Matty Cash

[Dave]

I thought it was his knee he caught, or upper thigh, didn’t see any contact in the ankle.

Looked like a pretty bog standard smash to the shin I thought.

[Pat McMahon]

I thought it was his knee he caught, or upper thigh, didn’t see any contact in the ankle.

Looked like a pretty bog standard smash to the shin I thought.

Same here - i assumed in the ground that his shin pads had prevented any serious damage.

[IFWaters]

For context, Matty Cash is being threatened by this lot

https://x.com/jr9gd/status/1729560017760637379?s=46

Interesting boring fact about this video, is that it was filmed on location in Selly Oak park.

what a bunch of sad wankers

[pablo_picasso]

Have detested Spurs ever since they came to Villa Park in 93 during the title run-in and defended as if their lives depended on it. For no reason whatsoever. Fuck them and their pathetic, delusional fan base and no matter how gleaming their new stadium is, it still houses shit.[/i] Apparently Romero is gonna seek retribution in March. Can't wait. Suspect at least 5 or 6 Villa players will be showing studs before he even gets near Matty Cash.

Which is appropriate considering its birds eye view is in the shape of a toilet...

[pablo_picasso]

I thought it was his knee he caught, or upper thigh, didn’t see any contact in the ankle.

Looked like a pretty bog standard smash to the shin I thought.

Same here.

I was surprised when my mate said it was an ankle ligament injury.

Although those are easy enough to do.

Lost count the amount of times that my ankles have turned over, sometimes with no contact at all, during my playing days...

[Risso]

You can make the word "Hamas" from Matty Cash's name. Is there no end to the lengths this talentless thug won't sink to?

[Clampy]

He turned me into a Newt.

I got better.

[PeterWithe]

For context, Matty Cash is being threatened by this lot

https://x.com/jr9gd/status/1729560017760637379?s=46

Interesting boring fact about this video, is that it was filmed on location in Selly Oak park.

That's the kind of inane contribution that brings absolutely nothing to the thread or site.

Welcome brother, you'll fit right in.

[Clark W Griswold]

For context, Matty Cash is being threatened by this lot

https://x.com/jr9gd/status/1729560017760637379?s=46

Interesting boring fact about this video, is that it was filmed on location in Selly Oak park.

I can't open the vid here, but i've now got it in my head that it's a fearsome crew of mallard ducks.

[PeterWithe]

What are they saying, I cant make it out?

[ChicagoLion]

What are they saying, I cant make it out?

you've just got Kane

[Hookeysmith]

What are they saying, I cant make it out?

you've just got Kane

I thought it was "we have small penesis"

[LeeB]

You can make the word "Hamas" from Matty Cash's name. Is there no end to the lengths this talentless thug won't sink to?

Matty Cash's career rises as Jeremy Corbyn's stalls. Coincidence? Wake up sheeple.

[SaddVillan]

From The Athletic

CASH HAS PROVED HIMSRLF CAPABLE - BUT ASTON VILLA MAY STILL  NEED ANOTHER RIGHT-BACK

Unai Emery was a left midfielder during his playing days, a career which mainly lurched between the second and third divisions of Spain; solid, but low-key. He was technically sound, as you expect Spanish players of his stature — 5ft 11in (180cm) — but he was mainly diligent in his duties, including defensive work.

There are similarities with one of the players he now manages at Aston Villa, Matty Cash, who has operated at a higher level for longer than his 52-year-old coach ever did but, who, like Emery, does not necessarily possess game-changing talent and instead has had to lean on work rate and his ability to learn.

However, what Emery has recognised in Cash is malleability. He sees a player waiting, needing to be pushed through his current ceiling. In preparation for the trip to Burnley in August, Emery spent time watching footage of Cash, now a right-back, playing on the wing for his previous club Nottingham Forest over three years ago.

Back then, Cash was given greater licence, operating in more advanced positions, engendering strengths that were perhaps stymied at right-back. That day against Burnley, Cash played further forward on the right wing, producing arguably his best performance since joining Villa from Forest three years earlier, scoring two and finishing off a flowing 19-pass move.

While managing Spain’s Sevilla, Emery deployed Coke — a right-back by trade — slightly further forward in matches when he expected his team would need to withstand pressure. He notably did this in the 2016 Europa League final against Liverpool, when Coke played on the right wing with right-back Mariano behind him. “We almost could use him and Mariano as right-backs,” Emery explained after.

For the same reason, the Spaniard sees value in Cash, challenging him to grow accustomed to varying roles, such as moonlighting as a third centre-back in possession and as an archetypal right-winger.

Cash has been particularly effective performing his defensive duties of late, understanding the nuances of Villa’s offside trap and ranking in the top nine per cent of full-backs from Europe’s top five leagues for tackles per 90 minutes (2.88). This underlines a distinct improvement in defensive duels.

And while he is not the progressive vehicle Emery wants out of his full-backs — he is in the bottom 30 per cent of full-backs for ball-carrying distance (77.92 metres per 90) and 22 per cent for progressive passes (3.16) — playing higher means Cash is in better positions to “crash the box” as his head coach desires, getting on the end of crosses from the left at the back post. This was an area for improvement which Emery outlined to players in pre-season.

“I like being high up the pitch,” said Cash. “That is what I want to do — keep putting the ball on Ollie (Watkins) or Moussa (Diaby’s) head and create and score goals. But as long as I am playing, I don’t care.”

The 2-2 draw at Bournemouth on Sunday was the first game Cash had begun on the bench in the Premier League this season, having been taken off at half-time the week before away against Tottenham Hotspur. Even if there are gentle signs of him not entirely convincing Emery, he has still featured in all 14 Premier League fixtures this season and played 86 per cent of the available minutes.

Despite his form often being a talking point among supporters, Villa’s recruitment staff were confident enough heading into the campaign that Cash — as the only recognised right-back in the squad after the club decided against renewing Ashley Young’s rolling deal — could adapt to the increasing demands of keeping up with Emery’s project.

Villa’s priority for the summer transfer window was on the opposite side: another left-back in anticipation of needing to replace Lucas Digne — who is among the highest earners in the squad, although he ended up staying — rather than Young, who had been chosen ahead of Cash at times last season as the club’s only other senior right-back.

A shortfall of options at right-back meant that if there was any inconsistency from Cash heading into this campaign then it would require Ezri Konsa, Villa’s best-performing defender, to shift across from centre-back and ostensibly change their build-up structure. The side would then consist of three centre-backs plus Leon Bailey, an improvement going forward but less sturdy defensively, high and wide on the right.

That is becoming the common theme away from Villa Park, with Emery preferring to bring Diego Carlos in at centre-back and move Konsa across onto the right. The change in selection demonstrates a stark difference in style on the road — less free-flowing, more stuttering and with just two clean sheets all season, so far unable to bolt the back line.

“It’s different,” said Konsa. “You’re up against wingers, very good wingers, especially in the Premier League. It’s a challenge. But whenever the gaffer puts me there, I’ll do a job for him.”

Konsa is an excellent one-v-one defender centrally and a proficient reader of play, having drawn the second most fouls of any Villa player last season through his interception-based style. However, as he alluded to, as a centre-back in a full-back role he faces a different threat from wingers, who have more opportunity to drive at him.

Seventy-five per cent of all Bournemouth’s attacks at the weekend came down Konsa’s side, indicating a concerted plan that attempted to take advantage of Villa’s blindspots at right-back.

The January window is now 27 days away and Villa are in a position to address the balance of the squad. A right-back to provide competition and support to Cash may be an increasing priority, especially in a defence as brave in setting offside traps and subsequently increasing the number of one-v-one scenarios they face.

One of Emery’s repeated lines is to be “better than I was yesterday and tomorrow, better than I was today”.

That applies to Cash.

He has made significant progress in grasping the nuances of his coach’s football philosophy, but what could further propel both him and Villa is strengthening at right-back.

[KevinGage]

Rather than being a reflection on Mateusz Gotowka's form (who apart from a ropey spell under Carpethead has been solid > decent since arriving in 2020) I'd say the recent rotation is more to do with the volume of games we're due to face.

If we can see Konsa's shortcomings at RB I'm pretty certain Emery can as well. But part of the motivation is possibly to see if Diego Carlos can hack it at centre half and ensuring our best RB isn't burnt out with the workload.