Derby County have signed veteran striker Dwight Gayle on a deal to the end of the season. The 34 year old front man was available on a free transfer following his release from Stoke City in January. We spoke with The YYY Files and Potterlytics to find out what he could bring to The Rams.
Dwight Gayle has signed for Derby. What do you make of it?
YYY Files: League One is his level now, unfortunately. Dwight is not the prolific scorer he was years ago and has struggled against many a Championship defence in the last year and a half. He needs a fresh start, after a rather unfortunate spell at Stoke. He could well roll back the years at Derby, but it’s his experience you’ll value over anything else.
Potterlytics: I’m not surprised to be honest! I’m aware his family is settled in the midlands and given his dwindling game time and performances over the past 18 months, it was always going to be a drop down in the leagues for him, unfortunately.
Gayle played 10 times this season for Stoke this season. How has he performed?
YYY Files: This season, he has been a bit-part player to use his experience and see games out. He did not threaten the opposition’s goal in any way but pressed from the front where he could and helped to hold the ball up with the clock running short.
Potterlytics: He’s barely featured, in all honesty. Only four of those 10 games were starts, and he’s made little-to-no impact when in those. It’s been a difficult season for him in terms of playing time, and coming into a side that has struggled to create chances all season for the odd game or two isn’t conducive to helping him regain some form. That said, even despite the poor attacking form of the team, I’d struggle to think of a Stoke fan who was clamouring for him to start ahead of the other options.
Why did Stoke release him?
YYY Files: Stoke have too many forwards, and Dwight was so far down the pecking order that it did not make sense for him to remain at the club. Arriving in Stoke on a free transfer, his wages would have been relatively inflated, and he wasn’t providing the value necessary when Stoke are trying their best to overhaul their squad whilst wrestling with the financial regulations.
Potterlytics: I think it had become obvious that his best attributes had left him behind. He’d lost the threat both in his finishing and in his quick movements. We’re looking at a tough run-in, and mobility up front has become a key issue for the new manager. Getting Gayle’s wages off the books and bringing in some pace in Niall Ennis is an improvement to the forward line.
He made 50 appearances (and scored 3 goals) for Stoke. How would you sum up his time at The Potteries?
YYY Files: I think that record speaks for itself. We were hoping that we were getting ourselves one of the more clinical forwards that a Championship team can realistically expect to have in their side. His spell started with an alarming amount of disallowed goals (some fairly, some not) and since then his confidence plummeted. He’d go on to miss chance after chance; only going on to score a last-minute deflection off his backside in a 4-0 win against Reading and two last-minute goals in a 5-1 victory against Sunderland, his former rival club. He and Stoke will look back on his timer here and wondered what the hell happened.
Potterlytics: Disappointing, really. He worked hard in games but it just wasn’t coming off for him. He scored about three or four goals in his first month that were ruled offside, and many were saying he was unlucky. To me, though, those offsides were a symptom of what was to come. He’d lost that yard of pace that allowed him to get in behind defences in his heyday for West Brom and Newcastle, and never quite figured out his timing of runs to make up for that. His on-ball play was okay, but it was never quite good enough to be a true number 10/withdrawn striker at Championship level, and when he did get chances he fluffed his lines. Of the three goals you mention, one was a deflection off his backside and another was a header that appeared to be going wide before the keeper palmed it in.
Gayle has a reputation for being a very good goal scorer in his career. What type of striker is he? Is he a fox-in-the-box type Player? Is he a hold-up player? Does he run into the channels?
YYY Files: In his prime years, he was known to be a player who thrived by running in behind defences and taking clear-cut chances against the keeper. Before arriving at Stoke, he spent three seasons on the bench at Newcastle and that has appeared to take a toll on his athleticism. He took most of his chances in the box and missed at least 90% of them. Perhaps a clean slate will eliminate the pressure he must have been feeling in front of goal.
Potterlytics: He used to be! Nowadays it’s very hard to tell, but he certainly isn’t going to run the channels or make darting runs in behind defences. For Stoke, he mostly tried to drop deeper and hold the ball given his technical ability, but even then it was never quite good enough at this level. He works hard off the ball, though, and his best spell came as the striker in a very aggressive pressing unit last Spring. It will be very interesting to see how he’s used at Derby, because if there’s space and time for him, he may well be able to use his ability on the ball to create some chances from deep. Hopefully he can get that stroke of luck back in front of goal, too, because his finishing was the biggest disappointment in his time at Stoke.
What are his strengths? His weaknesses?
YYY Files: His strengths are hold up play, bringing other forwards into play and pressing. Weaknesses: finishing and athleticism.
Potterlytics: His strengths are his hard work and occasionally his technical quality can show through when given space to play. On weaknesses, I think he’s trying to get used to his body now that his major asset isn’t giving him what it used to. Sprints, quick movement, and dribbling just aren’t parts of his game anymore, and his finishing really was poor for us. However, that may have been a confidence issue, as he snatched at a lot of chances, and Stoke has become a bit of a graveyard for strikers since 2017.
What other elements to his game are there?
YYY Files: With his vast experience, he’d be able to work with younger players in the dressing room and help them develop instead. By all accounts, this is the role he seemed to have taken on in his final weeks at Stoke. If he’s personally still lacking in delivering on the pitch, he may be the person to help others to improve their game.
Potterlytics: He’ll work his socks off really! By all accounts he’s a good professional who can be a key part of a pressing unit, and will help the youth in the team.
Do you think Gayle can be good player in League One for Derby?
YYY Files: It doesn’t look as though Derby have many young forwards on their books, so perhaps his dressing room manner may not be as effective as it could be. In that case, Derby will be relying on rediscovering the goalscoring form that made him one of the most prolific strikers the Championship has seen. Sadly though, there’s no evidence from his time at Stoke to suggest that would be the case.
Potterlytics: It’ll certainly be interesting to see. Given how little he’s played this season I’d be surprised to see him start most games, but if he can find some time and space on the ball there’s a chance he could make use of his technical ability to link the play well. If Derby can get him in those positions there’s certainly something to gain from him, but if not, he may end up a little invisible in some games.
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