Enzo Le Fee’s X factor
One thing that we learned from last season is that Enzo Le Fee is more effective when operating from a central position. He just has that creative vision to open up defences and cause problems. His tidy footwork and ability to find space was certainly an important factor in his ability to work out wide but playing centrally could really open the pitch up for him.
Our midfield last season was made up of Dan Neil, Jobe Bellingham and occasionally Chris Rigg. Trai Hume would also tuck in between a right back and a CDM role. It was nicely balance led centre midfield with the power and pace of Jobe, the passing and vision Neil and the tenacity of Rigg meant we were very good at counter attacking football. It was never about the control that say a Jordan Henderson type player can give you. It was win the ball and get it forward anyway you can. While you could argue, it wasn’t always as entertaining as some of Tony Mowbray’s (see Jack Clarke’s goal vs Reading) it was exciting and unpredictable at times. Enzo Le Fee added to that in January when the Frenchman signed, there were games where he was a cheat code. Making experienced established EFL defenders like Luke Ayling look Sunday League.
The problem of getting Le Fee into the middle is, which part of the midfield do you sacrifice to fit Enzo in? What are you willing to lose? The power of Jobe? The precision and defending of Dan Neil? Riggs Energy and fight? If you took anything out of that midfield, it makes you substantially weaker. We seen that when Jobe was suspended or injured.
The signing of Xhaka can solve that problem because for 70 minutes of a match, you can have the control and strength of Xhaka, matched with the magic of Le Fee and a choice of Diara, Sadiki, Neil or Rigg. What Xhaka brings other than all of his already outstanding qualities is balance. He will let 2 other players cause havoc and he can pick up the pieces when it goes wrong. As a former Arsenal player, we know automatically he’s good on the ball. I don’t think Xhaka will play 90mins of every game, I think he will 65-70mins each week and hand the baton on. I could be wrong but he allows us to flip the script and play a different way. Again, he can come on at 70 mins and see you through a backs to the walls type game.
I think the club have been after this sort of player for a while and seeing the talent we have in development means that he could very much be replaceable in a year or 2.
Just to evidence my point around the importance of the midfield and how it factors in. Let’s take a trip back to the play off final against Sheffield United. The game won, in the end, in the centre of the park. After Gustavo Hamer and Dan Neil left the pitch the game opened up to the benefit of Sunderland, because the blades had lost their focal point in midfield they couldn’t get a tune going. Despite Wilders attempts to add pace and power upfront, he was trying to pin us back into defending. It didn’t work because that’s how we like to play on the counter in quick transitions. Take our fist goal, Enzo and Roberts found themselves in the middle of the pitch. That’s where the space was. United didn’t plug the gap left by players they took off. They didn’t factor in that losing Hamer would cost them so much and that led not only to Sunderland’s first goal, but their second goal as well. A loose pass from Moore picked up in the middle by Tommy Watson, the rest is history.
As good and as technical as Le Fee is, he’s not a traditional number 6 or 8. So you need 1 or 2 midfielders to let him do his thing. It gives him the freedom to play without fear because he has someone to back him up if it doesn’t go to plan. The signings of Diarra and Sadiki has also demonstrated that Regis Le Bris is willing to play Enzo down the middle. Let’s see what happens with this one but Xhaka may be a final puzzle piece in a very interesting season.
