Aston Villa: Stephen Warnock moots new Matty Cash ‘issue’ for Unai Emery after West Ham draw
Aston Villa were nowhere near their best against West Ham United, but Unai Emery’s side managed to find a way to claim a valuable point in their quest for Champions League football.
Having been pegged back by Michail Antonio’s header in the first half, Nicolo Zaniolo’s second-half strike ensured Villa extended their lead over Tottenham to book their place in the top four over the March international break.
Despite the improved second-half display, Stephen Warnock believes Emery has problems at Villa Park and has insisted that the Villa manager doesn’t trust Matty Cash to start week in and week out at Villa Park.
Speaking on Match of the Day 2 (17 March, 15:20) he said: “He’s got an issue with Lucas Digne and Moreno because he doesn’t know which one to pick as often, they’re a little bit different in the way that they play.
“I just don’t think he trusts Matty Cash for some reason, but when he brought Cash on in the second half and moved Konsa into centre-back that made a huge difference.”
Will Unai Emery keep Matty Cash at Aston Villa in the summer transfer window?
Emery introduced Cash at half-time at the London Stadium on Sunday (17 March) in place of Clement Lenglet and while he added an extra dimension to Villa going forward, he still showed a slight recklessness on the ball.
The 26-year-old only completed 68 per cent of his 34 attempted passes as he repeatedly gifted West Ham possession, none of which were crosses into the penalty area as he failed to add an extra dimension in the final third, according to Fotmob.
Cash has always carried an individual goal threat and when compared to his positional peers in the Premier League this term, he places in the 83rd percentile for goals scored per 90 minutes, according to Fbref.
But as a creative force, the Polish international has never had the same cutting-edge and he has only averaged 0.53 key passes a match this season, a figure which places him in the bottom 32 per cent of fullbacks.
Of those attempted efforts, nine of Cash’s passes found a teammate in the final third of the pitch, but only 33 per cent of his long passes found a teammate as he repeatedly put Villa back under pressure.
Defensively, the 26-year-old was reasonably strong in the second half as he won two of his three ground duels and 50 per cent of his aerial battles, but he didn’t enter a single tackle in his 45 minutes of action and only made one recovery.
The Villa right-back’s weakness when tackling is one of his biggest issues. Compared to other top-flight full-backs, Cash places in the 41st percentile for tackles won per match and he only tackles 49 per cent of players who try and dribble past him.
But when his side needed him the most, the defender produced an amazing block to deny an almost certain goal for the home side. Emery may not trust him, but he is capable of exceptional moments.
Will Villa qualify for the Champions League this season?
Cash has by no means been bad this season, but it will be a slight worry to supporters that Emery doesn’t appear to trust the right back week in and week out and would rather play Konsa in an unfamiliar position.
Hopefully, the international break will allow the Villa boss time to reorganise and reassess his squad ahead of the Villans’ return to Premier League action as he will need every player at their best to qualify for the Champions League this season.
In other Aston Villa news, Alan Hutton has suggested that Paulo Dybala may be an option for Emery in the summer transfer window
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