By Tim Sigsworth
In last night’s game against Bolton Wanderers, George Saville made his full Boro debut. His performance was impressive, especially when you consider that he only met his new teammates for the first time 10 days ago because of the international break.
He seamlessly fitted into his role as one of the two advanced central midfielders used by Pulis and grabbed the opening goal of the game, too. Certain aspects of his play help to explain why Pulis saw fit to spend £7m on him, and this is what I’ll now try to explain.
When his transfer was announced, many Boro fans – myself included – wondered why the club had decided to spend such a large sum of money to strengthen a midfield that already featured the likes of Adam Clayton, Jonny Howson, Mo Besic, Paddy McNair and the in-form Lewis Wing.
Question marks remain over why Lewis Wing hasn’t been given the chance to build on his strong early season performances, but Saville has shown why he was brought in nonetheless.
Firstly, he’s technically able. Having come through the Chelsea youth ranks, his ability to pick a pass and read the game is undoubted and as a result he has the skill to get the ball moving and push Boro further up the pitch as Pulis likes his advanced midfielders to do.
Throughout yesterday evening’s match he spread the play, passed to feet and buzzed around in the hope of receiving and then distributing the ball to his more attack-minded teammates. He also dropped into a false full-back position at times where he would take possession of the ball in George Friend or Ryan Shotton’s position. This allowed the full-backs to push up the pitch and provide width to the team’s attacking play and therefore stretch Bolton’s compact five-man defence.
His calmness on the ball is astounding too. He seems incredibly relaxed, almost lazy, when the ball is at his feet, although this is partly due to his posture. This can be seen as a benefit though, because every so often an opposition player is going to underestimate his spacial awareness. By drawing opponents towards him, space that can be exploited is created.
On several occasions during the game he also made runs into the box. After just failing to get onto a deep Jordan Hugill header in the 18th minute, he opened his account for the Boro 16 minutes later as he finished with confidence after Jordan Hugill’s pressure on Mark Beevers set the ball loose.
But why shouldn’t he be confident? Despite his slender stature, he riggled out of situations with and held off physical pressure from players much taller and bulkier on multiple occasions throughout. There’s no need to be nervous about who’s around you when you have the ability to get out of tight situations.
Saville also has plenty of experience. He’s played 44 games for Brentford, 57 for Wolves and 67 for Millwall. He knows what this level of football is all about and is used to playing three games a week from September to May, something that cannot be said for Lewis Wing.
After all, Wing was playing part-time football in the Northern League as recently as 2017. There’s no certainty that he could sustain his early-season performance levels over the entirety of a 50+ game season. Saville on the other hand, proved his capability at this level last season as the 44 games he played in the Championship for Millwall helped the Lions to an unlikely 8th place finish.
He’s also played seven games for Northern Ireland, and so knows all about playing on the biggest stage despite being 25 years old. If you consider that Adam Clayton is 29, Jonny Howson is 30 and Grant Leadbitter is 32, then the youthful dynamism he provides is a real benefit to Boro’s strength in depth.
The centre of Boro’s midfield is now heavily packed with Championship-quality players. This competition could prove to be of great benefit because it can keep everyone on their toes and performing as well as they can to keep their place in the team. However, it’s important that Pulis establishes a favoured combination and doesn’t mix and match too often otherwise the over-saturation of Garry Monk’s midfield could yet return.
Time will tell whether George Saville can build on his strong full debut and become a first-team fixture for the Boro, but here’s to hoping that he can help to minimise complacency within the squad through strong performances.
0 comments:
Post a Comment