Ty Bracey: Aston Villa fans ‘quickly realising’ difficulty of European football
We’re delighted to welcome Aston Villa podcaster Ty Bracey as our exclusive Aston Villa columnist each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the club…
Aston Villa fans are “quickly realising” the difficulty of European football after their indifferent return to continental competition, according to Ty Bracey.
Villa faced an upset in their first game back in European football, suffering a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Legia Warszawa, while their 1-0 triumph over Zrinjski, despite having 27 shots, showed that Villans perhaps have some stage fright in the Europa Conference League.
Unai Emery entered the competition as the boss of one of the competition’s favourites, considering the quality of Villa’s squad and the Spaniard’s illustrious European career. There is still plenty of time for the club to improve their performances, but it has not been the walk in the park many expected.
Bracey is one who has faced this reality check, but points to the lack of squad depth that makes dominating games hard. However, he maintains that Villa remain favourites to win the tournament, but some adjustments may be needed from the boss.
Speaking exclusively to Villa News, Bracey said: “All us fans probably thought it would be a little easier than it has been. I think we’re the favourites to win it, we definitely are, but we’re quickly realising that it’s not easy.
“Part of the problem is we have a depth problem. We need to rest players and there are players playing who, like Leander Dendoncker, don’t have the same standard.
“I’ve raved about him before, but he does not look good enough in the Emery system. It’s tough.”
In other Aston Villa news, a zero-tackle Villa star may face a ruthless Emery axe after what he did against Wolves.