OPINION
Conor Hourihane is a bit of strange case at Aston Villa at the moment. The midfielder has a wonderful delivery on him and is capable of some real moments of class, as he proved against Ipswich Town with a fine set-piece Tammy Abraham’s opening goal, but his general standard of play is pretty low, and many Villa fans are left frustrated by his presence in the middle of the park. The 27-year-old was guilty of looking below par again in the the Villains Championship clash with struggling Town on Saturday, and fans were quick to point out his poor performance. In fairness to the midfielder, he is being employed in a slightly deeper role in the engine room that maybe doesn’t suit him as much as other positions might, but he continues to look weak and ineffectual for large spells, and the occasional top drawer delivery doesn’t absolve him from a general lack of quality. Villa are serious about a promotion push this year, but they are on the verge of dropping out of that race for good unless they start to dominate matches more often, and it’s hard to see how they can do that when the spine of their team is so disappointing.
This is Futbol have gathered some of the best tweets below:
Can anyone please tell me what Hourihane brings to the team please…. I mean anyone…. bloke seriously needs dropping!!!! #avfc #utv #PartOfThePride
— Terry McEvilly (@TerryAvfc91) January 26, 2019
Hourihane is the crossing version of Rory Delap. Can't actually play football but can get assists. #AVFC
— Dom (@DomQ18) January 26, 2019
The only reason I know hourihane is on the pitch is because of the team sheet.
— corey rowsell (@C_Rowsell93) January 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/Scheema27/status/1089187960480821249
Needs to be as playing with Whelan n Hourihane is like playing with 9 men
— Vernon Morrissey (@villa_vernon) January 26, 2019
It's obvious that we need new quality pacey LB/RB & a solid athletic DMF. Without Jack/Alex transitions from Defense to Attack is painfully slow. Hourihane is fantastic at dead ball delivery but needs to up his tempo and pass quicker, take less touches on the ball. #utv #avfc
— Paul Millar ???? (@_Honki_Tonk_) January 26, 2019
https://twitter.com/joejohnst0n/status/1089179896327356418