There were few Cardiff City summer signings which piqued this writer's interest more than Romaine Sawyers.
Every time the midfielder played against the Bluebirds, he always impressed. When Neil Warnock's Cardiff side were dismantled 4-2 at The Hawthorns back in 2019, Sawyers was terrific; he bossed the game.
It was strange, then, to see him fall out of favour after Slaven Bilic's departure from the Midlands club. Having seen him operate both in a playmaker role and in a deeper-lying, quarter-back style role, he appeared to be a jigsaw piece Cardiff had been missing since their own drop back down from the Premier League.
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But, for whatever reason, Steve Morison could not quite find the right role for him, those couple of encouraging early performances notwithstanding.
Playing at the tip of the midfield in the first half of the season, Sawyers just struggled to get his rhythm. He could not unlock defences in a way that was expected and slowed down play too often when City broke. He did, though, endear himself somewhat with a couple of long-range efforts which found the target when Cardiff were struggling for goals.
Sawyers' season threatened to be derailed by the appointment of Mark Hudson. Despite featuring regularly under Morison, Hudson quickly made a call on the midfielder and essentially bombed him out of the squad.
Quite the call for someone who was expected to be a key figure in the squad this season.
Under Hudson, who took charge of 18 games, Sawyers played just 394 minutes of football. He was on the pitch just 24 percent of the time Hudson was in the dugout.
With Sabri Lamouchi in charge? Well, that number rockets up to 100 percent. In seven games, he has started and finished every one. That shows you just what the Frenchman thinks about him.
He has a new role, too, a deep-lying playmaker from where he controls distribution. In the last seven outings, he has produced 12 key passes, more than his previous 16 games combined.
We have also seen him more emboldened with the ball at his feet, dribbling past opponents which, curiously, he appeared to do less of despite being in a more advanced position earlier in the campaign. He has been fouled eight times under Lamouchi, more than the rest of the entire season combined.
And defensively he is producing, too. As this article alludes to, you don't really associate Sawyers with a 'dogs-of-war-type tackler', mopping up in front of the three centre-backs. But he's been getting stuck in and that is an aspect of his game which has drawn far less attention. He has made more tackles (10) under Lamouchi than he did in the 17 games before the manager was appointed.
Granted, he was a substitute in many of the games leading up to Lamouchi's tenure beginning, but the point still stands.
Midfield has been an area of concern for Cardiff for some time. Well, since they dropped down from the Premier League, really. Too many similar-minded players and not enough balance.
Cardiff have lacked a real commander in there with the ability to attack, defend and lead. Neil Warnock thought Marlon Pack might be the answer, but the former Bristol City man never really cracked it, despite threatening to do so on occasions.
One of the more impressive aspects of Sawyers' game is the bits that perhaps go unseen. When players are substituted on, Sawyers invariably calls them over and explains, in detail, what their roles are. Despite not donning the arm band, it's an undoubted act of leadership and proof of not only his astute footballing brain, but that he is clearly in sync with Lamouchi's plan and how best to achieve the end goal.
See below a screenshot of the moment Sory Kaba and Kion Etete were brought on against Norwich City as they run straight over to Sawyers, who explains in depth the game plan, their jobs within it and how best to implement it.
His words clearly hold weight within the squad. At 31, he is the oldest member of this Bluebirds side and he is one of the few with Premier League experience, as well as more than 200 Championship appearances and 136 League One outings to his name.
For those who attend games regularly, they will hear Sawyers' voice more regularly than most. Cardiff's new-look squad this season is hardly packed with vocal leaders, so it is another important string to the Kittitian's bow.
The problem of that imbalanced midfield now appears to be solved, with Sawyers now deployed next to the nippy but technically sound Wintle. Having the option of Joe Ralls, Andy Rinomhota or, perhaps, a fit Rubin Colwill to choose from if another body is needed in there is a good place for Lamouchi to be.
Seven games is only a small sample size, of course, and there is a tendency to get carried away in this game at times, but Lamouchi does appear to have unlocked the real Romaine Sawyers; the player who many saw as an important acquisition last summer. Cardiff's win rate with Sawyers in the starting lineup this season is 37.5 percent, without him it plummets to just 21 percent, perhaps the most telling statistic of all.
Cardiff fans will hope Sawyers' influence continues to yield positive results as the Bluebirds bid to continue their climb away from the relegation zone.
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