- Gab Sutton is a football expert who specialises in the Sky Bet EFL. After every weekend of action, he builds an EFL Team of the Week and picks out a Sporting Life Star performer.
Check out my @SkyBet @EFL Team of the Week for @SportingLifeFC ⭐️
— Gabriel Sutton (@GabSutton) February 5, 2024
Bosun Lawal was quite something on Saturday, wasn't he @ftfc? 🔥#FTFC | #ASFC | #WeAreBarrow | #ImpsAsOne | #BarnsleyFC | #MTFC | #LOFC | #WeAreSalford | #NCFC | #LCFC | #QPR | #HTAFC pic.twitter.com/l1xBCRFH5T
Goalkeeper
Radek Vitek (Accrington Stanley): Two starts, two clean sheets for Radek Vitek on loan from Manchester United, as the Czech keeper looks to kick-start his career, whether the future lies at Old Trafford or elsewhere.
The 20-year-old claimed crosses well in Saturday’s goalless draw with Grimsby, made a smart stop to deny Arthur Gnahoua in the first half and a brilliant low save to halt Danny Rose in second half stoppage time.
Defenders
James Chester (Barrow): Barrow faced one of the most creative, enterprising sides in League One on Saturday in MK Dons, who boasted the quality of technical wing-back Joe Tomlinson, controller Lewis Bate, creator Jack Payne, and ball-carrier Dan Kemp – they were even able to bring an international prospect like striker Emre Tezgel off the bench!
Despite this, the Bluebirds’ visitors mustered just three shots from inside the penalty area all afternoon, and couldn’t find a way through in a 1-0 victory for Pete Wild’s side.
This owes much to Barrow’s shape, discipline, and dogged defending, which meant Cole Stockton’s composed finish was the winner – James Chester’s work was key to a crucial result in the promotion race.
Adam Jackson (Lincoln): Lincoln won 1-0 at Burton with 10-men in what could yet be remembered as a significant moment in the early stages of Michael Skubala’s reign as Head Coach.
This was no smash-and-grab from the Imps, who were still able to show the patterns of play Skubala wants and create chances for over an hour with their numerical disadvantage, but naturally they had to defend well at crucial moments.
City did just that – after seeing centre-back partner Alex Mitchell dismissed, Adam Jackson completed two tackles, made as many as 13 clearances, and one crucial block.
Josh Earl (Barnsley): Liam Kitching didn’t start 2023-24 in the best form for Barnsley, before earning a seven-figure move to Championship side Coventry.
Before and after his move, though, there’s no question they missed the version of him that starred at Oakwell last season, and was arguably man-of-the-match in the Play-Off Final defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, as replacement Jamie McCart and others struggled for form in the left centre-back spot.
Josh Earl, though, looks a fantastic signing, and his defensive nous, composure in possession and overlapping runs allows him to replicate the left-sided combinations with Nicky Cadden and Herbie Kane that Kitching enjoyed last season.
Midfielder Luca Connell’s return from injury in November has helped Barnsley look a bit more like last season’s outfit, and on the evidence on Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Bolton, Earl’s arrival will too.
Midfielders
George Williams (Mansfield): A penny for George Williams’ thoughts, when he’d signed to compete for a right-back spot with Callum Johnson and, when the Teessider got injured, boss Nigel Clough played the versatile Jordan Bowery there instead – he’s a striker by trade!
In fairness to Bowery, he has excelled at right-back, and his mobility, Clough would argue, serves as better protection for a defender in Aden Flint who has everything you’d want in a centre-back other than pace.
That meant Saturday's 1-0 victory over Notts County was in fact Williams’ long-awaited debut – but if he needed to prove a point to his boss that he has to be valued higher, then he certainly did that in the derby.
Jordan Brown (Leyton Orient): You get these goons who used to think Jordan Brown was just a tireless anchor man who can retain possession but is technically limited, or that Orient lack a quality #6 – nothing to do with us, obvs.
Anyone who saw the 22-year-old in Saturday's 3-2 victory over Carlisle, though, could see Brown’s full potential.
In one notable move, the sitting midfielder produced a delicate flick to deceive opposing striker Luke Armstrong, before playing a long-range diagonal with the outside of his boot to release Shaq Forde on the flank.
Beautiful stuff from the Pirlo of the Potteries.
🌟 Bosun Lawal (Fleetwood): The Higgs Bosun Theory, converting Lawal into a midfielder, has been modelled successfully by Fleetwood Town head coach, Charlie Adam.
It’s been examined before, with the 20-year-old having played in midfield in his youth career, and the experiment has passed this acid test too.
The Celtic loanee was quite the force in Saturday’s 3-0 annihilation of Port Vale, bringing eye-catching ball-carrying ability and passes that split defences with the most casual-looking ping.
On this evidence, The Bosun Theory could be the catalyst for a late push for safety.
Luke Garbutt (Salford): New Salford boss Karl Robinson has seen his side are short on mobility in midfield, so rather than picking a trio in that area like his predecessor, he’s gone for three strong runners supporting target man Matt Smith, with the intention of Elliot Watt and Ryan Watson stepping onto second balls as a byproduct of their directness.
Watt and Watson haven’t been the only beneficiaries of this crucial tweak, because it’s also given more space for Luke Garbutt to get his crosses away, which is what he does best
Under Wood, because the Ammies moved the ball so slowly in the middle third, opponents were well-prepared to deal with crosses from deep and so they often came with a lot of pressure against the ball, but that’s not the case with this new system – thus, Garbutt racked up two assists.
Forwards
Borja Sainz (Norwich): Norwich have relied heavily on individual quality this season.
Just two star players to lean on wasn’t enough to outweigh issues elsewhere, despite the impeccable consistency of Gabriel Sara and Jonny Rowe.
Josh Sargent’s return from injury, though, has made a transformative difference to the Canaries with his aggressive pressing from the front, while Borja Sainz has recently come into favour, and subsequently form.
The Spaniard hadn’t started a league game until mid-December’s 3-1 victory over Sheffield Wednesday, from which point only the relegated clubs and Coventry have accrued more points – coincidence?
The Sky Blues were the latest victims of the Sainz show, as the wide man hit a stunning winner to complete the second half comeback – he has a delightful blend of directness and vision to his game.
Patson Daka (Leicester): Patson Daka’s brace in Leicester’s 5-0 victory at Stoke has taken his tally to six for the season.
The Zambian averages 0.87 goals per 90, and if he played every minute of every game with that rate, he’d hit 40 – seven more than Ivan Toney managed at this level in 2020-21, and just three fewer than Aleksandar Mitrovic the following season.
Instead, it’s just eight starts and one substitute appearance as a combination of international duties, rich alternative options, and a rotation-heavy policy from Enzo Maresca, among possibly other technical or tactical factors, means he’s only a bit-part player despite this incredible record.
So, whenever he’s the star of this Leicester show, he’s got to make the most of it!
Ilias Chair (QPR): If QPR are to beat the drop, Ilias Chair could have a huge part to play.
The agile, skilful Moroccan has improved since head coach Martí Cifuentes took charge in late October, largely due to a smoother style that plays more to the diminutive wide man’s strengths.
And, while the R’s are a work in progress in terms of culture, and establishing patterns of play, Chair’s individual quality could carry them through.
That’s what the 26-year-old did in Saturday's 2-1 victory at Blackburn, which meant the gap to their latest opponents is a reasonable five points instead of 11.
Manager
Jon Worthington (Huddersfield): Saturday’s victory over Sheffield Wednesday wasn’t quite the instant transformation from Huddersfield that the 4-0 scoreline might suggest.
It was a tight first half with few chances for either side, before a Matty Pearson second half header from a Sorba Thomas corner opened the floodgates as Town went on to score another three from simplistic counter-attacks – they haven’t become a top Championship side overnight.
However, there’s something ironic about the fact the Terriers scored all four of their goals in a 12-minute period, which followed the injuries to their main goal threats, Rhys Healey having been forced off in the first half and Bojan Radulović in the second.
They’d never have chosen to lose either, but it’s plausible three of their goals wouldn’t have been scored without the changes, because Ben Wiles brought creative drive after coming on for Healey, while Radulović’s withdrawal meant freer roles for the likes of Josh Koroma and Thomas, who brought the pace on those breakaways.
Caretaker Jon Worthington took what he could have seen as a problem and made it into a new possibility, which is part of what management is all about.
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
