Master of none?

As the saying goes, Ngcobo appears at times to be a “jack of all trades, master of none”. This relates to his versatility and ability to play in many different positions on the pitch but not making any of them his own. In his young club career so far, encompassing 57 matches for the Soweto giants, he has been used in no fewer than eight different positions. He has been used everywhere from being a false number nine to playing as part of a ‘double six’ to being used off both flanks, centrally, in the half-spaces or in a midfield three.

In the first match of the 2019/20 season’s bio-bubble, he was thrown in by Ernst Middendorp for a surprise start in a deep midfield role next to Willard Katsande against Bidvest Wits. He played decently for 60 minutes but wasn’t called upon again for actual minutes for the rest of the season. That went full circle when Baxter used the player as a false nine in a 0-0 draw against Marumo Gallants. Ngcobo played the full match that day but didn’t muster a shot at goal and gave the ball away countless times. Under Hunt and the current coach, he has been used wide in a 4-4-2 and 4-3-3 (even started a CAF Champions League final as a genuine right winger), as a number 10, as a number eight and in the inside forward roles in a 3-4-2-1 set-up. He was most often used by Hunt as a left midfielder in a 4-4-2 shape due to the club’s lack of wingers at the time.

Baxter sounded a bit frustrated when he explained that he doesn’t know just yet where the best place to use him is, recently revealing, “I’ve said this to the technical staff, and I’ve said this to Mshini, I’ve struggled to really find the best role for him and that isn’t saying that he can’t play in the system that we play. We tried him as a false nine, we tried him coming in off the wide (areas), we tried him in a sort of pocket between the midfield and the front players. I can try to get him some minutes so he can feel comfortable with whatever role we give (him). It’s a work in progress for both of us. I hope he finds a role that he enjoys, and I hope the role will benefit the team.”