The number 10 role is arguably one of the most important roles in football.
It requires a unique set of abilities that only a few players possess.
The 10 must always be readily available to receive the ball in dangerous pockets of space.
They must also be among the main goal contributors, taking on the responsibility of creating and scoring chances.
Defensively, their role normally requires being part of the first line of defence, pressing aggressively and screening forward passes from the opposition.
This season, the League of Ireland has seen some impressive performances from three number 10s.
Derry City’s Will Patching, Waterford’s Ben McCormack and Sligo Rovers’s Ellis Chapman.
Each player has their own strength that they bring to this role and have been key contributors to the success of all three sides.
In this League Of Ireland tactical analysis and scout report, we will provide an in-depth analysis of four key areas of the number 10 role and how all three players have demonstrated these qualities that help them thrive in their roles as part of their respective teams’ tactics.
The positioning of each player, their ability to create, the goal threat they provide, and their defensive capabilities will also be closely studied.
Positioning
McCormack is like every good number 10.
He’s never afraid to take the ball in tight gaps.
Through his technical ability, he is able to control the ball even when under significant pressure and maintain possession.
However, McCormack has a real tendency to drift out wide to the right in an effort to escape marking when free space is restricted in the middle of the pitch.
He averages 1.82 crosses per 90.
In this situation, McCormack peels out wide, making himself available for the ball.
After receiving the ball in a large amount of space, he’s able to get his head up and deliver a wicked cross into the box, which is headed home by a teammate.
Will Patching, similarly to McCormack, has the ability to take up positions in between the opposition’s midfield and defensive line.
Despite often picking up good positions in this area, he can sometimes lose the ball in tight areas.
He ranks the eighth highest for having given away possession.
Patching has the ability to make runs in the channels, taking advantage of the free role that he’s been given.
In this scenario, Derry breaks forward and pulls out wide, taking advantage of the free space left in the wide areas.
This eventually leads to Patching receiving the ball, progressing, and then delivering a cross.
Ellis Chapman occupies central areas, higher up the pitch, operating at times as a second striker.
Chapman has a real desire to penetrate the opposition’s backline, with the 23-year-old often making runs beyond his centre-forward.
He has contributed the fifth-most goals in the League of Ireland, with a combined total of 11 goals and assists.
His tendency to stay central has been a large determining factor for this success.
Here, we see Chapman approaching the ball, dragging an opposition defender with him.
This creates space behind the opposition’s defence, which Chapman can exploit.
The Leicester City academy product breaks forward and gets behind the opposition’s defence, with a teammate picking out Chapman’s dangerous run.
He then eventually delivers a brilliant cross that leads to a goal
Creativity
McCormack has chipped into Waterford’s expectations, exceeding performances with his ability to create chances.
This season, he has averaged 2.36 passes into the penalty area and nine progressive passes. McCormack regularly creates chances from set pieces.
More than a third of Waterford’s corners and free kicks have produced a shot this season.
His corners are deadly, and his ability to deliver wide free kicks causes significant issues in opposition defences.
In this situation, McCormack is taking a free kick from out wide.
He delivers a ball with immense pace and whip.
This makes it difficult to defend against, and only a slight touch by a teammate will send it into the net.
The ball reaches the head of his teammate, who puts the ball agonisingly wide.
Patching has proven to be one of the league’s most creative players this season.
The former Manchester City youth player has created the second-most big chances, seventh-most key passes, and fifth-most through balls in the League of Ireland this season.
Despite this, many of the chances he creates come from wide positions.
Here, Patching is wide on the right, supporting the attack building down the flank.
He is able to deliver a dangerous ball, which is eventually headed into the back of the net.
Chapman has also been effective at creating chances.
He has three assists to his name and created the fifth-most ‘big chances’ in the League of Ireland.
However, he has managed to average only 0.6 key passes per 90.
Chapman still has a high level of technical quality, which allows him to provide chances for his teammates despite his relatively low chance creation numbers.
In this scenario, he plays an incredible through ball, taking out multiple players and putting his teammate one-on-one with the keeper.
Goalscoring
Goalscoring is an area that McCormack must seek to improve in his game.
He’s so far only managed to find the net twice with an expected goals total of 1.98.
McCormack, when compared to other attacking midfielders in the League of Ireland, has a percentile rank of 21.4% for shots per 90.
The quality of shots the few shots that McCormack has taken has been poor.
The 21-year-old’s average expected goals tally is 0.09 per shot.
Patching similarly has a relatively low expected goals-per-shot average of 0.07.
However, he has had the majority of his shots from outside the box.
This has led to him scoring some exquisite goals this season from long-range.
Only 11 of Patching’s 41 shots have come from inside the box.
As previously discussed, Patching’s tendency to drift out wide limits the number of clear-cut opportunities he has in the opponent’s box.
This may hamper Patching’s game to avoid drifting into spaces where he can be creative and focus on getting into the penalty area.
Yet he’s proven from some of the quality of his finishing this season the need for him to make more of an effort to be in the box.
Chapman is head and shoulders above Patching and McCormack in terms of goalscoring.
He scored seven non-penalty goals and was one of the league’s most clinical midfielders.
Having scored seven goals in 35 shots, he has a conversion rate of 20%, the second highest amongst midfielders in the League of Ireland who have played more than 10 games.
Chapman shows a real desire to get into the box.
He’s significantly more shots inside the area than McCormack and Patching, highlighting the impact of getting into the penalty area.
Chapman combines this with his ability to score long-range efforts.
He has scored some incredible goals from outside the area this season that no keeper would be able to save.
His diversity when finishing makes him a real threat and perhaps the most complete goalscoring midfielder in Ireland.
Pressing
McCormack has been relatively successful defensively compared with attacking midfielders in the League of Ireland.
He has a percentile rank of 87.3% for defensive duel win percentage per 90.
He also has an impressive number of high regains, 26.
In this scenario, McCormack is part of a group of players who are intensely pressing in the opponent’s half.
McCormack ends up nicking the ball close to the opponent’s box.
This sees him breaking into the area and getting a shot off at the keeper.
This is one of 7 dangerous counter-pressing recoveries that McCormack has completed this season.
Among the three midfielders, Patching shines in terms of pressing.
Having 36 high regains and 53 counter-pressing recoveries.
Patching’s ability to win the ball high up the pitch isn’t predominantly down to his ability to press 1v1.
He also has an excellent ability at getting onto second balls in the opponent’s half.
Here, a long ball is headed away by an opponent back into the midfield.
Patching is the first player on the pitch to get to the ball.
He then protects the ball and looks to progress play.
Chapman has the lowest number of high regains out of the three attacking midfielders, 22.
Despite this, he does provide a lot to his team defensively.
When compared with attacking midfielders in the League of Ireland, he has a percentile rank of 91.9% for defensive duel win percentage per 90.
One of Chapman’s greatest strengths is his ability to make recovery runs once his team’s initial press is beaten.
In this situation, Chapman makes a recovery run when the opposition have attempted to progress down the flank after beating the initial press.
Chapman uses his strength and easily wins the ball back.
He then breaks forward, starting a dangerous attack for his team.
Conclusion
In conclusion, all three players are very unique.
They all have qualities that make them stand out from their peers.
McCormack’s ability to take the ball in tight areas, Patching’s creativity and Chapman’s goalscoring were all highlighted.
All three will be players who will either continue to impress in the League of Ireland for years to come or will make the step up to a higher level.
All three players will have qualities that teams throughout England and other nations are looking for.
