The Silent Impact Of Marvelous Nakamba Transcended At Luton Town
Like most defensive midfielders, Marvelous Nakamba’s role often goes unnoticed, though he always work tirelessly all around the pitch, not many fans pay attention to what he does during the game, on and off the ball. His position is probably the most important one on the field.
At Aston Villa, the Zimbabwean stronghold was often criticised for being defense-minded- “seating back and rarely venturing forward”, yet that was his primary role – to cover the center backs and break the oppositions play. He rely mainly on his ability to read the game as well as good tackling which he does perfectly well to execute his duties and was key in Luton Town’s successful promotional drive.
Time and time again he was present at the right place to make interceptions, blocks and tackles.
That’s basically what the defensive midfielder has to do. The DM provides a stability at the back and facilitate a smoother transition from defence to attack.
The arrival of Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa highlighted Marvelous Nakamba’s importance and effectiveness to the team as he played like an “incoming Ngolo Kante” in the first five games of Gerrard’s managerial tenure before he got injured against Liverpool.
Nakamba featured sparsely during Dean Smith’s tenure at Villa, who used to use a double pivot in the midfield which did not suit well with Nakamba’s style of play. The team performed poorly and Dean Smith was dismissed.
The Zimbabwean was deemed surplus to requirements with many suggesting a loan or straight sell to get rid of the former Club Brugge midfielder, but the arrival of Steven Gerrard changed everything- turning the Warriors midfielder into a head cornerstone of the team.
Steven Gerrard a former defensive midfielder himself who understood Nakamba’s role better than anyone else – started building his team around the Zimbabwean midfielder and the team began picking up points.
Pitty the injury, Nakamba’s game was gaining momentum and could have made his mark in the premier league under Steven Gerrard. But the gods have their own choices and if it’s not yet your time you always have to be patient in football.
The injury took time to overcome. Though he had quickly healed from the physical injury itself, psychologically he was still far to get past the healing process.
Gerrard could not have patience with him, he quickly looked for a replacement and Nakamba lost his place in the team- he became surplus to requirements.
When Emry arrived Nakamba was in the process of healing psychologically and needed game time to get his confidence back.
A loan spell to Championship side Luton Town proved to be the right panacea for the Zimbabwean stronghold.
At the Hatters Nakamba coincidentally met with Rob Edwards – a former Welsh international whose tactical approach brings the best out of his players and like Gerrard likes to play from the midfield – Nakamba’s game took an upward turn.
During his short period at the Hatters, Nakamba had been nothing but brilliant. Despite joining the team on the drop of not having enough game time at Villa, the Zimbabwean proved he was the missing link for Luton Towns’ promotional ambitions.
He slotted in the team seamlessly and cemented his place in the first eleven the first few games of his Championship league career due to his consistency and experience in the midfield, but it was defensively that Nakamba added more value
From all the 20 matches he played during his loan spell at the Hatters, the team lost only twice with him in the first eleven and conceded only 10 goals- managing 9 clean sheets in the process.
After his successful time at Luton Town that ended with a promotion to the premier league-the chemistry between the former Bantu Rovers midfielder and the whole Luton Town (from the management to the fans) was there for everyone to see and it wasn’t surprising when the new premier league arrivals announced on Thursday that they have engaged the Zimbabwean on a three year contract with a value of 4,5 million Euros, the writing was on the wall after his successful loan spell.
Further statistics revealed, Nakamba was the leading player in tackles made per game (3.8) in the whole Championship.
Although he scored the winning penalty in the playoffs final victory against Coventry City to help secure promotion, it was his influence in keeping out the attack that set him apart.
He covered every blade of the grass most of the times he was on the field and always found in the right place at the right time. He is expected to continue to be the adhesive that keeps the team together as they venture in the premier league come 2023/24 season.
*Story image credit to Luton Town website
