George Maris — EFL Scouting
George Maris currently plays for Cambridge United in League 2 who sit a disappointing 21st. The 22 year old received large interest in summer, including from Championship team Rotherham. But, nothing materialised and he continues to ply his trade in League 2.
Maris was once considered a promising young winger with a goal scoring threat. Last season his role at Cambridge changed and led to him transitioning into a central midfielder. In a pre-season radio interview with BBC Cambridge, Maris speaks about his deeper role and now his manager, Joe Dunne, wants him to be an all round midfielder who distributes from the defence and can join attacks.
Pivot Role
Cambridge United played some decent football last season, they played out the back and looked to keep possession. Maris has been effective at being their deep midfielder who looks to dictate play and transfer the ball up the field.
Here you can see against Port Vale in their season opening fixture, Maris is positioned in front of the defensive line. He’s on a similar level to the full backs. His fellow holding midfield, Deegan, is more defensively minded and less technical.
Maris is ahead of Port Vale’s block and has few progressive passing options due to the compactness of their midfield. But, he spread the ball wide to the full back and Cambridge progress up the pitch.
In this graphic you can see how Maris dictates play and finds space. The Cambridge right winger has possession but Port Vale overloaded that zone. When he can’t go anywhere to ball is cycled round to Maris who is in good space in the middle of the park and easily accessible.
An overload in one area leads to space in other areas, here it is the other wing where the left back is running into the space from deep. Maris has an easy pass to put him in space for a quick attack but unfortunately overhit the pass.
I think he’s adapted to this role well. I can also understand Dunne’s reason for coverting the young winger to a central role, as I think he’s well suited to it and can really develop into a good player. He isn’t an accomplished dribbler but is composed on the ball and possesses good passing. During 2018/19, he has regularly had the most touches in the team and completes 82% of passes.
Against Cheltenham in game week five, Deegan sat back a lot and did a lot of defensive work and hard tackles. He also completed a lot of passes and played out from the defence. Maris offers versatility in midfield and has been given a lot of freedom to get forward. He recieves the ball deep and dropped a lot to help the defence in buildup. He often drifted to the left side and wanted that attack the Cheltenham right back and showed his creative passing in the final third.
Defensive Contribution
Maris is a hard worker and gets stuck in. He breaks up the midfield well at times but needs to improve his defensive game. Formerly being a winger, Maris possesses decent pace and is able to match attackers well. Playing alongside Deegan in a double pivot gives him more freedom to roam than being the only holding midfielder. Therefore, he’ll often drift into wide areas to defend and create overloads.
In the Cambridge system, Maris is an effective 8 who is good on the ball and can contribute at both ends, Deegan or Osadebe can do the defensive work while Jevani Brown gets forward. Maris works as the pivot in the build up, but defensively is better suited to the double pivot. In a single pivot role I think his would be too weak defensively to protect the defence on his own. Aerially he isn’t very strong and needs to improve his physicality to compete in League 2.
The young midfielder is an intelligent player. He brings energetic, well timed pressing in midfield to win the ball effectively. He takes advantage of opposition poor touches and players receiving the ball with their back to him and times his tackles well.
In 1v1s in defence, Maris is patient. He jockeys the defender and is happy to wait for the right time to tackle, rather than diving in and getting beaten which can leave the defence vulnerable. He won’t get this right every time and can overcommit, but with his added defensive duties, he’s developing still.
Joining the Attack
Maris is naturally attack minded and was traditionally a winger, scoring 0.32 goals per 90 minutes last season in League 2 and deserves more than 1 assist in the league this campaign. He can act as a good box to box midfielder looking to make attacking runs in support of teammates. In transition, if he’s not distributing from the defence, he will look to make central runs from deep into the attacking third.
He is happy to find space on the edge of the box and shoot from range. Here’s his shot map from his last few matches. He hovers on the edge of the box during attacks, often shooting from picking up loose balls from clearances or rebounds.
In tight spaces his passing can be decent, Maris can hit powerful passes along the floor to the feet of the attackers ahead of him. He can pass through gaps and break a block as well as put players into space inside the box. Maris is also a comfortable dribbler, last season he completed 2.1 dribbles per 90, with a completion rate of 68%. Coming from deep, this allows him to move into space effectively and progress play.
Another massive thing that Maris brings to a side is his set piece ability. Against Port Vale, he got three key passes, two from corners and one from a free kick cross. A good set piece team would be able to make great use of Maris and reap the benefits. He hits corner crosses really well, he slices the ball, getting underneath it and it goes into the box at good speed for a teammate to attack. His accuracy is impressive and can take corners from both sides for Cambridge.
Conclusion
George Maris stands at a respectable 5'10", but isn’t that strong in the air and would improve a lot by adding physicality to his game. This would allow him to compete much better aerially and dominate the midfield. He might struggle against some of the more physical players in League 2 at the moment. Working in the double pivot the impact of any defensive fragility, however improving this area of his game would really help him develop into a top player.
His passing can be inconsistent at times and his passes can be inconsiderate and awkward for teammates to receive. For example, putting passes that could be made simple at chest/waist height, putting the teammate under pressure. Overall, I think his passing has improved this season. He looks more composed on the ball and spreads play well. He has quick decision making but can still make mistakes.
Maris is one of the most promising midfielders in League 2 and will likely be moving to a larger side following this summer’s interest from Rotherham. He’s adapting to his new role well and it will be interested to see how he does for the rest of the season.
Maris has good positioning in the midfield, he is able to get between the lines and is always accessible and open to receive a pass. He is an impressive set piece taker and a valuable asset to any team. I’m looking forward to watching over the rest of the season.
Thanks for reading, make sure you’re following me on Twitter.
