and his performances have dipped significantly. In place, I have a suspicion that Steer will become Villa’s new number 1. Sherwood highly rates him, he has been offered a new contract, and will be playing Championship football on loan this year. He’ll get experience under his belt and looks like a good, up and coming keeper.
Back to Guzan, I think it’s the right decision overall. Dropping him would only destroy Guzan’s confidence even further. Something Villa and Sherwood cannot afford without a top keeper on the sidelines. Hopefully Guzan will put that mistake to bed and help Villa keep a clean sheet, or at least have a decent performance in our crucial game against Swansea.
Shit