Sam Field is so good. As in, he's really, really good.
Following the Coventry game - in which the midfielder won the ball an incredible 14 times - Warburton described the midfield enforcer as 'Premier League' quality. On a dire Tuesday night draw against Swansea, the only outfield player on the pitch that matched the excellent Matty Grimes was, of course, Sam Field.
Sam Field is so good.
The thing about Sam Field, at least at this level, is that he is becoming a complete defensive midfielder. The archetypal Championship defensive midfielder is a tough, abrasive defensive midfielder who wins tackles and lumps it up the pitch. Sam Field does the first part - an average of 1.6 interceptions per game and 2 tackles per game will tell you that he is an excellent protecter of the back line. The defensive issues from the start of the season, especially how vulnerable we looked on the counter, have somewhat evaporated and his return seems to have coincided with that.
It's interesting this week to see that Dom Ball might be on his way out of the club. Ball is, by all means, a cult hero at Loftus Road and typifies the Warburton revolution over the past two-and-a-half years; a player universally deemed 'not good enough' coming in and proving the doubters wrong. Prior to Sam Field's arrival and during his spell on the sidelines, Ball took on the 'enforcer' role with competence and served the team incredibly well. He has been, without doubt, an excellent value for money signing for Rangers and will leave with everyone's well-wishes and respect.
The problem is, through no fault of his own, Dom Ball just doesn't have the composure or technical security of Sam Field. Again, that's not a knock on Ball but more of a compliment to the excellent player Field is becoming. Under pressure or in tight spaces, Field doesn't crack under pressure. He holds onto the ball, waits for the pass to present itself and makes the right decision. Field has completed 86% of passes in his own half, showing that he can be trusted with the ball in dangerous areas and is pivotal in helping us play out from the back.
The guy is so well-rounded that it's ridiculous that West Brom could ever let him go. Unfortunately for Dom, you just cannot leave out a player of this quality.
His best position is probably sat in front of the defence and allowing one of our more creative centre-midfielders to dominate that area in the middle of the pitch. Since his return, he's partnered with Johansen, Amos and Dozzell without looking out of place next to any of them. At times, Birmingham away and Coventry away, Field looked as though he was doing the job for both midfielders. After an understandably stuttering return from injury, Sam Field has been our best player since the second half of Bristol City away.
Field can go as far as his body wants to take him. He has suffered a couple injuries in his time with us, not least the three-month spell out due to a knee injury, and it has been rumoured that WBA were willing to let him go due to his susceptibility to injury. The club does have a decent record of keeping so-called 'injury-prone' players off of the treatment table and hopefully this can be the case with Sam Field. Lord knows that, if we do, we're talking about someone that could easily go and mix it in this country's top division.
Did I mention that Sam Field is really good?
