Alan Hutton has returned to the Aston Villa first team after two seasons in the wilderness, being sent out on loan and ignored by boss Paul Lambert.

Now that he’s been given a second chance at Villa Park by his manager, Hutton seems to be grabbing that chance with both hands. In Villa’s opening two Premier League games Hutton has played a full part in both and Villa have still to concede this term. With the Scottish right back winning the man of the match award against Newcastle Utd this weekend.

So why has Hutton finally started to perform at Villa?

Well firstly, he’s getting the opportunity. For various reasons Lambert decided to freeze out the Scottish international. But it seems that in the summer he decided to give a few former first-teamers a chance to prove they are worthy of a place in his Villa team. Hutton looks set on doing just that! To get a player believing in himself again was a wonderful trait Lambert’s mentor Martin O’Neill had. Lambert looks to be working that magic with Villa as he has praised his right-back in his opening two games.

He has also got himself in shape again. Back in his opening season with the Villains he looked heavy but now he seems to have slimmed down. Hutton looks hungry and has done well in getting fit and ready to play his best football again. His attitude as of late has also been exemplary.

Don’t underestimate his teammates and the tactics. At Rangers, when Hutton was at his best, he had a great understanding with Charlie Adam a left sider that played on the right. He would cut inside and that gave Hutton acres of space down on the flank. At Spurs with Aaron Lennon on the right, Hutton was never afforded the space he craved. Against Newcastle, Charles N’Zogbia started on the right and he too is a left sided footballer. You could see Hutton was much better when he had that space to run into.

Many have questioned Alan’s defensive qualities in the past. But here is the thing, one of the best forms of defence is attack. If Hutton is allowed to attack at the opposition he will create chances and win fouls but he also keeps the opposing players on the back foot. That said I think the Villa fullback has done well defensively this season. He has confidence in Ron Vlaar and Philippe Senderos who play alongside him and that helps. Hutton’s awareness has also impressed as he has on more than one occasion swept up behind the central two.

I never believed that Alan Hutton had suddenly turned into a bad player. He might have made the move into the EPL a bit early, although he did reject Spurs twice before finally accepting in 2008 (Rangers needed the cash). His attitude might have been poor when he was younger. But the defender is now twenty-nine and may finally be ready to prove himself as a player more than capable to perform well in the Premier League.

Posted on August 23rd, 2014 by scott
Filed under: Article