In this scout report, we will analyse Scott Wright, who is playing for Aberdeen FC, who have made a brilliant start to the Scottish Premier League, and are behind Rangers FC and Celtic FC. Wright is a useful player for managers to have, as he can play different positions and roles within a team’s tactics. Until now, he has contributed two goals and two assists in 11 matches. In this tactical analysis, we will demonstrate how Wright is playing with and without the ball.
His role in the team
Scott Wright is a medium-sized, right-footed player. He is 1.76 metres tall, but at the same time has an athletic body type that allows him to compete well in his duels. Wright’s pace is good and that is an advantage for him and his team, with and without the ball. Within this analysis, we will see Wright playing in three different positions: he started the game as an attacking midfielder in the 3-4-2-1 formation, and when the formation changed into a 5-4-1, we analysed him playing as a left-winger, and as a striker in the last minutes of the game. That shows that Wright has an essential role in the team, as he is a player that can cover many different positions.
Scott Wright when his team has the ball
As an attacking midfielder, he played more like a second striker. Wright looked to move into the box several times. He made himself available for a pass into the box, and that helped his teammates while they were carrying the ball and were trying to deliver the box. Wright can read the game and take good positions in the box when needed. In the picture below, we can see Wright taking a position inside the box.
Moreover, Wright scored the first goal against Hibernian FC by a movement similar to that: he had a good position in between his markers and managed to receive the ball in the channel. Wright showed great ability in receiving the ball in tight areas. When he received the ball, he made a sharp move and turned his face towards the goal and the keeper, firing past him with a one-touch shot. Here, we can see Wright at the moment that he received the ball when he scored. In the picture below we can see Wright turning and firing past the opposing keeper without hesitating for a moment.
Additionally, Wright showed his ability with the ball not only in the opponent’s box, but also deeper on the field. Wright can use his sharp moves and speed to avoid tight marking. He is a player that can turn his opponents, which is a great advantage for him, considering his pace. In that way, Wright can get himself out of a difficult situation and transfer the ball further up the field, or win something for his team, like a foul. In the picture below, we can see Wright rolling his tight marker. At the same time, we can see that Hibernian brought six players high up the field, which means that they try to regain the ball high up the field. Wright, by making this movement, can find an open field to run and take advantage of his speed.
Furthermore, we have already mentioned Wright’s pace. The picture below shows what he will do if he can find an open field in a counter-attack. Wright could be a key player in the team when the manager chooses to play with quick counters. In addition, Wright has good technique and can dribble past his opponents too. Therefore, Wright combines two of the most important skills that a forward should have: speed and dribbling ability. In the picture below, we can see Wright taking advantage of the open field. He dribbled past his marker and won a foul that led to a yellow card for the Hibernian defender.
Aberdeen FC tries to take advantage of Wright’s physical abilities: for that reason, they try to pass in behind the opponent’s defensive line. Wright is playing on the edge of the offside line, and on the shoulder of the last defender, and is trying to receive such passes. We already analysed why Wright is a dangerous player when he finds an open field to run, but he can be more dangerous if he receives a pass and there is only the keeper to stop him.
One of the regular movements that Wright was doing as a winger was to come narrow on the field. As a winger, he did not stay wide, and did come inside on the central axis as an attacking midfielder. With that kind of movement, he was giving way on the wide corridor for the full-back. Therefore, again, we can see the impact that Wright is having on his team, as he plays different positions, but has different roles in those positions. The two pictures below are demonstrating Wright’s narrow movements on the field as a winger, and how the full-back is taking advantage of those movements.
When his team are out of possession
Wright is a hardworking player that tries to help his team regain possession of the ball. Wright is pressing high up the field, and, when out of position, he is quick enough to recover and try to win the ball. Wright’s pace allows him to put efficient pressure on the carrier of the ball. Below, we can see Wright trying to recover in order to press on the ball; in that particular situation, Wright managed to intercept the opponent’s attack.
Deeper up the field, he marked tight and competed well in his ground duels. Despite his medium size, he is a player that showed determination and managed to compete well to regain the ball for his team. Tight marking in football is something that many coaches demand from their players, because, in that way, they give less space to the opponent and that leads to a wrong decision from them. On the other side, we can see that there are forwards that can cope with tight marking, and take advantage of the situation by rolling their markers. Wright marked tightly in the midfield area several times and restricted his opponents into transferring the ball further up the field. Here, we can see Wright driving his opponent backwards by marking him tightly.
Wright also supported deeper up the field. As a winger, he came into the defensive third and co-operated well with the full-back without the ball. He provided cover, and stepped into the box, showing concentration and good awareness throughout while defending. In modern football, it is crucial for every player to participate with and without the ball. Wright showed that his team can rely on him when defending, but when attacking, too. In the picture below, we can see Wright’s good position defensively: he is supporting the left-back who has stepped out of the box to mark the carrier of the ball, but at the same time is scanning the area and checking the position of the opponent that is moving close to him.
A possible weak spot of Wright is his ability to stop the passes that come next to him. In the midfield area, he showed that he could not intercept the ball and let the opponents move behind him, receiving the ball there. That could be a crucial weak spot that the opponents could take advantage of: as a forward player, the opposition team could use that weakness to break the first defensive line of Aberdeen FC and pass the ball through the lines. The two pictures below are demonstrating that weak spot in Wright’s game without the ball.
Conclusion
We would characterise Wright as a key player. From this scout report, we analysed how important Wright is as a player because of his abilities: he is a quick player with electric acceleration in the first metres, while he can retain a good pace afterwards. Moreover, his movements help his team to bring more players to the top of the pitch, and he has good technical ability, too: he can dribble and transfer the ball quickly in counter-attacks. Lastly, without the ball, he showed good positioning and supported deep up the field, with good awareness.
