Sideways Sammy

Looking to be the biggest success of Coventry City’s summer transfer business, Jack Rudoni, nonetheless, seems to be a good player rather than a great one. With three goals and six assists from midfield, Rudoni is one of the more productive players in his position in the Championship, yet there is a sense that he has more to offer than he’s currently showing. Hard-running, skilful and with great set-piece delivery, there is a lot to like about Jack Rudoni but there are also frustrations to his game that can make him a peripheral, frustrating figure for long periods in matches. Whether it’s in finding the right role for him or providing him with better team-mates to feed off, getting more out of Rudoni looks one of the key tasks for the remainder of the campaign.

Billed as the replacement for Callum O’Hare, Jack Rudoni has proven to be a very different player, which has had its benefits and drawbacks. Rudoni offers more physicality, a threat with his set-piece delivery and can contribute in deeper areas than O’Hare. However, that ability to pick up space between the lines of the opposing defence and midfield and feed through balls that O’Hare had and Rudoni seems to lack is arguably why this team has often been easy to stymie going forward. That Jack Rudoni has continually been picked to play in that central attacking midfield spot, rather than in a deeper position where he can drive forward with the ball, seems strange. However, that role has been tweaked slightly since Frank Lampard has taken over to see Rudoni float into wide areas and look to create via crosses, rather than through balls.

Jack Rudoni has probably been forced into a position of greater responsibility for the team’s creative play than he should have been due to the losses of Callum O’Hare and Kasey Palmer over the summer. While it’s true that Rudoni has created more goals for this team than any other player this season, that has been boosted by him being a set-piece taker, and he has often been stymied in open-play. Perhaps if that creative responsibility was shared throughout the rest of the team, it would open up space for Rudoni for flourish. Thus far, he has shown he is someone who can chip in with key contributions rather than be relied upon for them.