Why it is time for Steve Bruce to start with Yannick Bolasie
Aston Villa have made a mediocre start to the season, languishing at 12th position in the table (at the time of writing) after winning just three games from the 11 played. Steve Bruce and his men are struggling to put together a string of results to turn their fortunes.
Right now, they are not even in contention to get a playoff spot come the end of this season. But there are 36 games yet to be played, which raises some of the lost hopes at the Villa Park.
In terms of doing late business in the transfer market, Aston Villa were very active in getting players on loan from Premier League clubs. They got Yannick Bolasie and Tammy Abraham from Everton and Chelsea respectively on loan.
Hence, a general consensus after these completed deals were that both players will start games and improve their form in due course of time. But as has been the case thus far, Bruce has not hesitated in giving Abraham the start up front, but Bolasie is yet to feature from the beginning.
This raises some eyebrows as the Congolese international is a high-quality player who would fit into the Villa line-up without a shadow of a doubt. Hence, the question arises as to why the manager is not giving the Everton man a chance from the start.
That being said, it is not like the team is flying and there is no place for the 29-year-old in the eleven. In fact, the way Albert Adomah and Jonathan Kodjia are playing this season, giving Bolasie an extended run of games is deserved and makes sense.
The Congolese starting for Villa would mean that they could switch back to a 4-4-1-1 formation with Jack Grealish pushing to a No.10 role which suits him better. Tammy Abraham can start up front as he has been doing, with Bolasie taking the position on one of the wings.
Verdict
Aston Villa need wins and points at the current point in time, and it is now about getting positivity from wherever it comes. One thing Bruce can do is to provide more quality to his starting line-up by giving Bolasie a chance to shine.
Read More: After Grealish, it’s time for Aston Villa to tie down this 23-year-old star to a new contract
It is the right time for the manager to change his line-up a bit and perhaps drop a few inconsistent performers to get better results.