The Brad Guzan Depreciation thread.

[joe_c]

Our best player today I thought. A couple of decent saves but more importantly, confidence and dominatio of the penalty area. Good to see he seems to have his mojo back.

[rob_bridge]

A fine keeper.

I really don't get the doubters. Model pro.

[Matt Collins]

Yeah anyone can have a slightly dodgy spell. Especially a keeper

It's a really good spine we've got now. Just hope we don't lose three of the vertebrates in the summer

[OCD]

It's probably only the odd blip that keeps him here so it's something we have to accept. It's a fair trade in my view too because we get far more from him than what we might lose.

[rob_bridge]

The idea that Guzan is part of our current or underlying playing problems is frankly speaking, Laughable.

[adrenachrome]

Our best player today I thought. A couple of decent saves but more importantly, confidence and dominatio of the penalty area. Good to see he seems to have his mojo back.

Spot on, Joe.

There is no doubt that an earlier weakness in terms of dealing with high crosses had seeped back into his game for whatever reason. But today, despite Manure testing him at every opportunity, he dealt with it all. That is the character of the man: heart of a a lion and big brass balls.

[Steve67]

Despite the odd error here and there, which keeper doesn't, he's a great keeper and has proven a very worthy re-signing. Credit to Lambert for keeping him at the club after others decided he wasn't worth hanging on to. One of the top six in the league at the minute.

[kipeye]

It makes a big difference to a keeper if he has a good backline in front of him. They have to know how high a line to keep and when to use him as a sweeper. It is looking a lot better lately and is particularly encouraging that we have used all the combinations and Brad seems to be confident at coming off his line with all of them again.

[supertom]

I get great joy whenever Brad does this (normally having plucked a cross out of the sky).

[Boz]

Guzan is a great confidence booster for our defenders, always talking to them, supporting them , like yesterday going to Mason to complain about Gabby's card. He just seems to be Villa through and through apart from his playing consistency.

[PeterWithesShin]

Brad Guzan swapped the United States for Villa Park when he joined from Chivas USA in the summer of 2008.

The popular figure became the second American with the name 'Brad' in the Villa squad as understudy to namesake Friedel.

His substitute status didn't last long and his debut came in a League Cup match against Queens Park Rangers a month after his arrival.

Guzan made his European bow in a 1-0 UEFA Cup victory away at Slavia Prague, producing a string of fine saves.

The stopper was a vital cog when Villa lifted the 2009 Peace Cup in pre-season.

He featured in matches against Atlante and Porto and helped his side come out victorious in the final, saving two penalties in a shoot-out win over Juventus.

Although he didn't feature for the opening months of the 2009-10 campaign, his ability to save from 12-yards came to the fore again in a fourth round League Cup tie against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light when he kept out four penalties with the score goalless in regulation time.

With first-team opportunities limited due to the signing of Shay Given, Guzan spent two short loan spells at Hull City between January and April 2011.

After his release in June 2012, he re-signed and was part of the newly appointed Paul Lambert's 25-man touring squad of the United States.

Guzan signed a four-year contract with the club in the summer of 2013 - and he's gone on to become the undoubted No.1 with a sting of unbelievable performances in claret and blue.

Here he selects his Dream Team:

In goal I have gone for BRAD FRIEDEL - my American compatriot.

He helped me a lot when I first came to the country, especially in adapting to the Premier League. I was able to learn a lot from Brad.

At the time he had that unbelievable record streak of consecutive appearances. He helped me progress as a goalkeeper by working with him day in and day out and that was beneficial to my own career.

It was hard to leave out Shay Given. You can't go wrong with either one. Shay's resume speaks for itself.

To be in my shoes and work with both of them has been unbelievable - and that's an understatement.

My right-back is ALAN HUTTON.

He was out of the squad for a time but kept his head down. He was a true professional. He worked ever so hard.

Obviously he's been given a second chance and he's taken it with both hands. He proves his quality week-in and week-out for us.

My first centre-half is MARTIN LAURSEN. He was a mad man!

His ability to put his head in places no other man would dare go on the football field was truly phenomenal.

He would steam into tackles to break up play brilliantly. He was the definition of a proper centre-half - he was hard as nails, tough as could be and a little bit crazy and ultra-competitive.

When I say crazy I mean he just wouldn't care about getting hurt. He would be bleeding, head over to the side of the pitch, get stitched up by the doctor and carry on as if nothing had happened.

My second choice is RON VLAAR.

He is fantastic for Villa and he has also been for Holland too during the time I have known him.

His awareness to read plays before they happen and his calmness on the pitch to see out certain situations is vital for us.

That's been true during this period of transition where, at times, we've had younger players on the pitch.

His leadership ability in those situation - and generally too - has shone through.

I will put FREDDIE BOUMA at left-back.

We were only together for a short time but you could just see his quality every day in training.

He was a strong defender. He could pick a pass - his distribution was excellent. He had an unbelievable shot on him! He got up and down the flank effortlessly.

Freddie was just an all-round good player. He was a cult hero here too!

My two centre midfielders would be STAN PETROV and GARETH BARRY.

Gareth is one of the best players I have ever played with, no doubt about that.

You could give him the ball in any part of the pitch in any scenario and he would be able to find his way out of it.

And not just find his way out of it but find his way out with calmness, composure and ease - and then pick a perfect pass. He was pure quality.

Stan's ability to lead the team from the centre of the pitch was different class.

You could talk for days about his ability on the ball and his quality. But he got the best out of the guys around him and got that respect from others - that says an awful lot about Stan.

On the right side I'm picking JAMES MILNER.

He is so versatile in the sense that he could play on the right side, on the left and in the middle.

His industry and work-rate is unbelievable - it's undoubtedly one of his strongest attributes.

He's definitely underappreciated as a player. You'd think that work-rate should be standard for a professional football - but not to the level of James. He brings that every session and every game.

On the left side I am selecting FABIAN DELPH.

It will top off a perfect few days for him after he signed his new deal!

His energy and enthusiasm for the game is different class. He has that willingness to do the dirty work for other players.

He's brave - in the sense that he's not afraid to try something, lose it because he will go all-out to win the ball back.

He brings a high tempo energy to this team too. When he starts buzzing around the pitch, others feed off that.

My strikers are JOHN CAREW and GABBY AGBONLAHOR - they were an awesome strike pairing together.

John is the strongest lad I have played with. His ability to pin a centre-half, hold the ball up and bring others into the game was unbelievable.

He was one of the worst trainers but on matchday he was frightening. When he was up for the game, no-one could stop him. He had everything.

Gabby would be perfect to play off John.

He can terrorise teams. His pace frightens defenders.

Combined with his strength, he can get into tight spaces, anticipate and finish off plays with goals.

[PeterWithesShin]

[UK Redsox]

When does that North/Central American cup thingy finish?

Hopefully the Villa coaching staff will have a couple of weeks before the season starts in which to work with Brad on his distribution

[Dave]

When does that North/Central American cup thingy finish?

Hopefully the Villa coaching staff will have a couple of weeks before the season starts in which to work with Brad on his distribution

If USA get to the final then Guzan will be there until July 26th.

[UK Redsox]

When does that North/Central American cup thingy finish?

Hopefully the Villa coaching staff will have a couple of weeks before the season starts in which to work with Brad on his distribution

If USA get to the final then Guzan will be there until July 26th.

That means if Brad is given a week or two off, we could see Steer or Bunn in goal @ Bournemouth