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After a qu from @HOLDSWORTH___ we were chatting on @AllStatsArentWe patreon last night about attributes we'd be looking for in the Leeds team. My answer was somebody who moves the ball quickly and smartly and who has the agility to elude the press and break forwards. {thread}
I was thinking about this some more and I realised that Leeds have already got this player and his name is Jamie Shackleton.
In my thread about Rodrigo the other day I mentioned him turning a lot and how he creates in that way. Shack is the opposite. He moves the ball on with his first or second touch as much as possible. Move the ball, run forwards. If Harrison had been alive to it, the 1-2 was on.
Again, for Raphinha's goal against WBA, look how he draws 3 defenders to him with his movement but releases the ball so quickly that they're all taken out of the equation.
This example is taken from the build up to the first goal v Villa. He's not under pressure when he plays this pass so he had plenty of time to look forwards and carry the ball forwards. Instead, he knew exactly what he wanted to do before he did it and he found Rodrigo in space.
This is a beauty. Quick touch to control and back round the corner with his weaker foot and Costa doesn't have to break stride. His movement in the first place is excellent as well. Running from deep to be an option in the box.
This is from last season, just before he picked up an injury that denied him a proper run in the team. He could have looked to run with the ball here, but he made the right choice to move it quickly. Then look at the burst of pace to support the attack.
As for the ability to elude the press: I love this example. Burnley had pushed Leeds back in this half and the Whites needed more players to show this quality when receiving. His first touch is key, he takes it back towards his own goal to protect it...
then he showed his excellent agility to swivel at the hips, leave his man behind and break the press. Again, he then moved the ball on quickly to Hernandez.
This example comes with a man running straight at him when he already has the ball under control. This time he just shifts his body weight, drops a shoulder and the defender has over committed and he's away.
The final example is similar but in this case, he's cramped right up against the touchline and he's still able to pull the move off.
It's clear that KP, Klich, Rodrigo is Marcelo's first-choice midfield. We know that he rates Shackleton highly as I believe he's the first youngster he gave a debut to and he's had the sticking power to stay around the first-team when others haven't managed it.
As I mentioned, he's been unlucky with injuries, particularly just when it looked like he'd get a run last season. This season he had the chance to start v Leicester but the balance was off as I believe Marcelo would acknowledge starting Klich in DM was an error in that game.
As a lot have said and as I mentioned in the Rodrigo thread, sometimes it feels like our midfield balance isn't right. There are certain games where Shackleton coming into the 11 for Rodrigo could be very beneficial. I'm sure he'll make lots more cameos as the season goes on.
However, he's one player that I'd really love to see have a run of games in midfield so we could finally get a feel for how good he really is. There's huge potential there and he offers us something nobody else does in this team.
