Steven N'Zonzi is now flourishing under Mark Hughes at Stoke City, writes Adam Bate.
There was a delicious moment in the latter stages of Stoke's draw with Manchester City when Erik Pieters headed the ball forwards to Steven N'Zonzi in a left midfield position. Spotting Yaya Toure out of the corner of his eye and anticipating his advance, N'Zonzi flicked the ball over his illustrious opponent's head and controlled it with the City man well beaten. It was pure Patrick Vieira. As an isolated incident in a goalless draw, it had little significance. As an example of the renewed swagger of Stoke City, it was rather more evocative. It might not have been that way for N'Zonzi. The centre midfielder handed in a transfer request at the end of last season and looked set for the exit. But the arrival of Mark Hughes has seen him take a pivotal role for the Potters, playing every minute of the team's Premier League campaign so far. Calm and composed in possession, he arguably holds the key to the new approach under Hughes by setting the tempo in the middle of the pitch. N'Zonzi has the talent to do so. "His technique is fantastic," Steve Kean, his former manager at Blackburn, told Sky Sports adding his admiration for "the way he plays a cross-field pass and the way he can switch the play." Former Stoke boss Tony Pulis appreciated his technical qualities too. "He's got two great feet and strikes the ball fantastically well," said Pulis in May.Passing
Of course, it is well documented that Pulis placed greater emphasis on less subtle characteristics and the presence of a 6'4" midfielder brought its own benefits under the Welshman's regime. Getting the ball down to play was not the priority. Stoke had the worst passing accuracy of any team in the Premier League last season, with only relegated Reading playing fewer short passes. But things are changing at the Britannia Stadium. That passing accuracy has gone from a dismal 70 per cent success rate to a creditable 80 per cent so far this season. On average, Stoke are playing more than 100 extra short passes per game. It also seems that it's time to abandon the hoof-ball cliché - only two Premier League teams have hit fewer long balls than Stoke in 2013/14. "Maybe they were ready," said Hughes, when quizzed on the changes. "If I felt they weren't capable of playing the way I want, I wouldn't even have put it to them because if they haven't got the capabilities as football players to take it on board, then I would have been making more problems for myself. But the group have been excellent from the first day. The players have bought into it. It has to be possession with a purpose. We're trying to work on that."Steven N'Zonzi - Premier League 2013/14 | |
Discipline | Ranking |
Successful passes | 8th |
Successful passes opp half | 7th |
Chances created (open play) | 6th |
Duels won | 5th |
Tackles | 6th |