Oar and Sarota out of position and low on form at Utrecht

Tommy Oar and Adam Sarota are two of Australia’s higher class of players leading into the World Cup. Playing regularly in a strong European league, these two former Brisbane Roar youngsters are expected to feature against Ecuador, and, if fit, should be two of the first names going to Brazil.

I’ve always been a fan of Tommy Oar. He has good pace and is able to whip in a wicked cross with his venomous left foot.

Playing in Europe has almost certainly improved him as a player – one would think.

Of Adam Sarota’s talent I am less aware. He is deployed as a right sided midfielder at Utrecht, in what is more often than not a diamond midfield.

On Sunday night I watched the full game of Utrecht versus Groningen in the Dutch Eredivisie. Both Tommy Oar and Adam Sarota featured; the latter substituted off in the 83rd minute.

Despite conceding a large amount of possession for periods of the game, Utrecht managed a win with an 88th minute strike from substitute Johan Martensson.

It was a rather unimpressive match. Neither team seemed to have a real edge over the other, and especially in midfield, Utrecht were often lacking a player or two.

I am struggling to believe Utrecht had 55 percent of possession overall, as statistics suggest, such was the scrappy nature of the game.

Sarota and Oar both played well in the positions assigned to them. I’ve seen enough of their games to know that the positions they took up – Oar on the left and Sarota on the right – were their regular positions.

The coach, somehow ignorant of Oar’s talent up front, deploys him almost as a wing back. He always has two strikers ahead of him, so he is rather limited in the space available to him on the wing.

The 22-year-old Socceroo, who, going into the World Cup, will be one of Australia’s main attacking outlets, looked quite uninspired, though there were small glimmers of his ability throughout the match, when he would find a small amount of space and run at the defenders with pace.

In defence, both Sarota and Oar tuck in centrally to defend narrow, and then in possession spread wide, but always behind the attacking midfielder.

The coach of Utrecht has used this formation in every game I’ve watched. This indicates he chooses this particular style to suit the players he has, and not to counter the opposing formation.

And yet Tommy Oar is played out of position, where he is unable to do much damage.

What I saw of Sarota, he looked comfortable on the ball, and his distribution was one of his better assets. He also looked like a hard midfielder, capable of playing a creative role but most suited as a true number 6.

Whatever the case, Sarota and Oar were two very different types of players, and yet they are used in the same position, on opposite sides.

Playing regularly in a top European league means nothing if you are not playing well. Unfortunately for the Socceroos, Tommy Oar, one of Australia’s bright lights in an otherwise gloomy looking World Cup campaign, is playing poorly through no fault of his own.

The youngster is gaining experience in an unfamiliar position and adding different elements to his game, but he is not getting enough attacking freedom to cause enough damage at Utrecht.

You could argue a good player would manage to play well despite being played out of position, but Utrecht’s midfield was so crowded and overpowered, there was no room for creativity.

Playing in the Eredivisie is a wonderful accomplishment for both these players. But in a team that has won just eight matches of 25 this season, and sitting just four points clear of relegation, a winning mentality will be lacking.

It’s saddening to watch players abroad performing poorly, especially when they’re deployed in positions far from their comfort zone.

I don’t doubt Oar’s ability; anyone who has seen him in a left-attacking position, or even as an attacking midfielder, cannot deny his potential.

But in an Eredivisie squad, you would expect the coaching ability to be far better then what has been on display in recent performances.

I fear this will damage his ability to get around players, as he so often does when playing well at club level.