Football Cian’s progress shows Rovers are getting their recruitment right
The passing game is there, but it has been blended with sensibility to clear his lines when needed and all-round defensive improvements underpinned by a body-on-theline mentality
DOUBTERS of Bristol Rovers’ recruitment strategy need look no further than the rapid progression of Cian Harries to understand its merits.
The centre-back joined Rovers-from Swansea City on deadline day in January as a player deemed unprepared for League One action.
His talent at the time was apparent. It took just five minutes of sifting through scouting clips of the Wales Under-21 international in action for this reporter to be convinced of his potential - particularly for a manager eager to play a possession-based brand of football.
But Ben Garner’s assessment at the time was right. Harries wasn’t ready, not for the rough and rugged reality of the third tier. Swansea were comfortable with him departing on a free transfer, after all.
Garner is not a manager solely focused on the here and now, and Harries’ acquisition amid an injury crisis and a shocking plunge in form justifies the description “legacy manager”, used by a Crystal Palace insider to explain the 40-year-old’s view of his role at Rovers.
Three points on a Saturday will always be the priority for any manager, but Garner - coupled with head of recruitment Tommy Widdrington - applies a layer of perspective to his decision-making.
Short-termism in the transfer market has cost Rovers badly, both in a financial and football sense, and Garner is enacting his very own ‘Project Big Picture’ Bristol Rovers.
The left-footed Harries was very much a signing looking further down the line. Almost a month after his arrival, the 23-year-old was yet to play a minute of football for the Gas despite a packed fixture list, and one wanted to know why. Looking beyond his highlight reel of raking passes and courageous forays into midfield, a deep dive into his statistics showed defensive frailties - specifically in the air and reading the game out of possession. Of Rovers’ five centre-backs at the time, Harries ranked bottom across his career for both aerial duel success percentage and interceptions per 90 minutes.
He finally made his debut in March, just in time for the season to be curtailed by the pandemic - certainly not the start to life at Rovers he had envisaged.
But he was always signed with a view to making an impact six months after he joined and beyond. And the signs of Garner’s intensive coaching, plus some wisdom learned from experienced heads around him such as Max Ehmer, Jack Baldwin and Anssi Jaakkola, are plain to see.
Having sat out the Carabao Cup tie at Portman Road on September 5, Harries has played 90 minutes in every game - save for one EFL Trophy tie - since.
The passing game is there, but it has been blended with sensibility to clear his lines when needed and all-round defensive improvements underpinned by a body-on-theline mentality.
Harries has won 75 per cent of his defensive duels this season, better than the 52 per cent and 33 per cent scores of defensive colleagues Ehmer and Baldwin - both of whom have played well in the past two games.
The Welshman has also improved his interceptions per 90 minutes to seven and is averaging the most clearances of any Rovers centre-back.
Coupled with his ability on the ball, he has become a central pillar of an improving Rovers team which have gained successive wins for the first time in Garner’s tenure, and it is no accident.
Harries’ growth is a process Rovers want to use as a formula for a production line of cheaply-acquired, yet talented, players, who go on to establish themselves at the Mem before leading the club to success or moving on for a sizeable fee. And at the current rate, it is not hard to imagine clubs further up the pyramid carrying an interest in the Birmingham-born defender.
Admittedly over a small sample size, Harries has shown all the qualities desired in a modern centre-half: poise and a range of passing married to a brand of resilience and defensive acumen.
The latter qualities are the most recently acquired for Harries, and he is just one example of a player improved by Garner’s coaching.
“Cian has been very, very consistent this season, and full credit to him,” Garner told the Bristol Post at full-time last Saturday.
“He came in January, we didn’t rush him into the team because we didn’t think he was ready. We identified two or three areas we felt he really needed to improve to be able to cope with League One football.
“He’s done that, he’s become a
man and a leader, and I’m really pleased for him. It shows if you get the opportunity, you can take it and establish a career at this club.”
Jayden Mitchell-Lawson, Cameron Hargreaves, Tom Mehew and others in their late teens or early twenties have also benefited from the manager’s education, and that was one of the primary reasons he got the job.
Rovers have tightened their belts and gone are the days of overpaying for over-the-hill players. They must develop from within - both their academy graduates and lowcost signings from other clubs - if they are to achieve long-term financial sustainability.
Ben Liddle is a player signed on a similar deal to Harries, with Middlesbrough not receiving a fee up front for the 22-year-old midfielder but entitled to add-ons and sell-on bonuses if he is a success in the blue and white quarters.
Josh Grant, 21, Brandon Hanlan, 23, and 25-year-old David Tutonda are also players signed without paying a fee - though Gillingham will be entitled to compensation for Hanlan - and encouraging signs of their potential has been obvious in the opening month of the season.
James Daly, Josh Barrett and Zain Westbrooke are also highlyregarded talents acquired while reducing the wage bill and working comfortably within the limits of the League One salary cap.
Jonah Ayunga from non-league Havant & Waterlooville cost Rovers in the region of £40,000, and although he is out injured for the time being the 23-year-old has the makings of a good striker at League One level with the right coaching.
Rovers have full faith Garner is the right man to help these players flourish, and the case of Harries is at least one instance where the board have been vindicated.