Hartlepool United analysis: John Askey's midfield dilemma for relegation run-in

The new Hartlepool United manager has already expressed how he is currently dictated by the players at his disposal having started with three centre-backs and three central midfielders in each of his first three games in charge.

Within that, however, Askey is faced with a difficult decision on a weekly basis as to who occupies those three midfield slots, in particular.

Against Walsall, largely determined by Antony Sweeney’s input given Askey had spent just one training session with his new players, Hartlepool lined up with a midfield trio of Mohamad Sylla, Nicky Featherstone and Dan Kemp.

In the two games since, that has transitioned into a three of Sylla, Kemp and the returning Callum Cooke - Cooke's return proving encouraging with a goal against Tranmere Rovers.

But has Askey found his midfield three based on the last two games to take Hartlepool through the relegation run-in?

In Cooke and Kemp, Askey has two players operating in more advanced roles as either a No.8 or a No.10 whereas Sylla, and Featherstone when being brought on in games, would naturally be classed more as the sitting midfielder.

But what of Askey’s options for the remainder of the season?

Mohamad Sylla

We’ll start by looking at the situation for the ‘sitting’ midfielder of the three with that battle, seemingly, between Sylla and Featherstone.

Sylla has been given the nod in the last two games with Askey getting more of an idea of his squad and it is a notable decision to drop his captain.

Sylla has made 28 appearances in the league since joining on a free in the summer, 22 of those as a starter, averaging 75.8 minutes per match.

The 29-year-old has one goal to his name when converting from close range against Harrogate Town on New Year's Day.

When it comes to some of the numerical data, as per Wyscout, Sylla averages 26.93 passes per game this season at a success rate of 71%, winning 66% of his 8.63 defensive duels.

The midfielder has averaged 6.02 interceptions per 90 minutes this season with a 42% success rate, with an average of 12.76 opposition half recoveries.

Sylla has recorded an average rating of 6.87 as per Who Scored, but it is perhaps his physical presence which has allowed Askey to favour him over Featherstone.

Sylla was the most involved player in the 1-1 draw with Tranmere, with 77 touches, as he demonstrated his ability to operate almost as a box-to-box dynamic midfielder with his added energy complementing the guile of both Cooke and Kemp well.

Nicky Featherstone

Featherstone, too, has featured 28 times in the league this season - 26 as a starter having missed a number of weeks with ankle ligament damage earlier in the campaign.

During that time, Featherstone’s absence was felt, but we have seen the captain come under a little bit of scrutiny in recent weeks from some supporters.

Featherstone has one assist to his name this season but, like Sylla, his game is not defined by goals and assists.

The 34-year-old is averaging 41.3 passes per game at an 89% success rate which means we rarely see him lose possession of the ball.

Defensively, Featherstone has a 64% success rate of his duels at which he averages 4.48 of per 90 minutes, with 4.73 interceptions and a similar success rate of opposition half recoveries as Sylla at 42% (of 10.98 recoveries).

Featherstone has registered an average rating of 6.34 with Who Scored this season but Askey has only seen them starting together once which came against Walsall.

In that game, each player had one touch of the ball in the opposition box while Featherstone had 17 touches in Walsall’s half compared to Sylla’s 15.

Featherstone, as per Who Scored, is the most robust of Askey’s options in the sense that he is dribbled past the least by the opposition when it comes to the so-called defensive midfield options.

Mouhamed Niang

Mouhamed Niang would likely be the next option considered for the more defensive-minded midfield role but it is difficult to gauge based on his 13 appearances this season.

Niang has had to deal with a number of injury setbacks, as well as being tasked with filling in at several positions across the field, but Askey’s decision to overlook the Senegal midfielder from his squad in the last two games could be telling.

Niang is, arguably, more combative than Featherstone and Sylla just by sheer nature of the way he conducts himself on the field and when making challenges, despite only winning 59% of his defensive duels with 10.56 opposition half recoveries per game.

Niang has averaged more passes per game (27.42) than Sylla, and tends to receive the ball more often with 13.52 receptions to Sylla’s 10.18, whereas Featherstone is entrusted, or simply shows more often, to receive the ball with 24.74 receptions on average.

But despite Niang’s slight advantage in terms of those particular stats over Sylla, the respective heatmaps of the three (Sylla, Featherstone and Niang) demonstrates the 23-year-old is not as involved as his two competitors for that position (figure 1).

Niang has a 6.37 rating as per Who Scored but has started just two games since October, in a game he provided an assist in at Swindon Town, due to injury and options elsewhere, and may find it difficult to break back into the side based on what we have seen from Askey’s approach so far.

Matt Dolan

Similar to Niang, Matt Dolan is another option in the deep-lying midfield role but is another we have seen occupy other positions - notably at centre-back.

Having initially featured regularly under Keith Curle, following his arrival from Newport County in January, Dolan has found his game time limited in recent weeks with just 38 minutes to his name across Askey’s three games in charge.

When we have seen Dolan we have seen glimpses of what he can bring in terms of his range of passing and set-piece delivery - albeit he would now find some difficulty in wrestling dead ball situations away from Cooke and Kemp.

Equally, we have seen some mistakes when loose in possession against Walsall prior to Matt Stevens’ goal for example in what has been something of a stop-start season for him.

In Dolan's first game for Hartlepool at Gillingham we saw him move back into defence, after a challenging first half in midfield as part of a 4-3-3, where he looked more comfortable.

In his seven appearances since, Dolan has featured at centre-back in four of them which suggests he is preferred more in a centre-back role when called upon.

Oliver Finney

If Askey is going to continue with two of his three midfield options being more attack-minded then Oliver Finney represents one of those options available to him.

Signed from Crewe Alexandra on transfer deadline day Finney was brought to add attacking impetus to what had been a limited attacking team.

And while we may not have seen Finney find the back of the net for Hartlepool, the ability to have a midfielder be able to break the lines has been evident as seen with his third man run behind to win a penalty against Walsall.

Of his six appearances since joining the club, Finney has had as many touches in the opposition penalty area as striker Josh Umerah.

But if Finney is to wrestle back a starting berth as one of the more advanced midfielders then it is worth looking at some of his data with regards to goals and assists.

Despite scoring 14 times in over 100 appearances for Crewe, including four from midfield last season, Finney is yet to find the back of the net this campaign for either team and has just one assist to his name - that coming in a development game for Crewe.

Although only Harrogate (41) have outscored Hartlepool (38) in the bottom half of the division, Pools have struggled for that prominent creative source with Finney sitting at 0.1 expected assists (xA) per 90 minutes and, for reference, 0.25 when it comes to expected goals (xG).

What Finney has shown, however, in his recent cameos is that if he is not starting in games then he is an option from the bench when it comes to adding an additional body in the final third which, you would hope, would result in eventually finding the back of the net or increasing his assists tally.

Callum Cooke

When Cooke signed from Bradford City in the summer he represented what felt like a significant acquisition for the club.

At 26 Cooke is still very much in the prime of his career and the hope is he can ignite that fuse of form once more.

His return from an ankle injury in the last two games has been good. Cooke made an instant impact at Tranmere when scoring his second league goal of the season to cap what manager Askey described ‘as good a goal as we’re going to score all season.’

But Cooke’s return went beyond just his goal. For 60 minutes we saw a player, seemingly, rejuvenated as he worked in tandem with Kemp alongside him.

The link-up for that goal demonstrated the qualities those two players can bring to Hartlepool for the remainder of the season.

For his goal against Tranmere, Cooke started as the No.8, with Kemp occupying as a No.10 in the half space, before bursting forward as third-man runner (figure 2).

Against Northampton Town we saw similar in reverse with Cooke receiving the ball and then threading through to Kemp, albeit without the end product.

“I thought it was a good return. I thought I did some good stuff,” said Cooke following the draw with Tranmere.

“My goal is a great goal, I’ve burst into the box, that’s what attacking midfielders do, and hopefully as the games keep coming I’ll get that match sharpness back and be back to my best.

“Kempy is a great footballer and you play better with footballers around you, it’s as simple as that.

“I started running before he picked his head up so I’d made his decision for him. It’s a good run and it’s a great pass. It’s made by both people.”

Cooke completed 97% of his passes against Tranmere with many (figure 3) showing him favouring the right side of the field where Kemp, and Jamie Sterry, often occupy - also where the goal emerged from.

Cooke has four assist to his name this season, three of those coming from corner kicks which, perhaps, shows why he has taken the burden back from Kemp upon his return.

Dan Kemp

Kemp has only been with the club for six weeks but has already established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet.

Five goals and one assist in that time shows how invaluable he can be for Hartlepool during the run-in as well as the sense of Askey having a player capable of game changing moments.

The MK Dons loanee is averaging a 7.01 rating as per Who Scored which sees him quite comfortably as Hartlepool’s standout player – something which saw him scoop February's player of the month.

Although Kemp’s pass completion percentage has dropped since Askey’s appointment, his ability to pick up more dangerous areas in the half-spaces has increased, as is also demonstrated by his improved number of touches in the opposition area of late – something which has also seen him attempt the second most shots per game in the Pools team behind Umerah (1.9-2.5).

The midfielder suffers the most fouls for Hartlepool (1.57) which shows how much he can draw the opposition in, again highlighting his impact.

Tom Crawford

Askey will also have Tom Crawford available to add to that mix after his return from an ankle injury.

Crawford has been out of action since October which means we may not see him fully up to speed until the end of the season or maybe even next season with a full pre-season behind him.

Nevertheless, one stat which will interest Askey with Crawford is his squad high when it comes to progressive runs per 90 minutes (1.79).

The midfielder has operated as the no.8 or no.10 for Pools so would be comfortable in tandem with either Cooke or Kemp should Askey continue in his approach, although he will be keen to curb the midfielder's seven bookings in 15 appearances.

Summary

There’s no denying Askey has plenty of options and combinations available to him in the centre of midfield - Tayt Trusty another who has been left out here owing to his limited game time since his loan move from Blackpool.

Although it remains early in his tenure, his decision to move away from two sitting midfielders appears to have produced more encouraging performances against Tranmere and Northampton with first team coach Sweeney suggesting the first half against Northampton was the best Pools have looked in an attacking sense.

The continued decision to leave out Featherstone will remain a talking point given his composure on the ball, yet Sylla has performed admirably in those two games alongside Cooke and Kemp.

The deep-lying role appears to be more open for competition than the two advanced positions with the early form of Cooke and Kemp offering hope of success in the relegation run-in.

It was said before Askey’s arrival he tends to favour more of a 4-3-3 approach which means some of these players may be playing for their position in the team next season, if that is the way Askey will transition, regardless of the outcome of this campaign.

But with a tough schedule coming up, Askey may mix things up against the likes of league leaders Leyton Orient and reintroduce two holding midfielders as players continue to jockey for position.

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