Detailed: Portsmouth's Conor Chaplin headache - and the damning numbers behind Ipswich man's unpopular new role
Despite 105 career goals, the attacker has yet to register a shot on target in his seven Pompey games this season
When Conor Chaplin addressed his surprise positional switch after Middlesbrough, he remarked he’d previously never played on the right wing.
That’s not quite the case. In truth, before his Fratton Park arrival there had been the odd outing in the unfamiliar role during 421 career appearances, albeit admittedly incredibly rare.
Regardless, the attacker revelled in the form of his life during successive Ipswich promotions, finishing as leading scorer in each glorious season - all achieved while operating as a number 10.
Now John Mousinho is challenged with the conundrum of getting the best out of a footballer, who undoubtedly returns a better player than when he left the south coast seven years ago.
Crucially, however, Chaplin has yet to demonstrate such talents. Certainly there is an argument that the position isn’t allowing him to.
For the last five matches, the 28-year-old has been switched to the right flank, having been moved from the number 10 position to accommodate John Swift and then, on Saturday, Colby Bishop.
In his press conference ahead of Stoke’s visit, Mousinho explained in detail how Chaplin’s role was more of an inverted right winger, effectively operating as a ‘right-sided number 10’.
‘We aren’t necessarily asking Conor to be an out-and-out winger’
He told The News at the time: ‘We aren’t necessarily asking Conor to be an out-and-out winger, get onto the touchline and take players on. We’re asking him to come inside, find those pockets and do something different.’
Certainly nobody in the current squad - Minhyeok Yang, Florian Bianchini, Harvey Blair and Mark Kosznovszky - can possibly replicate the ex-Newcastle man’s pace, directness and excellent final product.
Importantly, though, Chaplin has yet to click in his new right-wing role. Seven matches into his second Blues spell he is without a goal or an assist. In addition, although striking the post against Coventry, he still has to register a single shot on target.
It’s a far cry from the Conor Chaplin whose career flourished under Kieran McKenna at Ipswich and reached the heights of scoring in the Premier League.
Season of his life
When the Tractor Boys were promoted from League One behind Plymouth in 2022-23, Chaplin totalled 29 goals and six assists in all competitions.
According to Wyscout, 36 of his 41 league starts that term came as an attacking midfielder (the number 10). That also consisted of a hat-trick in a 6-0 success against Charlton in April 2023.
He actually started on the right wing twice, featuring there against Forest Green (August 2022) and Bristol Rovers (September 2022), plus a sub outing against Accrington Stanley.
Regardless, the former Coventry man enjoyed, to date, the best-scoring season of his career as a number 10.
The following season (2023-24), Ipswich again earned promotion as runners-up, this time to Leicester City, as they clinched a return to the Premier League after a 22-year absence.
Chaplin scored 13 times and provided five assists to maintain his fine form. Of his 47 appearances, 46 were as the number 10.
The sole occasions he wasn’t utilised in his favourite role was as a left-sided forward in a 22-minute appearance off the bench in a Carabao Cup match with Reading in August 2023.
Chaplin’s first season at Portman Road was in 2021-22, when he registered 11 goals and three assists. Of his 30 starts in all competitions, only four were not as an attacking midfielder.
A centre-forward at Barnsley
Intriguingly, during a two-year spell at Barnsley, he was primarily employed as a centre-forward in his maiden campaign in 2019-20.
It was a successful Championship year for the Worthing-born lad, with 13 goals and five assists, including a first career hat-trick against QPR in December 2019 and a Sky Bet EFL Championship Player of the Month award for December.
However, he didn’t reach the same heights in 2020-21, with four goals and two assists. Scratching beneath the surface reveals the probable cause is the lack of a settled position.
Having remained at centre-forward at the start of the season, he then spent an eight-game spell as an attacking midfielder, then was switched for seven matches onto the left wing. Chaplin ended the campaign with two outings on the right wing.
As for last season in the Premier League, a relegation campaign for Ipswich, Chaplin’s impact was hindered by injury, with just two goals and one assist.
Of his 10 top-flight starts, he lined up for nine of them as the number 10. The only exception was starting at centre-forward in a 4-0 defeat to Newcastle in February 2024.
Now Chaplin is struggling to sparkle on the right wing for a club positioned 18th in the Championship. John Mousinho must come up with the solution as to how he can reinvigorate the scoring talent.