March Poster Player of the Month; Matt Lowton

Poster player of the month is the player that will appear each month at the top of my blog.

 

Matthew Lowton

Cool, composed and measured; Matthew Lowton arrived to Aston Villa and has left a lasting memory to remember from his debut season in the Premier League.

 

Yes it's April and this write up has been published a month late, yet coincidentally I've posted this at just the right time. With everyone raving about the former Blade, I think it's about time we have a look at his impressive first season in the Barclays Premier League.

 

After arriving from Sheffield United in the summer, he had to make the step up from League One to the top flight in just a matter of months. No matter what anyone says, replacing an experienced Premier League right back in Alan Hutton is a hard act to do. Yet, Matthew Lowton has done just that. He's shone in what ever position he's played, whatever formation that has been tried out. Centre back, his natural right back, or in a three at the back formation, Lowton has managed to perform and give 100%.

 

He had his slip ups, he has had his moments but even the best of the best do.

 

He's reminded me of a Kyle Walker player. Walker came to Villa on loan two seasons ago, also a former Blade and a right back with hardly any Premier League experience. He revelling in his role and broke into Fabio Capello's England outfit. Scoring two goals in his eighteen match loan spell, Walker caught a lot of people's eyes. Just as Lowton is doing right now.

Luckily for us, we have this gem of a player permanently and not with Harry Rednapp wanting him back asap.

 

Like Walker, Lowton has an eye for goal and is always eager to sprint up the line to get involved with attack. However, he also has a good defensive side to him unlike Walker did in his spell. He can be a little naive, like the rest of our back line, yet that comes with experience, right?

 

With or without the ball, Matt can have a significant impact. Neat little through balls, deadly crosses and a cracker of a strike in his locker all add something of a different dimension into his game. His partnership with Westwood in the middle of the park also means that we have two understanding players on the pitch that are willing to help each other out.

 

He's also the name on everyone's lips after his goal of the season contender strike in yesterday's game against Stoke City. If you remember, after his goal against Swansea earlier in the season, we knew he had it in him, yet this was something even more special. After a clearance by Charlie Adam following a Charles N'Zogbia corner, Lowton came towards the ball, controlling it tightly using his chest, he then hit it. There was a sudden silence as it left his right foot, as the ball peaked before dipping over Begovic's helpless body.

 

An absolute screamer.

 

 

Beauty.

 

One in a million.

 

No adjective in the dictionary could possibly describe that goal.

 

Overall, the right back will get even better. And with even more games in the Premier League and the guiding of Paul Lambert there is no doubting that this ever present in Villa's new look side, will become a Holte End hero and take Aston Villa to new heights.