There might not be a more polarizing figure on the Columbus Crew SC roster than Tyson Wahl.
Fans of the Black and Gold have certainly had a chance to express their thoughts on him during his time with the club. And at times, those thoughts have been of the negative and downright vociferous variety.
Is It Finally Time To Start Giving Columbus Crew SC’s Tyson Wahl Some Credit?
Since Wahl joined Crew SC in 2013, there have been times when his play in central defense has been deserving of such criticism. And you could make the argument it’s why the club has dabbled in the transfer market to shore up the middle of the back line over the past two seasons.
First came Emanuel Pogatetz who was signed late in 2014. He played sparingly that season. And after multiple defensive lapses, some of which Wahl played a part in, led to Crew SC’s exit from the playoffs, fans were looking forward towards Pogatetz’s potential.
But he fell out of favor with head coach Gregg Berhalter midway through the 2015 campaign. As a result, Wahl was thrust back into the starting lineup. And it didn’t take long before fans started piling on about his play.
It all came to a head against Orlando City SC on August 1st. The Black and Gold stumbled to a 5-2 defeat. And whether it was mistakes in marking or losing defensive shape, Wahl had his share of issues.
Enter Gaston Sauro. Columbus signed him five days after the Orlando loss. And his presence alongside Michael Parkhurst, along with the addition of Harrison Afful, played a huge role in Crew SC’s run to the MLS Cup Final.
All of this may paint a less than savory picture of Wahl’s capabilities as a center back. But I’m here to make the argument that’s far from the case. His more recent performances speak of a much improved defender. He’s certainly embraced his role as a competent option off the bench who can fill in due to either injury or suspension.
The first example of this was in the first leg of last year’s Eastern Conference finals against the New York Red Bulls. Sauro was forced to miss the game due to suspension. And it was Wahl who came in and put together a solid performance as Columbus cruised to a 2-0 victory.
Now fast forward to the present. Sauro’s hamstring injury which he suffered in the first half of Crew SC’s 2-0 loss to the Montreal Impact has forced Wahl back into action. And the pressure was certainly on considering the club came out of that game winless in their first five for only the third time in its existence.
But in the two games he’s started, Wahl’s play has evoked the word his last name is a homophone with. Yes there was the unfortunate incident late in the game against New York City FC where he took down Kwadwo Poku in the box. But other than that, he really has been a wall. And Crew SC has obtained the full three points in both of his starts.
There are three areas that show up statistically where players with defensive-oriented responsibilities must excel. The first of these is being able to directly win possession from the opponent. Another is anticipating opposing players passing tendencies with their movement and spacing on the field to win the ball. Finally, you have to be good in the air, especially on set pieces.
Advanced stats firm Opta allows us to track this data. Go to a website like Whoscored.com and you can find tackles, interceptions and aerial duels stats for every player in Major League Soccer.
In Wahl’s case, we want to add the combined total of his tackles, interceptions and aerial duels won during a given 90 minutes of play. Since he’s only been on the field for 242 minutes, it’s good to compare that total against players in the league who’ve seen a similar amount of on-field action. And so I looked for players who fared well in these stats who’ve played between 200 and 300 minutes.
You can find the results of my findings in the following visual.
As you can see, Wahl’s defensive work rate has been nothing short of fabulous. His ability to win the ball both on the ground and in the air shows up big time in these stats. While it’s not the complete package in evaluating how good a given defender is playing, it’s a nice indicator of their overall defensive acumen.
Wahl has taken a lot of flack from Crew SC nation during his time in Columbus. While it’s true that some of it has been warranted at times, a majority of the criticism can aptly be described as reactionary social media sneering. And his recent play has demonstrated that he deserves better.
At this level of soccer, every player named to the 18-man squad on a given matchday has to be capable of coming in when their name is called. It’s the hallmark of a winning team. Crew SC proved their quality in this department by coming within a win of their second championship last season. Tyson Wahl was there when it mattered down the stretch, and he’s been there this season as Crew SC appears to have reversed a slow start to the season.
Now, if only the finishing on the other side of the field can improve.
Photo courtesy of Columbus Crew SC Communications.
