Now that the home straight is underway, we are entering the part of the season where, even though we are not safe enough to look too far ahead, we can look back and evaluate the good, bad, and ugly of this footballing year.
It’s a credit to the entire team that there isn’t always a single standout player who wins every accolade when asking Reading supporters who their player of the year has been. Players like Lewis Wing, Femi Azeez, Tyler Bindon, Sam Smith, and Harvey Knibbs are frequently mentioned; these players have all had successful seasons thus far for the team. Perhaps even Nelson Abbey, who left midway through, was a literal and figurative left-fielder. You know who, though, isn’t mentioned? Andy Yiadom.
He has undoubtedly had a successful season for us. But he hasn’t exactly stood out in our eyes. But, there are Royals who will become uneasy if you bring up the prospect of dropping him from the starting lineup. With his leadership and experience, he serves as our safety net. This is especially true considering that our other regular defenders are 19 (Tyler Bindon), 22 (Amadou Mbengue), 23 (Clinton Mola), and 21 (Jeriel Dorsett). We feel a little bit safer knowing that Yiadom is thirty-two years old, right?
However, Yiadom has missed a few games so far this year. This has been ensured by two red cards—one of which was entirely his fault—and an injury. And among those who have filled in, left-back-nominally Clinton Mola has distinguished himself the most. Indeed, to the extent that it seems as though he has performed in the right-back position in a Reading shirt at his best.
This raises the question of whether Mola, not Yiadom, is currently our best right-back. Are we clinging to Yiadom because we are sentimental? Considering that Rubén Sellés started with Mola over Yiadom for the Bolton Wanderers loss on Easter Monday, it appears that he is contemplating the same thing as I did after the Good Friday match against Northampton Town. I examine the statistics (obtained from the excellent WhoScored) to see what they have to say and whether there is a clear-cut conclusion.
Games played at right-back and the respective results
There are numerous underlying mitigating factors and flexible circumstances that can affect a result, making it not the most definitive metric. Before we delve further into the underlying data, though, this will be the main focus of the headline.
Due to the small sample size and reasonably strong performance in those games, the comparisons are unquestionably more in favour of Mola at right-back. As an attempt to provide some context, I’ve also highlighted Mola’s comments as a left-back. The points-per-game (PPG) metric is not a precise science; rather, it is a guideline because it is difficult to determine the impact of a player entering the game as a substitute, unless they are a goal scorer or provider (neither of which have happened) or directly responsible for a goal that was given up (which neither of them have done in any substitute appearances that I can recall).
Based on the available data, it is reasonable to infer two conclusions: first, Yiadom and Mola have recorded comparable numbers from right- and left-back positions, respectively; second, given the small sample size, it is clear why Sellés is looking into the possibility of using Mola as a starting right-back going forward.
What key stats have they recorded playing at right-back?
For both players, these numbers are broken down into three categories: passing, offensive, and defensive. These figures will help us better understand each player’s individual season-long contributions to the team, as well as their areas of strength and development.
Selles encourages the wingers to cut inside and give the full-back space to overlap, regardless of the formation we have used. For this reason, right-footed players Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan, Paul Mukairu, and Ben Elliott primarily played off the left, while left-footed player Femi Azeez played on the right wing.
Since the full-backs on this team are expected to contribute both defensively and offensively, and because passing is essential for transitions (the movement from defence to attack), it would be ideal to see a mix of positive numbers in all three categories. The average statistics for each game are as follows:
Once more, the sample size for Mola’s right-back statistics is small. For instance, he took four shots against Bolton, which significantly increased his total. What do these statistics tell us all in all?
Even with the five goals given up at Bolton, Mola has statistically performed better defensively when playing right back. The only category where Mola’s total is lower than Yiadom’s is tackles, but this is more than made up for by the fact that Mola intercepts more passes than Yiadom does, and interceptions are typically a quick way to read the game and avoid having to make a tackle.
But as a right-back, Yiadom produces far more offensively than Mola does. Is it possible that Mola plays more inverted and takes up central positions in the midfield while Yiadom pushes higher up the pitch?
In terms of passing statistics, Mola appears to be recording more passes with greater accuracy than Yiadom from right-back while making fewer crucial passes overall. To generate opportunities higher up the pitch, Yiadom may be taking more positive chances with the ball, as indicated by the key passes factor, which would account for the slight decline in accuracy and success rates.
I find this surprising all around. It appears that Yiadom is registering more positive defensive numbers and Mola is registering more positive attacking numbers, which is opposite of what I had anticipated. Why does this occur? It would seem that they have very different playing styles, but why is that the case?
How do their playing styles differ?
Interestingly, despite Mola having marginally higher numbers, the stats indicate that Yiadom’s defensive contribution is a strong component of his overall game. It’s also noteworthy that, despite Yiadom’s efforts, it appears that most of them are unsuccessful. But is this because of his accuracy or the receiving player’s control?
Based mostly on his defensive output, Mola’s statistics suggest that he is the kind of player that creates positive actions for Reading during possession of the ball by using good anticipation, reading of the game, and ball retention.
But as we can see, his style of play is not conducive to the more attacking side of the game. To play in either Azeez ahead of him on the right or Ehibhatiomhan/Mukairu ahead of him on the left, we would need to see more long balls, through balls, or crosses. This raises the question of whether Mola, in a system where Sellés needs them to provide width, is a natural full-back.
How do their respective styles influence the team around them?
I’ll start this investigation by examining the heat maps for the last three games in which Yiadom and Mola have both started at right-back exclusively. The heat maps serve as a visual representation of their average positions on the field and the movements they make during play, allowing us to better understand the terrain they cover and the areas of the field where their movements contribute to the overall shape.
Andy Yiadom vs Lincoln City
Here, we can observe that Yiadom genuinely hugs the touchline and hardly ever veers off to the centre. Even though he spends the majority of his time on defence, he frequently crosses the halfway line to aid in the attack. This will free up Azeez to cut inside and assist Sam Smith with the attacking overloads.
In contrast to Yiadom, Mola appears to play a very different kind of full-back position on the right side. It’s evident that he doesn’t play forward as much, with the exception of the 4-0 victory over Cambridge United (possibly due to more attacking support, maybe not). Although he is quite mobile, it is noticeable that he frequently drifts inward and occasionally even pushes over to cover the left side of the field.
While Yiadom’s movement would naturally better support Azeez, Mola’s from the right would naturally free up Lewis Wing to push forward and support the attack, as Mola is covering the central ground here to allow him more freedom to do this. Typically when Yiadom pushes forward, Wing as the right-sided double-pivot midfielder will drop a little deeper into something like a “quarterback” role, in order to cover the space.
Since there is a clear plan in place for both situations to allow additional attacking support from deeper to push forward while one player provides defensive cover, neither approach is intrinsically right or incorrect.
But if I had to choose between Wing and Yiadom as an attacking outlet, I would naturally favour Wing because she can move the ball further forward. Azeez may suffer from this as well, though, since he will have to be more alert to threats and ready to retreat if Yiadom continues to press.
What does this tell us?
I went into this with an open mind, so some things, like how Yiadom and Mola are positioned very differently on heatmaps, didn’t surprise me. Though some defensive stats are fairly consistent, a trend has emerged that I was not initially aware of. A deeper examination of the stats revealed to me how completely differently both players approach the full-back role from the right.
I posed the query: is Mola the superior choice for a right-back? The answer is no, given the style of play we use and the expectation of an overlapping full-back to assist Azeez. Though Yiadom produces comparatively less offensive content, it performs this function better. Additionally, we are unable to quantify the space that Azeez creates during his runs, which gives the opposing defence more to consider and more room for Azeez to run into.
It appears that Mola has performed better as a right-back than a left-back, despite the small sample sizes. However, it appears that he feels more at ease working centrally. This seems to be aided by his versatility, as he can move between the midfield and back line to link plays and provide cover.
The statistics also demonstrate Mola’s skill at playing short passes to move the ball forward, making him a strong aerial threat. Given his comfort with the ball and strong defensive output, these are precisely the kinds of statistical performances we would expect a good defensive midfielder to produce for us. We are in desperate need of a defensive midfielder. This raises an entirely different query, though: are we really using Mola to his full potential?
Verdict
We can deduce the following three conclusions:
Yiadom is still our best choice at right back because of the way Sellés likes to set up the team with his playing style.
Although Mola has shown well in the right-back position, it seems that he would be more effective playing as a defensive midfielder, or as a “6,” if you will. The coaching staff should look into this to see if it is a viable option for Mola’s development.
One of the squad’s biggest “must solve” roles is left-back, and it will take a new set of legs to fill it over the summer.
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