Sideways Sammy

A competitive player with a good level of technical ability to pair with that, there is a lot to like about Joel Latibeaudiere, the issue is figuring out a role for him in the side. Capable of filling in at centre-back, right-back and central midfield, there are better, more natural players ahead of Latibeaudiere in each of those positions. It’s a typical case of ‘jack of all trades, master of none’ for Joel Latibeaudiere but there remains a sense that he could become a valuable player for Coventry City somewhere if he could just get the benefit of a run of 10-15 games to nail down a role.

What is unfortunate for Joel Latibeaudiere is that the best possible position for him, on the right of a back three, is not currently available. It would provide him the opportunity to marry his combative qualities to compete in physical battles, with his pace to cover the back-line and his technical ability to bring the ball out of defence, whereas the current positions available to him only offer him the chance to utilise one or two of those attributes. Where Latibeaudiere needs to improve is in his positioning off-the-ball, as he often leaves space behind him wherever he is played on the pitch, but a large part of that could well be down to having to constantly switch positions.

Joel Latibeaudiere’s current role is as the team’s 12th-man, often either the first substitute or the first player to come into the side when rotation is required, which is why he has continued to make appearances despite there being no obvious place for him in the starting XI. As handy as Latibeaudiere’s contributions have been, he has provided little reason to take the place of specialist players ahead of him in his various positions in the starting XI. The only way it looks like Joel Latibeaudiere looks likely to get a run in the side will be as a result of injuries or a change of tactics. It is useful to have versatile players to provide squad depth but just how content Joel Latibeaudiere will be at having little realistic prospect of becoming a regular starter at Coventry City any time soon may eventually become an issue.