It’s been a busy 24 months for Andre Wisdom; a whirlwind of activities that perhaps even he might not have envisaged. He has gone from being a promising player at the Liverpool academy to a player with Premier League and Championship experience. The whirlwind is still in motion. Wisdom has moved to West Bromwich Albion as of July 22, 2014 after last season’s loan at Derby County.
How many of such movements does the Yorkshire born defender have to make before becoming a regular in the Liverpool team? Would he ever play himself to contention at Liverpool? Is he being guided out of the club or being groomed for the future? Brendan Rodgers in confirming Wisdom's move to the Baggies said “ ...That (the loan move) will be another step for him in his development, playing regularly in the Premier League". On the face of it, Rodgers sees a future for the right-back come central defender at Anfield. As to whether this development really blossoms to earn him a place in a Liverpool squad is an entirely a different proposition.
Having signed on from Bradford in 2008, Wisdom only got his first team appearance in September 2012 against Young Boys of Switzerland. He got his first Liverpool goal in that match. His debut came in the early days of the Rodgers era where the lack of options and the new manager's belief in the youth saw a number of youth team players drafted into the first team. Wisdom's inclusion then was as much about his talent as it was about the dearth of options at the time. After his debut he went on to make 12 EPL appearances that season. His commendable form earned him a new long term contract in January 2013. He however found first team football limited in the second half of the season. The club therefore sent him out on loan to Derby County in the Championship the next season.
He was ever present in the side that narrowly missed out on promotion to the Premier League. Much was said about his loan stint placing him in a position to challenge for a place in the Liverpool team that obviously has to be bigger this season because of the number of competitions the club is involved in. The loan move may therefore feel as depreciation in the manager’s confidence in him. Not quite. The player knows Rodgers monitors his performance and he admitted receiving regular feedback on his performance from Rodgers. Rodgers has also been selective in the managers and teams he chooses for him to go on loan. These are teams and managers who are very much at one with Rodgers on how the game should be played; teams that will advance the “development” Rodgers wants. Perhaps if Rodgers doesn’t fancy him he wouldn’t be particular about which coach is helping in Wisdom’s development.
A player’s route into a team is not only determined by whether the manager fancies him or not. The pool of talent he has to compete against is equally decisive. Wisdom’s performances last season at Derby earned him commendation from Steve McClaren and Rodgers himself. Playing as a right back he featured in 37 games for Derby County. His performance compared favorably with the LFC right backs according to data from Squakwa.com . Glen Johnson piped him to the number of forward passes per match (26.58 as against 26.21). He however beat Flanagan on this score. His pass completion rate was just about the same as the other LFC right-backs (83%). He had more assists to his name than his fellow LFC right backs. His stats in terms of defending were impressive when placed against those of Flanagan and Johnson. He lost 0.8 tackles per match in 37 matches same as Johnson did in 29. Flanagan lost on the average 1.19 tackles in his 23 games. Wisdom won 57.14% of his aerial duels, which trumps the score for his two colleagues and blocked more shots than the two and had more clearance than per game than Johnson. Flanagan who played 14 games less than Wisdom beat him marginally to this.
He was however lacking in terms of tackles won per match. The fact that Wisdom is not in Boston with Liverpool but is headed for Sacremento to join the Albion training camp clearly shows where he places in the company of Johnson and Flanagan. He is at best the third choice right-back. But the statistics do not bear that up. The stats suggest his performance level is just as the same as the other two right-backs that will feature for LFC next season. To put a bit more perspective on Wisdom performance, his stats compare very well with Kieran Trippier, the best right-back in the Championship last season. Aside forward passes per game, number of assist, and tackles won, his scores stood head to head with that league’s best.
Statistics may not say it all. Statistics may seem deceive sometimes. They may also not give the full picture. For instance in the preseason match against Preston North End, where he played as a centre-back, his positioning was poor for most part of the game. The stats however, give clarity in the case of Andre Wisdom. Whiles it is clear he is deficient in some aspects of his game, he has abilities and talents that can be honed. The West Bromwich loan may just be what he needs for that honing process. It is very crucial move for his future as a Liverpool player.
Alan Irvine, the Albion manager is attracted by his versatility-his ability to play as right back and central defender. Terry Burton, their technical director was quoted as saying “Andre has been schooled at Liverpool and as a result has a good football education..” If he shows the versatility and demonstrates this football education, the development Brendan Rodgers expects him to have will be realized and it is only through that that he Liverpool career can progress.