All the best teams have them, De Guzman at Swansea, Hoolahan at Norwich and Sissoko at Newcastle. The number ten is a vital position in any team, so why don’t Wolves have one?
Whilst watching the team show some Dunkirk spirit to battle through and win 3-2 against Middlesbrough, I could not help but notice that, in the final third, we were very blunt. There was no link between the midfield and the attack, this meant that Doyle had to drop deep, sometimes into his own half, to pick the ball up and start attacks. Meaning that, eventually, there was no in front of him to link up with.
I cannot remember the last time we had a proper centre attacking midfielder, who sat behind the main striker and could buzz around in front of the opponents back four, pulling them all over the place, causing havoc. One man who we all thought could fulfil this role that the team so desperately needed was Jamie O’Hara. He joined, on loan initially, in January of 2011. We all thought he would become the midfielder that would slot in behind Doyle, Fletcher or Blake.
For a few month he exceeded expectations, a spectacular curled effort against you know who sent the Wolves’ fans into rapturous applause and infinite praise for our new centre midfielder. Things got even better when, at home, he drove from midfield to thump a low shot into the bottom corner, contributing to one of four goals scored against a limp Blackpool side.
The plaudits for O’Hara were never ending, he was hailed as a new type of player for Wolves, he gave the midfield the shot in the arm it needed. He had everything, pace, strength, vision, ball control, a venomous shot and a keen eye for goal. He contributed as well against Blackburn on that infamous, nerve shredding, final day of the season, scoring what was to be, a crucial goal in staving the drop.
Going into the following season, most of the Molineux faithful felt that O’Hara would help push the club on in the Premier League, sadly though, a constant and rather irritating groin injury kept him out for a lot of the season, arguably contributing to Wolves rather pathetic and brittle relegation last season. So Wolves found them selves back at square one, playing two deep lying midfielders and relying heavily on Jarvis and Kightly to act as the link between midfield and attack. This did not work and Wolves found them selves in the Championship once again.
The arrival of Solbakken in the summer was seen as the era in which Wolves would finally modernise their approach when attacking in games. Signing technical, intricate players such as Sako, Sigurdarson, Peszko and Boukari gave fans an insight into what Solbakken wanted to achieve at the club. Frustratingly, injuries restricted Wolves’ options, ideally Sako would have played in a number ten role, with Boukari and Peszko on the wings. Sounds good doesn’t it?
No doubt Sako has been effective on the wing, in some games. He has had games where at times, he has been unplayable and has ripped opposition teams to pieces. Then in the next game he will look completely ineffective, lethargic and uninterested, frustrated by a lack of involvement from his team-mates. His usual routine will be, pick the ball up midway in the opponents half, drive with it, take on a full back, wait five minutes and then will occasionally deliver a good ball. He is obsolete on that left hand side, a player of that quality has to be more involved and he just simply is not on the wing. His main attributes, physical strength, vision and a deadly shot would no doubt work better in behind a striker.
He does not enjoy tracking back and doing the very British thing of ‘getting stuck in’ and has never done that, it is not part of his game, why play a player in a position that does not utilise his strengths and exposes his weaknesses, no one benefits from it, the player does not enjoy it, the fans get on their back because they expect something from a player who cannot do what is expected from a winger playing in the British leagues.
Furthermore, it would benefit other players around him, as I said earlier, against Middlesbrough, Doyle was constantly dropping deep, trying to start attacks, he would turn and find that there was no one in front of him. If Sako or someone was in that role, he would turn and find two strikers and two wingers in front of him, bombing on, screaming for the ball, we’ve seen him deliver exquisite pin point passes to his team mates, we know he can do it.
In addition to helping Doyle it would also help the aforementioned Jamie O’Hara, after his groin injury, it is clear to everyone with a serviceable pair of eyes that he is lacking fitness and looks to be a yard short of pace, which means he cannot get up and down like he used too. Currently, O’Hara’s game consists of picking the ball up from the centre backs and hoofing it 40, 50 or even 60 yards to an isolated Kevin Doyle or one two wingers, and eventually, the attack breaks down and the opposition get the ball, purely because they have more numbers in the final third. With Sako sitting in front on O’Hara and Davis, they both have an option, meaning that they don’t have to push forward and distort the shape of the midfield. Also, it would improve Wolves’ style of play, having a number ten forces players to pass it short instead of lumping to it winger because we have another option in the final third of the field. We would become a lot more solid also, which, in turn, would prevents us from getting hit on the counter attack, something that we were woefully vulnerable to against Borough.
In short, having a natural number ten in the side has benefits in both attack and defence, when the team are going forward we will have a play that can dictate what we do in the middle. Furthermore, in defence Wolves’ will not be as susceptible on the counter attack and will be a lot more solid in the midfield, with three instead of just two. Hopefully, given time, we will soon find a number ten who will bring this team some much-needed success.
