Birmingham City | U23 Player Report vs Sheffield United [07/08/2021]
Mezzala Football scouts Birmingham City’s players aged 22 or under in their EFL Championship opening fixture against Sheffield United.
Lee Bowyer secured safety for the Blues last season and with some summer additions, will be hoping that they can push further up the league this campaign. They got off to a 1–0 win against a strong Sheffield United side on Saturday evening.
Defensively strong throughout, and a real threat on the counter, with the 5–3–2 formation causing Slavisa Jokanovic’s side problems. At times the away side were fortunate, but a gritty performance secured the three points.
Player Rating System:
A — A noticeable difference in quality, playing at a level which is below and too easy for the player.
B — A man of the match performance, with the player imposing himself on the game.
C — A decent and tidy match, in and out of the game.
D — A few mistakes, but also positives to take, although struggling to make a real impact on the game.
E — A poor performance all round, with the odd glimpse of a composure for the level.
F — Not good enough for the level, with his performance negatively affecting the team throughout.
Tahith Chong
Nationality: Dutch
Age: 21
Date of birth: 04/12/1999
Club: Manchester United
Loan: Birmingham City
Career: Feyenoord (Y), Manchester United (Y), Werder Bremen (L), Club Brugge (L)
Position: Centre Midfield
Preferred foot: Left
Height: 1.85m
Starting as the LCM in a 3–5–2/5–3–2 system, Tahith Chong’s physicality stood out straight away, for a 21-year-old playing his first EFL Championship game, it was amazing to see how he was not only able to meet the physical demands of the game, but also impose himself on the opposition.
He’d often use his upper body strength to lean on an opposition player and cleverly win the ball for Birmingham. However, he wasn’t used as a target/defensive player for set pieces both for and against the Blues, taking up a role on the edge of the box.
His athleticism and acceleration was also key, despite him being noticeably fatigued at around the hour mark. He’d hassle the opposition throughout, and intercept the ball from players usually with the ball at their feet. Sometimes he’d get too close to players, allowing them to play a vertical pass, Chong rushing in happened a few times, but his eagerness could be calmed down with more experience.
However, his defensive contribution in and around his own penalty area was anything but erratic. He’d constantly track back behind the left-wing back showing his acceleration getting back before blocking or toe poking the ball away. This was highlighted when despite being tired, he tracked back from the half way line and poked the ball away from the Sheffield United attacker in the box. He may have been fortunate to get away with the role of his hand in the incident, and was risky — but did well to get back, showing good reactions and awareness when in a defensive phase.
I thought he allowed players to drift past him with the ball, whether that was by carry or pass too easily in the middle third of the pitch, but the distance between each of the Blues’ central midfielders was the main cause of this.
Offensivley Chong had a few shots, but all were from the edge of the area, with no real clear cut chance. But shows his willingness to support the attack.
He found himself in a position to the left of the box in the second half with the ball, showing brilliant footwork and a quick acceleration to drive down the left before looping the ball to the back post perfectively for Maxime Colin, but Colin’s effort was ruled out for a foul in the box.
In possession I thought he was composed, but could have been better, as he over hit and under hit some of his passes, but was able to recover, however this could have been costly.
Rating: B
Mezzala Football’s vision is to provide football fans with in-depth knowledge and scout reports on Under-23 players in the Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two and the National League.
