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“Ryan Bertrand. Left-back by trade, right-back tonight. Your thoughts Andy Hinchcliffe.”
It was 18 seconds into Wednesday night’s game when a sense of surprise crept into Martin Tyler’s voice. A long ball over the top had gone out of play, giving Tyler a fleeting moment to recognise Ryan Bertrand was playing on the wrong side, positioned as a nominal right-back. The Sky cameras were also alert to the unusual proclamation, detecting the commentator’s observation and ensuing to operate a close-up shot of Bertrand running back to the halfway line.
While that pesky Manchester rain once again made for goals to be shipped and for individual errors to be littered – both only adding that sense of bemusement every time the opposition team from that city wheeled away in celebration – Kyle Walker-Peters remained ensconced in his seat, on the bench.
On Wednesday night, Ralph Hasenhuttl was adamant he would not be haunted by the ghost of injury again – once bitten, twice shy if you like. A similar narrative could have transpired as it did in February, in Southampton’s FA Cup victory at Wolves. After being rushed back from injury, Walker-Peters was back in the side for the tie, only to pull up again three days later against the same opposition.
But this time, Hasenhuttl chose his cards wisely and close to his chest. Having played 90 minutes three days before against Sheffield United, the Austrian left Walker-Peters to graze on the bench, recharging the budding batteries in time for a much more winnable, fixture defining clash against Brighton this weekend.
Not only did the change cause further headaches for Hasenhuttl in deciding who might be able to fill the cavernous void, but further underlined how utterly indispensable ‘KWP’ is to the ball-playing capabilities of this side.
With modern day football asking full-backs to do more than ever before and their widespread remit reaching unprecedented levels of mental and psychical fatigue, Walker-Peters’ role at Southampton is no different. He is an essential conduit for the team to switch play and provide a right-sided slant to attacks – without him, attacks quickly become lopsided and left-side heavy.
Build-up play soon becomes prosaic and predictable, with Southampton funnelling attacks exclusively down their left, usually with Ryan Bertrand and a varying winger in front.
Saints’ worst performances and run of form has been when Walker-Peters has been consigned to the sidelines and Hasenhuttl is forced to moonlight another player – James Ward-Prowse, Jan Bednarek and Bertrand have all tried to plug the gap – into playing that role.
The drawbacks are obvious. Despite Hasenhuttl giving meticulous thought in trying to solve the right-back riddle, no one has proven quite as adept at offering the attacking guise or influential tilt Walker-Peters offers to the team. As much as he tried, Hasenhuttl simply could not conceal the naked truth of just how influential Walker-Peters is and what a disadvantage it is when he isn’t there.
The Walker-Peters/Stuart Armstrong partnership is arguably the most fluid, productive partnership within the team. Throughout the campaign, the right-sided pair have shown a natural understanding of who should hold width and who should recognise the positional trigger to come off the flank and play in-between the lines. Both have proven adept at doing either job, allowing patterns of play down their channel to be varied and multi-faceted.
“I think you see a player now who is very confident with the ball but also against the ball with clear habits,” said Ralph Hasenhuttl, when asked on Walker-Peters significance to the team. “You see how important the full-back position is in every shape. There’s a lot of possession, you very often are the link from building up to the 10s and strikers.
“It’s important to have a player there that knows what he has to do on the ball, to find the right decisions, keep the ball on the ground.”
A flawless demonstration of Walker-Peters’ partnership with Armstrong came against Burnley, earlier on in the season. In the still image below, note how Walker-Peters has driven inwards and stationed in the quintessential position an inverted full-back is expected to be (think Joao Cancelo at Man City). Meanwhile, with his full-back tucking in, Armstrong realises he needs to provide the team’s width.
Walker-Peters’ proficient close controls enables him to receive the ball in a tight area on the pitch, cramped with Burnley shirts. His manipulation of the ball means he is able to play a beautifully weighted through ball to Che Adams, who eventually squares it to the onrushing Danny Ings to tap home.
Despite only accruing one assist this season, coming against Tottenham in the early workings of the season, the forementioned example against Burnley is indicative of how integral the full-back is in the construction of build-up play.
With Armstrong showing a natural propensity to glide inwards, having Walker-Peters, a relatively young, developing player with an astute tactical brain, who understands the correct synchronisations of when to overlap and when to hold, provides Southampton with a constant outlet. “We miss him when he is not playing,” said Hasenhuttl. “He was an important player in our best time of the season.”
Another case that is illustrates his role in the side’s attacking functions came in the away fixture with Brighton. Once again, Armstrong tucked inside, prompting the 23-year-old to make a trademark run from deep and seek a crossfield diagonal from Jannik Vestergaard. This repeatable pattern of movement has been a staple between the trio this season and is best on display here.The right-back manages to bustle his way into the box before winning a penalty which is converted by Ings.
By no means is this coating of praise for his attacking qualities an indictment of his defending. Going back towards goal, metrics prove Walker-Peters doesn’t shirk defensive responsibilities either. The former England youth international has successfully made 57 tackles, the second most of any Southampton player (only Oriol Romeu has made more with 68). In comparison, his captain James Ward-Prowse and someone who passes the eye test for getting ‘stuck in’ shall we say, has made three tackles fewer, despite playing eight games more.
A right-back with a growing influence is something that would have never have even entered the footballing psyche in years gone by. Full-backs were largely perceived to be the extras in the background, or as Jamie Carragher once famously put it, “either failed wingers or failed centre-backs.”
While that statement may be true, no one can deny having a talented full-back, with precocious knowledge and expertise in that field of work, is simply vital for any modern side worth its salt. With him, Southampton look an altogether different entity.
Hasenhuttl knows this. Hence his decision to rest him on Wednesday. Kyle Walker-Peters isn’t an extra or a player to blend in-behind the scenes. Absence showed he’s now become Southampton’s front of stage.
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