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| Paulo, pointing out some interesting truths... |
One of the most pleasurable things about lockdown has been watching James Husband's transformation from a generic looking young ex Premier League footballer to a mystical figure, possibly about to embark on a backpacking trek round India armed with only a map and a few packs of giant rizlas.
In a footballing sense, Husband has held off the challenge of fragile Luke Garbutt and kept hold of the left back berth. In terms of 'who looks most like an Italian defender from the mid 90s' Garbutt was way ahead at first, but Husband has come roaring back, first seeking to imitate Garbutt's alice band look, then going ahead of him with a top knot/beard combo that screams 'craft ale loving hipster' even on the less than crisp iFollow screen.
Doubts about his hairstyle aside, I find it hard to fathom why Husband isn't more appreciated than he is. For Larry, he slogged his guts out. There were few players who gave more consistently wholehearted displays and more than once last year, I thought to myself 'Husband kept trying when it looked like others had given up' - He also got handed a bum deal, playing left back but also sort of playing left midfield at the same time in the weird lopsided formation Larry favoured for no apparent reason. Husband's efforts were perhaps best appreciated when anyone else tried to play that strange two positions at once role and looked shite doing so.
This year, he got sent off twice early in the season, which frankly, wasn't the best contribution in the world, but the idea of playing him at centre half wasn't really drawn from the book of great managerial ideas either. Since then, Critch has worked out it might be a plan to play him at left back and a centre half at centre half and for the first time in his Pool career he's had the luxury of playing left back in a formation that actually makes sense.
Husband in numbers: (rated against other League 1 players who've played ten or more games at left back)
He currently ranks as the most difficult left back in the league to beat.
He has made the 4th most interceptions of any left back
His perceived weakness is against aerial balls, but he's 6th out of 20 left backs in terms of aerial challenges won.
He has the 3rd least 'unsuccessful touches' of all left backs in the division.
He has the 3rd least 'unsuccessful touches' of all left backs in the division.
He's clearly not as strong in terms of attacking:
His delivery of long balls is 8th (of 20 players) for accuracy
His delivery of accurate short passes puts him 9th of 20
Where he falls down a bit is his crossing and he's ranked 19/20 in terms of accurate crossing.
Where he falls down a bit is his crossing and he's ranked 19/20 in terms of accurate crossing.
Looking at him as an individual is all fine but what sort of impact does he have on the team?
Our record starting Husband at left back looks pretty good.
P12 W8 D2 L2
Compare this to fragile Luke's record (starts only)
P6 W1 D1 L4
Add in Demi Mitchell's record
P7 W2 D0 L5
Now, clearly, Garbutt or Mitchell aren't the only factor in the results above and Garbutt turned in some really good displays in the cup in particular, but the chatter that 'Husband isn't the sort of player that gets you promoted' is the sort of thing that you hear when browsing the tangerine twittersphere but looking at the record tells you something quite different.
Here's a really simple stat: (starts and league games only)
Points per game with Husband at left back: 2.17
Points per game without Husband at left back: 0.77
It seems to me that what Husband brings is dependability, communication and work rate as well as simply being a really good tackler. He doesn't get as many crosses in as Garbutt but he does seem to work well with Kaikai who looks more comfortable with a defensively solid player behind him. He's a little vulnerable to a ball over his head, which is more a positional thing that his ability in the air, but all players have weaker parts of their game and we can't have it both ways, castigating him for a lack of attacking endeavour and then chiding him when he's simultaneously not slotted perfectly in at left back.
You get promoted with good players, yes, but you also get promoted with hard work, leadership and endeavour and Husband epitomises those attributes and in recent games has shown some lovely touches going forward, suggesting finally getting to play as a plain and simple left back might be suiting him and developing his confidence. His earlier career stats (from the Championship) suggests he's actually better at running with the ball than this year illustrates and he's also never put as few crosses across or key passes through before either, so there's room for believing that he can offer a bit more going forward on top of his defensive solidity.
The big question though, is what next for his hair? Dye? Shaven sides? White man's dreadlocks? Who knows...
I think it's about time the lad (and his top knot) got some love.
Compare this to fragile Luke's record (starts only)
P6 W1 D1 L4
Add in Demi Mitchell's record
P7 W2 D0 L5
Now, clearly, Garbutt or Mitchell aren't the only factor in the results above and Garbutt turned in some really good displays in the cup in particular, but the chatter that 'Husband isn't the sort of player that gets you promoted' is the sort of thing that you hear when browsing the tangerine twittersphere but looking at the record tells you something quite different.
Here's a really simple stat: (starts and league games only)
Points per game with Husband at left back: 2.17
Points per game without Husband at left back: 0.77
It seems to me that what Husband brings is dependability, communication and work rate as well as simply being a really good tackler. He doesn't get as many crosses in as Garbutt but he does seem to work well with Kaikai who looks more comfortable with a defensively solid player behind him. He's a little vulnerable to a ball over his head, which is more a positional thing that his ability in the air, but all players have weaker parts of their game and we can't have it both ways, castigating him for a lack of attacking endeavour and then chiding him when he's simultaneously not slotted perfectly in at left back.
You get promoted with good players, yes, but you also get promoted with hard work, leadership and endeavour and Husband epitomises those attributes and in recent games has shown some lovely touches going forward, suggesting finally getting to play as a plain and simple left back might be suiting him and developing his confidence. His earlier career stats (from the Championship) suggests he's actually better at running with the ball than this year illustrates and he's also never put as few crosses across or key passes through before either, so there's room for believing that he can offer a bit more going forward on top of his defensive solidity.
The big question though, is what next for his hair? Dye? Shaven sides? White man's dreadlocks? Who knows...
I think it's about time the lad (and his top knot) got some love.
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