As box to box midfielders go John Wark was the best of his generation and perfected the art of arriving late and unnoticed in the opposition penalty box tio score his many goals. Equally he was comfortable sitting in front of Beattie, Hunter, Osman, Butcher and breaking up the play. Luke Hyam in many ways certainly has the potential to become a great box to box player and I am pleased that Mick is now realising that Hyam can do well in this role. He has a long way to go before we can make any sort of comparisons with the legendary Warky but there are signs in Hyam that we might have a special player on our hands! What do you think? Is there enough about Hyam that says that he would cope with the added attacking role? http://www.eadt.co.uk/sport/ipswich-town/luke_hyam_given_licence_to_attack_at_ipswich_town_1_2001091
The question is can he do it on a regular basis... It's great to see him playing week in week out and he can only improve but he needs to be able to put some consistency into all forms of his game. I think he's proven to us all that he will always put in a shift for the cause but he needs to show his quality on the ball and intelligence on the pitch on a similar regular basis, luckily he has time, attitude and work rate on his side so we could have one hell of a player on our hands.
I definitely think there's more to his game than just sitting infront of the back 4, however I don't think he should be played with a defensive midfielder in a 442, as I think it's a bit 1 dimensional. I think he's fairly similar to Matt Holland and would like to see a Jim Magilton (playmaker) play next to him. If you play 442 I think you're 2 central players need to be able to both attack and defend. I don't think Hyam should be put into the box of a DM but at the same time I don't think we should rely on him as an attacking CM!!
Must say that Hyam surprised me with his attacking prowess, he was in the right place for the opening goal, when he headed against the bar, and this showed a good striking instinct. Think he can get even better in the more advanced role, but you have bear in mind that player's such as John Wark come along once every ten years or more.
While he did really well against Leeds in breaking up play and breaking forward, we can't forget that hey were down to 10 men which takes the pressure off him defensively. Hopefully he can nail down a first team place next year and give us more of the same.
He said himself a while back that he wanted to be more than just a defensive midfield sitter and with the likes of TC around to coach him on what to do in more advanced roles then he could well turn into a handy player. The last few months has been the first time in his career that he's managed to hold down a regular starting spot in the team and with that will come confidence in his ability. I was delighted to see his dribble into the box and pass to McG for the goal, it showed he is growing in confidence and long may it continue.
