A look at Steve De Ridder and how he could play a crucial role for Saints.
Before I start let me confirm that I like Steve De Ridder as a player and that I think he has a big part to play in this season, however with football now being a squad game, I feel that this role may best be served as it was at Reading on Saturday by coming off the bench.
The term "SuperSub" is nothing new, perhaps the first recipient of this title was David Fairclough of Liverpool in the mid to late 70's when he started games he never seemed to have the same impact as he did when coming off the bench, back then with only one sub allowed it was a little different, however no one could put their finger on it just why there was such a difference in his play when he came off the bench.
I feel that Steve De Ridder's role at Saints will be in a similar role, De Ridder has great pace and skill of that there is no doubt, however the question mark over his ability is not concerning this but in his ability to make the right decision in the final third, some will question why i say this, but I would point in two directions, the first is if he had this then we wouldnt have got a sniff of him at the price we did and the second is to look at the times he has started, in two of the games he showed a piece of amazing skill and acceleration that left him and teamamtes running at the last line of defence with men spare, on at least two occasions he made the wrong decision when we really should have scored, in his one league start he was substituted around the hour mark.
In that one sLeague start against Watford De Ridder was good in the opening 20 minutes but then died out and this is perhaps a clue as to why he is an impact player rather than a starter. What happened in that Watford game was that it took the Watford defence 20 minutes to work out how to play him, once they did that and didnt allow him to get the ball behind them and run, his effectiveness diminished greatly, you find this a lot with fast wide players, a good full back will soon work them out.
However it takes 20 minues or so to do that and that is why his best games will usually come from the bench, coming on late in the game the defenders dont have the time to work him out and running at tiring legs he can wreak havoc, of course it doesnt always work out like this and there will be times he will have some great games when starting but in the main it will be coming off the bench where he will have his best impact.
In recent times Michail Antonio best represented this at St Mary's, when he started games he would sometimes be burnt out within the half hour, on more than one occasion Wycombe away springs to mind he was substituted long before half time, such was his inneffectiveness, but coming on in the last 20 minutes his pace looked frightening, as i said though nothing is an exact science and his best starting game came at Wembley.
This opinion is not intended to be derogatory to De Ridder as i stated i think he is a good player and will have a big impact, I just think it will be as a substitute and not as a player in the starting line up, Im sure many will howl with derision, but I would say to them step back and have a little think, often peoples minds are blined by pace, a fast winger always looks good, but its not just about speed, its also about delivery, both in scoring and creating chances, Guly will never look as good as De Ridder because his style is not one of speed, but look at his work rate and then look at goals scored and made and it will start to show why he should start most games, that wont do him a lot of favours with the crowd, because he will soften up the full back enabling De Ridder to deliver the sucker punchs.
I look forward to watching De Ridder this season, as i said he will have a big impact, but football is a squad game, with so many subs available for tactical reasons, its no longer a case of being dropped if you arent in the starting line up, its about plaaying a role in the overall big picture and i feel that Steve De Ridders big role will be coming off the bench and destroying players in the final third of the game.