Grading Aston Villa Women's season so far

Aston Villa are finally looking like a force again after a difficult first two seasons in the Women’s Super League.

Not much was expected of Carla Ward’s side after fighting relegation for the last two seasons and struggling to beat even the worst teams in the league. However, they have mounted a strong charge up the league in the first half of the 2022/23 campaign.

They have adopted an aggressive, all-or-nothing approach with games, leading to them winning four and losing five of their first nine matches. While they are still a clear step below the likes of Chelsea and Arsenal, they no longer approach these contests with fear and instead look to play to their own strengths.

To judge just how far Villa have come this season, we shall look at several aspects of Villa’s season and grade them based on how they have done in that area.

Transfer activity: A

Villa have struggled with underwhelming marquee signings ever since their promotion to the WSL in 2020. Diana Silva, Stine Larsen, and Emily Gielnik all failed to deliver in front of goal, leading to a major goal shortage over the last two seasons.

Their scoring stats over their previous two WSL campaigns made for grim reading for Villa fans. They scored just 26 goals across 44 games, barely better than one every other match, and never had a player pass three league goals in a single season. Rubbing salt in the wounds was the fact that Villa was outscored by the bottom-placed team in both seasons.

However, their goal issues are now a thing of the past. England Euros hero Rachel Daly and French maestro Kenza Dali were drafted in to solve this issue, and the pair have sparkled in claret and blue. Daly has bagged eight league goals so far, making her Villa’s record WSL scorer, while Dali has provided five goal contributions (2G, 3A) from midfield.

Kirsty Hanson arrived on loan from Manchester United and has also provided a serious threat from out wide, scoring a beautiful goal in the defeat to Arsenal on Sunday (11 December). The Scottish international has linked up well with Alisha Lehmann, giving Villa a formidable attack at last.

On the defensive side, Anna Patten returned on loan and has linked up brilliantly with fellow new arrival Danielle Turner. Young goalkeeper Anna Leat also arrived from West Ham, giving Hannah Hampton serious competition between the sticks.

All of Ward’s new signings have delivered, aside from Simone Magill who was injured just two days after she arrived. Villa now look to be a complete team at last, making this an easy A grading.

The only real concern is that so much of Villa’s threat comes from Daly, they may be in trouble if she is struck down by injury. Speaking of which…

Injury management: F

Under Ward, Villa have always ran on a small squad, which made them susceptible to injury in the past. It was not an uncommon sight to see them line up with a depleted bench. It was the same with Ward at Birmingham City, with The Blues naming just a goalkeeper on the bench in a final-day defeat to Tottenham in 2021.

However, this was not really the case with Villa this time. They have a full squad of 23 players registered for this season plus a strong crop of academy players to fall back on. Their issue is not the squad size, it is the fact that they simply cannot keep them fit.

No less than eight senior players missed the defeat to Arsenal through injury, plus Anna Patten who was ineligible due to being on loan from Arsenal. What is even more concerning is that many of those are long-term injuries, with Magill likely to miss the entirety of the season.

Villa are becoming incredibly hampered by their growing injury list. They are forced to name the same starting line-up for each game and are limited in how they can change things during matches through substitutions.

This has undoubtedly been Villa’s biggest downfall this season so far and they need to use the next month wisely to recover and recruit.

Match performance: B

Football is a results business, and results are something that Villa have struggled to come by in the WSL. Their defeat to local rivals Birmingham City, who had already been relegated, on the final day of last season made it clear that Villa needed to improve quickly.

An opening-day win over Manchester City immediately purged any memories of the Blues defeat and that was quickly followed up with wins over Leicester City and Everton. Aside from a defeat to West Ham, Villa have won all the matches you would expect them to.

As for their defeats, none of them have been outrageous. A 5-0 loss to Manchester United may look bad, but that score was incredibly harsh on Villa who showed great spirit during the match. They also made Chelsea and Arsenal work for their wins while also getting a positive result against United in the Conti Cup.

The most pleasing thing for Villa is that they are finally beating the teams around them and are no longer scared of the big guns in the league. Ward has instilled the squad with a strong spirit that only bodes well for them in the future.

Overall grading: B+

Villa’s progress over the season is best shown by the fact that injuries are the only major criticism you can have about them. Finally, they are getting results and all signs point towards them continuing their positive trajectory.