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The curious case of Alain Sommeil |
Who would have thought an Injury prone midfielder would go on to your highest capped player?
The players at Bucks Revolution will be the first to admit this has been comfortably their worst season to date, languishing in 5th position and winning only 1 of their last 8 games. But the team did have some reason to celebrate as fan-favourite Alain Sommeil became the first Revolution player to pass the 100 appearances mark. Sommeil - 29 - has been with the team since it's inception and helped them to various promotions as well as a League title.
He has not been quiet either. With 34 goals and 27 assists, Sommeil has scored or assisted in 60% of his 103 games. His total Goals/Assists is only bested in the Revolution squad by Drew Coles' with his miraculous 44 and 52 in 99 appearances. An intelligent and pacy player with an ability to play any position, Sommeil, alongside Coles has been one of the few constants in a Revolution midfield which has seen much chopping and changing since their Xpert Eleven debut some seasons ago. This comes as a surprise considering his injury prone nature.
"First rule when establishing a squad, hoik out your injury prone players. That's what they all say", manager Murton jokes as he talks about Sommeil's achievement.
"Alain cemented himself in the team very early on as a class act, and hasn't looked back since. He's taken knocks here and there but I think he's undeserving of the label he gets."
On Sommeil's achievement ; "He's not the first and he won't be the last in this game to get to 100. He knows that and isn't making a big fuss of it, although he gets a bit of banter in the changing room from the other lads. We're still looking to the future with Alain. Drew (Coles) is getting on a bit and heading towards retirement, preferably later rather than sooner! But as we near that point we'll be looking for Alain to come in and fill that role in our midfield".
Words of advice to other budding managers from Murton - Don't judge a book by it's cover and don't always discount your players despite their labels!
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