da dobrowin： This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
da prosport bet： Looks like we’re slowly moving towards plans E & F for Leeds United.
Given the injuries that have succumbed the Leeds side so far this season, Marcelo Bielsa has had to come up with several tweaks to see his side through, most notably playing Stuart Dallas there despite naturally being a wide man.
Tyler Robers, more commonly a forward, played in a slightly deeper role last Saturday so that was another glimpse supporters had of seeing someone slightly out of position.
The Wales international replaced Mateusz Klich on the hour mark, and given they scored the winner with him on the pitch, it might well provoke Bielsa into starting him.
As shown in the Dallas scenario, Bielsa isn’t scared of trying people out in an ‘unnatural’ position, but would replacing Klich with someone like Roberts in midfield actually be a good idea?
If you look at the numbers, definitely not.
On the chalkboard
Speaking during a Q&A on The Athletic, Phil Hay reported that Bielsa had considered the option of playing Welshman Roberts in midfield in place of Klich against Preston North End.
However, the biggest concern that Leeds fans should have when faced with the prospect of Tyler Roberts in midfield is his passing ability.
Whilst he may have a high pass completion rate for his national side at 85.5%, that number drops significantly when he steps out for the Whites, down to as low as 65.9%.
Not only that, but he averages just 8.2 passes per game and 0.2 each for long balls, through balls and key passes (all via WhoScored).
Now whilst those numbers are somewhat mitigated by the fact he’s been reduced to a substitute’s role so far this season, even if you were to extrapolate them over the course of a game, they still don’t exactly paint the best picture.
If you play in midfield, you have to be creative, and Roberts just lacks that spark that would give you faith he’d be able to fulfil the role – especially given that Klich registers 2.5 key passes each game in a so far ever-present campaign.
The majority of the former’s assists throughout his career have come when he’s played across the front three (via Transfermarkt), but to be asked to be creative from the middle of the park is a different matter entirely and something that might not work in Leeds’ favour.