The first of our ventures into the overseas market, Wesley Jobello the first ten games of last season before picking up a cruciate ligament injury that ended his campaign. Playing on the right of a front three, Jobello’s return of one goal and one assist was unremarkable but has to be caveated with the fact that he was playing for a new team in a new country where he wasn’t fluent in the language. It’s fair to say that Jobello was still finding his feet at Coventry City before he picked up that injury and there were signs that he could have either kicked on after that start to life at the club or dropped down the pecking order.
Jobello is a very orthodox winger who rarely ventures away from the right side of the pitch and constantly looks to drive forward with the ball. While that directness helps stretch the play, that can be counteracted by Jobello’s struggles to beat opposing defenders in one against one situations. Furthermore, the quality of his final product can be erratic, with his crossing seeming to be hit and miss and a lack of composure when in positions to shoot. Jobello is the type of wide-player who would be most effective as part of a four-man midfield where he can stretch the play to allow others to get into goalscoring positions, as part of a front three, I’m not convinced he provides enough of a goal threat on his own.
It is going to be very difficult for Wesley Jobello to get back into the team next season. In addition to having to recover from a long-term injury, the team has evolved away from needing the kind of wide player that Jobello is. Not only does the current system not offer a role for an out-and-out winger, but in Fankaty Dabo, we have a right-sided wide player who can stretch the play in a similar manner to Jobello. If Jobello is to return to the starting line-up next season, it is probably going to take a change to the current system in order to do so.
Sideways Sammy 