A few days ago, our Sailors announced the signing of Harith Kanadi. Some fans immediately asked me who he was and what I knew about him. I promised I would answer some of these queries in the form of an article, so here it is.
Why Are We Signing a Leftback?
This is the first question I received. The answer seems to me quite simple, but I have been reliably informed that it is not so simple. What do I mean?
I had thought it was obvious that Nur Adam Abdullah would at some point have to be enlisted, and so Harith Kanadi is a like-for-like replacement. One leftback in, one leftback out. However, there’s word out there that Nur Adam is not gonna be enlisted soon? I guess noone really knows. The signs surely point towards him having to go in sometime, and when that time comes, Harith will be our man at leftback.
In any case, Harith adds depth to a position where we already have some cover. At leftback, we have Nur Adam and also Chris van Huizen. At a push, Mamat can also play there – he’s played there before for the Young Lions and excelled there.
You’d have noticed of course that Chris can also play rightback, so if he’s played there, then the number of left-back options decrease and Harith may come into play. Besides these reasons, there may be another reason for his signing.
Versatility
When Harith first broke onto the scene, he played the majority of his games at leftback for Geylang. However, this season, we’ve seen him play at left wing in about half his appearances for the Young Lions. He has registered 1 goal and 2 assists, in a side that struggles to get goals.
In fact, Harith is the second-top assister in Young Lions, despite already having left them. With only 2 assists, it kinda shows the problems that Young Lions have – they have only scored 24 all season, but that’s another topic for another day.
Why is this versatility important? We saw against Spurs how our Sailors lined up in a back 5. This may be how we choose to line up against opponents who are technically superior to us in the AFC Champions League.
If so, then Harith Kanadi’s signing gives us an extra option down the left, where we may employ a left wingback (LWB) to stretch the play, and help to contribute both in defence and attack. This role is usually quite demanding of players, because they have to provide the width on attack or there will be a lack of options for the midfielders and striker to link up with – however they also have to ensure that on transitions, they run back quickly to get into position. Fresh legs may be needed to ensure that the level of energy doesn’t drop when the player gets tired charging up and down the flanks.
Yet another possibility is that if Harith can take the LWB slot, then perhaps Nur Adam can be re-purposed into a left-sided centreback in a back 3, especially if some of our central defenders are out injured/suspended, or if we need some more pace than what our centrebacks can offer.
Something Different
So far, you’ve seen me compare Harith and Nur Adam quite often. The comparison is quite understandable given that they both play in similar positions, they are of a similar age, and they are even of a similar height. Harith is 165cm while Nur Adam is 168cm.
Nur Adam is obviously alot stockier, and so the way he gets up and down the flank is quite different from how Harith does it. When we spoke to Nur Adam earlier this season, he talked about wanting to get more assists. He now has 3 this season, and that’s from leftback position. Storming up and down the flank has always been his thing.
Stylistically, Nur Adam is different from Chris van Huizen, our other leftback option, who also gets up and down the flank, but does so in a less forceful manner, and has a preference for whipping a lovely cross into the box for his teammates to feast on.
Well – Harith is a bit like a combination of both I guess. Not quite as forceful running as Nur Adam, good crossing but not quite as deadly as Chris van Huizen’s crossing as well. A good mixture of both. And he shoots on his right foot too, and scored! We will put some links after the article for you to check out his goals and assists this season.
This gives the coach options as well of course, which can only be a good thing, as we navigate a busy end to the season with the Singapore Cup and ACL games.
If you watch his interview, he talks about getting assists for the Sailors, and on the back of some evidence this season of his crossing ability, we are confident he can get a few assists himself!
What do Geylang Fans Say?
When I was writing this, I realised that the best people to ask about Harith Kanadi, especially when it came to stuff that is not easily captured in stats or highlights, would be the fans of teams he played for.
I reached out to Jeff from Ultras Eagles, and he had this to say.
Harith is one of the Geylang Eagle’s fans favourite – one that we have voted to be the Fans’ Player of the Year in 2020 after the league resumed post-pandemic. He always gave his all each time he put on the green and white kit of Geylang. We at the stands never questioned his commitment and determination to win a game.
For someone who was so young, he outshone the more established players because of his work rate and determination that were not unnoticed by Geylang’s coaching staff and the fans in the stands . While I would have loved for him to join Geylang again post-NS, it can’t be denied that he would probably have much better exposure and career development with LCS. He will have strong competition with Nur Adam as both of them are probably the leftbacks of the future for Singapore. I wish him well and hopefully sooner than later see him play for Geylang again.
– Jeff from Ultras Eagles
With that, I think it’s as good a place as any to end the little write-up we have for our new pocket-sized leftback. Let’s hope we grow to love Harith as much as the Ultras Eagles did!
Written by Eddy Hirono
Picture credit to Lion City Sailors
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