Wolves blog: How do you solve a problem like Benik Afobe?

It was not long ago that scoring goals was not a problem for Wolves. When Benik Afobe joined Wolves back in January, he became part of arguably the strongest attacking trio in the Championship..writes Wolves blogger Tom Tracey.

Nouha Dicko and Bakary Sako had already formed a strong year-long partnership prior to his arrival, but Afobe added another prong to their devilish attack. All three players ended the season well into double figures for Wolves, despite Afobe only playing 21 games in the Championship.

Whilst Sako's summer departure was always going to be inevitable, there was still a feeling of optimism about the power and pace of 'DnA' and their ability to fire Wolves into promotion contention.

Nouha Dicko's season-long injury was not supposed to be part of the equation and the magic trio had dwindled down to just one. As we near the halfway point in the season, goals have been far harder to come by for Wolves.

In the last 21 games of the 2014/15 season, starting with Afobe's debut against Blackpool, Wolves scored 41 goals, an average of 1.95 goals per game. Afobe played in every one of these matches and scored 13 goals – over thirty percent of the total.

In the 21 games that have been played this season in all competitions, Wolves have scored 26 goals by contrast, an average of 1.24 goals per game. Afobe played in 20 of these matches – he was an unused substitute against Barnet. He has managed 8 goals which are still over thirty percent of the total.

These statistics show that Afobe is keeping a consistent level of scoring in proportion with the rest of the team. The problem then is getting the team to score more goals and consequently also Afobe.

The current tactics that Jackett is employing are not creating enough clear cut chances. In Dicko, Afobe had a partner who was strong and could hold the ball up, and pull defenders away with his pace and movement. This meant that Afobe had to do less of the groundwork and was often ready to chase any through ball or get on the end of chances.

Dave Edwards has been Afobe's most common partner this season in playing behind the striker and whilst he has favourable qualities, he does not possess the same attributes as Dicko. He is not able to pull defenders out of position or hold the ball up for Afobe.

This season, Afobe is far too often found as deep as in his own half, trying to create chances for the rest of the team rather than being the focal point of the attack. Whilst he is undoubtedly Wolves' most talented player, he is trying to take on too many roles within the team, meaning there is often nobody in the box to finish an attack.

Despite his comments earlier in the season about his enjoyment of playing as a 'ten', Jackett cannot allow him to play this role if paired with Edwards as the final third is far too depleted. For all the efforts creating chances, the best finisher in Afobe will not be there to take them.

Whilst Wolves are obviously missing a vital player in Dicko, Jackett must find a way to get more chances to Afobe as he is the best source of goals at the club.

But if he does persist in allowing Afobe to drop deeper, he needs to have a forward that can finish the chances he creates – whether this is Le Fondre or not, Jackett must give it a chance as the current system will not provide enough goal scoring chances.