Season 2011-12 Fan Articles

Gibson on the right wing?

By John   Williams  ::  01/07/2012   34 Comments (»Last) Firstly, I must state that in my opinion Darron Gibson is a very fine footballer. But, the bemusement felt at the fact that he didn?t kick a ball in the Euros has sown seeds of doubt. It?s easy to say that Trappatoni doesn?t know what he?s doing but the opinion of a manager of his experience must be respected. Combine this with the fact that Ferguson sold him and gave him limited opportunities, and you start wondering. What is it in his game that they don?t like?

I suppose we should start with an assessment of his qualities:

1. Passing ? he?s an exceptional passer of the ball, short and long. The weight on his passes is excellent. Further, he has a power in his long range passing that you rarely see, in that he can ping an accurate 30 yard crossfield pass when needed.
2. Awareness of opposition ? I have seen him caught in possession on a number of occasions, so a concern there for someone playing in central midfield.
3. Tackling ? average.
4. Shooting ? excellent, a superb striker of the ball, just YouTube him.
5. Pace ? average.
6. Stamina ? bit of a doubt here. I?ve seen him looking very tired in games. To be fair he picked up a few injuries so he didn?t play a long run of games where he built up his fitness. I noted he was substituted towards the end of a lot of games when presumably he was struggling with fatigue.
7. Concentration/ focus ? fine on this front, I?ve not seen him switch off in games.
8. First touch ? very good.

In summary what have we got? For me, a player whose offensive qualities far outweigh his defensive ones. I certainly don?t see him in the defensive midfield role that some believe he should play.

So, what position could he play which allows him to express his qualities? We?ve known for a long time that the right side of the team has lacked creativity. Could Gibson be the man for the right side of midfield?

Having been fortunate enough to be a fan in the 80s, I can tell those of you who were not so fortunate, that it was a privilege to see Kevin Sheedy in his prime. He was slow, a terrible tackler (the truth is, he just didn?t tackle), and if he did make a run then it took him the rest of the game to recover. But, he was a truly brilliant passer of the ball, short or long, with outstanding vision. He had terrific quality of cross into the box making a great number of assists. Importantly, he had a powerful, accurate shot (usually delivered when he arrived late in the box, no surprise there). Oh, and he was Irish.

So, a lot of similarities but one significant difference. Sheedy played out wide, on the left side of midfield in his case. We won Championships with Sheedy playing there. He did play occasionally in the centre when injuries left us short of central midfielders, but he wasn?t as effective, often finding the lack of the space and time restricting his passing. It was out wide where his talents excelled.

If you?re not convinced that players who are slow, can?t tackle, but are great passers of the ball, make great wide players, well here?s another one to prove the point: David Beckham.

Other reasons I would suggest for Gibson playing out wide:

1. I believe we may be about to witness the emergence of a truly great central midfielder in Ross Barkley. But someone has to make room for him in the centre of midfield and it certainly won?t be Fellaini (assuming he stays).
2. Coleman ? very rarely have we seen him play at right back with Moyes preferring the defensive qualities of Neville and Hibbert. But they are both slowing up as they come to the end of their careers. We don?t know how Coleman would play in this position but we do know he has got pace, he can tackle and can cross well. If he did play we would definitely see him overlapping and with Gibson in front of him playing quality passes for him to run onto we might actually see some assists from the right side of the pitch. There would be mistakes but that?s for Moyes and his coaches to sort out. As a pair they could provide balance to the team. Opposition teams would have to work on dealing not only with the threat we carry on the left side of our team (Baines and Pienaar) but also the right. From their point of view Gibson and Coleman may find themselves established in the Republic of Ireland team for years to come.
3. Osman ? I have never understood why he has spent so much of his career on the right wing. He lacks pace and doesn?t seem to have the power to put sufficient weight on his crosses, so for me, he seems particularly unsuited for the role of right winger. But, with his quick mind, exceptional first touch and short passing, quick feet and vision he is made for central midfield. Physically, he?s not strong and clearly suffers from fatigue problems through the season. He and Barkley could alternate in the attacking central midfield role and both remain fit for the whole season rather than suffering fatigue and subsequent dips in their form.
4. Jelavic ? at long last, we finally have a great centre forward. Provide him with quality crosses into the box and he?ll score. Fail to supply him and you waste the outstanding opportunity he gives you.
5. Sheedy ? he is at the club as a coach for the youth team. He could work one on one with Gibson passing on his knowledge.

I know there is one flaw in my argument ? we don?t know how well Gibson can cross a ball. However, I?m fairly confident that anyone who can strike a ball as well as he can should be able to put in a terrific cross.

I?ve rattled on long enough. I?d be interested to see what others think.

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