A miserable afternoon in Huddersfield brought two play-off hopefuls together. Two teams who were holding the top 2 in the form table from 2022 going into this afternoon’s game. Going into this game, both sides have been recording promising results both on and off the road in the Championship. This hectic season in the Championship has seen Sheffield United surge up the table, putting together fantastic results since Paul Heckingbottom came in charge of the club. Huddersfield have been one of the Championship’s most consistent teams this year, there or thereabouts, but their lack of firepower up top is evident, perhaps hindering their play-off surge.
Ratings:
- A1 – Very good, could play higher
- A2 – Strong potential to play higher
- B1 – Good, strong player at level
- B2 – Potential to be strong player at level
- C – Average for the level, re-watch
- D – Below average in this match
Morgan Gibbs-White
- Nationality: English
- Age: 22
- Date of Birth: 27/01/2000
- Current Club: Sheffield United (On loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
- Career: Wolverhampton Wanderers, Sheffield United (Loan)
- Position: Right Attacking Midfielder
- Preferred foot: Right
You can see Morgan Gibbs-White just wants to play football, will ask for the ball at all times, receiving on the turn, receiving under pressure really comfortably, and making second man runs that were full of energy. His pressing game was exemplary as were his tracking back and reverting into the team’s defensive shape. His stamina was apparent on the pitch, he was up and down the pitch constantly, again showing his desire and hunger. Although despite his energetic nature he is really calm on the ball, even in tight spaces he seems to work his way out of them.
His passing ability is really nice too, his weight of the pass is always fantastic and can thread an eye of the needle pass. Coming off from half-spaces, Gibbs-White likes to play little reverse balls when drifting in centrally, he showed his vision and awareness on a couple of occasions, combined with his creativity and flair it makes for a really useful asset for Sheffield United.
The most notable thing about Gibbs-White is his trickery, he has that flair, perhaps a touch of arrogance that will look amazing at points, but then get your team in trouble in certain instances. For example, he tried a turn in the middle of the field using his trickery, although he was dispossessed and had to bust a gut to track back. It showed his work ethic, perhaps off the back of his embarrassment but also showed his naivety, turning in this spot was always going to be tough. On one occasion by the corner in the half-space he Cruyff turned the aforementioned Thomas with ease, skipping past him and slipping a dangerous ball into a teammate and further making an option by running off. Gibbs-White has that cheeky side to his game, that opposition fans would hate but supporting fans would love. He has quick feet and his ability to shift the ball from one foot to the other was strong, quick and skillful. His skillful nature is really fun to watch, manipulation of his body to work angles and using feints to gain ground on his opponents are really beneficial to his game as an AM.
Technically he is fantastic, his first touch is excellent, especially when the ball is popped into him centrally. Whereby, he can use his trickery to bring others into the game, flicking on smartly to his teammates. He will receive in space using intelligent runs to make space around him, peeling off his markers by drifting wide and centrally, then asking for the ball wherever he is. When receiving the ball Gibbs-White will look to combine with players, using one two’s to work more space/work a crossing angle. If there is space deeper he will drop back, he is versatile in this and wants the ball at all costs. He looked effective as a deep-lying playmaker too, dropping nice balls into Billy Sharp from deeper positions.
Rating – A2
He was pulled off after 71’ and definitely had more to give, I would’ve liked to have seen him a bit more before bumping his rating up to A1. Also, he did not really affect the game, despite me waxing lyrical about his ability.
Wolves will no doubt look to work Gibbs-White into the starting 11 next year as he has that real talent, despite being a bit raw and naive at times, he has the creativity to be really useful. If Wolves are not going to work him into the side, then I would suspect that he would go out on loan again, hopefully to a bottom half Premier League side. He definitely has the potential to be a Premier League player in the not-so-distant future, and hopefully, he can show his class next season in the League.