The double-signing of Jack Hamilton and Josh Mullin has Raith Rovers fans excited for the upcoming season.
While Hamilton is the No 9 the side lacked last campaign, it is less obvious where Mullin will fit in.
The week before his arrival, Rovers secured the services of fellow winger Aidan Connolly for two more years.
Both players play most of their football on the right-hand side though Mullin has been known to play on the left at times.
Last season he did this three times for Ayr United, according to Transfermarkt.
That said, although both are nominally right-sided, they play the position very differently.
The left-footed Connolly does most of his work cutting in from the right while Mullin, who is right-footed, told Raith TV this week that he sees himself as more of an “old-fashioned” winger.
By this he means he is more of a ‘chalk-on-the-boots’ winger, more likely to get around the outside of a full-back than cut in towards goal.
Impressive crossing stats
According to Wyscout, Mullin places in the top 10 for the most crosses attempted last season in the Championship, crosses per 90 minutes and for their accuracy.
The StatsBomb graph below – which selects some metrics usually used to analyse wingers –Â gives a quick overview of their contrasting styles.
What stands out most obviously is Connolly is more likely to pick out a pass and Mullin is more likely to put in a successful cross.
Goals
With eight Championship goals last term, Mullin will also hopefully share some of the goalscoring burden.
There was a period last season when Connolly’s goals were carrying the team to an extent – though that did come after a period when goals were coming from all over the pitch.
As you can see from the StatsBomb graphs below, Mullin also likes to take many shots.
He took 19 from outside the area, one behind Sam Stanton and around half of the amount attempted by Dylan Easton.
The image on the right shows that two came from free kicks, though from the opposite side that Connolly likes to strike them from –Â setting up the possibility of both standing over set pieces within shooting distance.
Conclusion
Whether there is a plan to have both in the side regularly remains to be seen – perhaps Ian Murray wants two inverted wingers and Mullin to be his man on the left.
They provide different options for the same position and, alternatively, one could play centrally with the other on the right. Connolly has also been known to play on the left on occasion.
All that is before we’ve even mentioned the severe lack of numbers available at times for matches last season – so the signing of another right-sided winger makes sense for a number of reasons.
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