Wolverhampton Wanderers record goalscorer has shared his thoughts on one of the clubs summer signings that he feels should be in the starting eleven.
It has been a tough start to life at Molineux for new Wolves boss Gary O'Neil. His reign began mere days before the start of the campaign. With just one win from his opening four league games, the former Bournemouth manager must be wishing he had the opportunity to have a full pre-season to implement his philosophies onto the team.
Currently sitting 15th in the Premier League, club legend Steve Bull has pinpointed summer signing Matt Doherty as a player that O'Neil should turn to in order to change his sides fortunes.
What did Bull say about Matt Doherty?
Bull, who scored a record 306 times for the Old Gold, took to his column on the Express & Star to discuss his former clubs defensive frailties and how using Doherty could lead to attack being the best form of defence.
Bull stated:
"Gary O’Neil is still dipping his toe in the water with the team at the moment and it will take a bit of time, but if it was down to me I’d change to a back three.
"With a back four we’re getting caught out. Doherty is on the bench as a wing-back, but he causes more problems in the opposition box than in our box and we need to get him on."
Bull's claims that Doherty is a threat going forward from wingback is a fair assessment when looking at his stats.
Across 303 appearances for the club, Doherty has managed 71 goal contributions (30 goals and 41 assists) despite plying his trade in a more defensive area of the pitch.
The 31-year-old's numbers for Wolves are better than what Nelson Semedo has managed his entire career. Semedo, who is the only other natural right-sided wing-back in the squad, also has a lower tackle percentage (56% to Doherty's 58.6%) and has made fewer interceptions (157 to Doherty's 193), according to FBref.
A consistent performer for Wolves, the Irish "machine" – as once lauded by The Athletic's Tim Spiers – also featured in Sofascore's top nine performers for Wolves in the Premier League during both his previous campaigns for the club (2018/19 and 2019/20).
When did Matt Doherty rejoin Wolves?
It was announced in July that the Irishman had rejoined the club he made his name at on a free transfer.
Having previously been a key part of a Wolves side that made their return to the top flight of English football in 2018, the wing-back left to join Tottenham on a four-year deal.
Arguably the highlight of this transfer was the announcement video where Doherty poked fun at tweets he made that showed him being an Arsenal supporter in his youth.
Doherty left Tottenham and copied Kieran Trippier, as he joined Atletico Madrid from the north London outfit.
After an underwhelming time in Spain, the £5m-rated dynamo will be hoping to return to the form that made him an FPL favourite in his prime. Of course, his main priority though will be helping Wolves secure more points in order to climb up the Premier League as opposed to securing points in fantasy football.
