League One Left-back of the Season: Amari’i Bell

Brilliant Bell – camerasport.photoshelter.com

Back in November 2015, The Football Lab was in the away end for Fleetwood Town’s short trip to rivals Blackpool. When asking a visiting fan about his team at half-time, the first thing he said they needed a new left-back, criticizing current incumbent Amari’i Bell.

In fact, The Football Lab thought he had been one of Fleetwood’s better players going forward that day, though he had made a silly error that led to Blackpool’s goal. The question was whether, under pressure from fans, he could expand on his attacking output whilst ironing out the lapses in concentration. Since Uwe Rosler took over the following summer, the answer has been a resounding yes.

Bell looks at home in the German’s attacking system, which allows full-backs or wing-backs high levels of creative freedom. With forwards, more recently a pairing of Ashley Hunter and Bobby Grant, pressing narrowly and high up the pitch, there is a reliance on full-backs to provide width.

Bell and right-sided counterpart Conor McLaughlin do this superbly. Both hug the touchlines in the opposing half, stretching the defensive responsibilities of the opposing team. Because of this, central players such as midfielder Kyle Dempsey, a fine battler and dribbler in midfield, have more space.

That is partly why Fleetwood have failed to score just three times this season, fewer than any other side. It is also why they are playing the best football below the Championship, a division they could very well reach for the first time in the club’s history.