David Moyes‘ early success was much attributed to the signing and impact of Tomas Soucek. Employed as the unfettered late arrival in the box, Soucek’s first season at London Stadium saw him crash, bash and smash his way to ten goals like some kind of medieval football battering ram. It wasn’t always pretty but them his bravery and commitment outweighed any shortcomings of pretty tippy tippy football: Stylish skill was for others.
Newcastle’s Monday night defeat owed much to Tornado Tom’s resurgence. If Julen Lopetegui can keep his Czech midfielder on song, with this free ranging role that doesn’t not tether him fully to defensive duties, then I suspect much more is to come from Soucek in the ‘goals for’ department.
Unbelievably I think that was the first goal from a set piece this season. Normally 20% of a successful team’s goals will be from corners and free kicks. In that department at least, James Ward Prowse has been missed.
Lopetegui’s skill, whether by design or accident, was to allow Soucek to roam forward whilst maintaining midfield cover for the back four. That was the key, the midfield trio seemed interchangeable and for the first time gelled as a single unit. They screened the back for far more effectively and we saw the ‘team’ acting like a cohesive unit without continuous gaping holes for opponents to exploit.
The Czech was tethered by Moyes after his first season success as Declan Rice got his way and became the attacking option forcing Soucek to sit. I suspect the re-emergence of the bolder warrior arriving late in the box could herald more goals if Lopetegui’s midfield blueprint becomes set in stone.
