The second of today’s double bill of articles, Adam Price takes a look at winger Owen Dale.
In the final hours of the transfer window, Plymouth Argyle made two signings. After Law McCabe, the second of those additions was actually announced after the transfer deadline had passed. A matter of seconds after the Green and White Podcast deadline day stream had ended, in fact. But I’m not bitter or cynical about that. Nope, not at all. Don’t bring it up again, ok?
Joking aside, the signing of Owen Dale was crucial for the Pilgrims, given the current state of their squad. Argyle already looked like they needed a winger before Xavier Amaechi was ruled out until the new year with a torn hamstring. That need became even greater when the club sanctioned Freddie Issaka’s loan to Bristol Rovers. Then, finally, Dale’s arrival on loan from Oxford United was confirmed. Is it enough? Probably not, but it’ll have to do.
Dale’s move sees him become, for my money, the only senior out-and-out winger on Argyle’s books. There will be pressure on him to perform straight away, particularly because, unlike McCabe, Dale is available to make his Argyle debut this weekend against Stockport County. As ever, let’s delve in, and see what he may be able to offer.
The experience factor
In terms of games played at League One level, McCabe and Dale could hardly be any more different. Whilst the Middlesbrough loanee has never played in the third tier, and has only made seven senior appearances in his entire career, Dale has well over 200 senior games behind him, 143 of which have come in League One.
Dale started his career in League Two with Crewe Alexandra. He grew into the side, playing a significant role in the club winning promotion alongside Argyle in 2019/20. Dale’s significant breakthrough came the season after in League One; he scored 11 league goals, dragging the Alex to a top half finish.
That earned him a move to Blackpool, who at the time were playing in the Championship. But despite scoring on his debut for the Tangerines, it soon became apparent that it was a little too soon for him to step up to the second tier. After a bit-part campaign, he spent 2022/23 back in League One with a loan at Portsmouth. And he was a regular at Pompey, playing 50 times, including both home and away against Argyle in the Pilgrims’ title-winning campaign.
For the stats in this piece, we’ll be focusing on his last two seasons, where Dale has played in League One for three different clubs. Blackpool were relegated in 2022/23, and thus opted to retain Dale for their return to the third tier. As it turned out, that was only temporary – with six months remaining on his contract, he completed a move to Oxford in the January transfer window. And it’d prove a successful one, with Oxford winning promotion to the Championship via the play-offs.
Again he’d have a shot at the second tier, and again it didn’t really work out. He made 11 Championship appearances for Oxford, but the vast majority came from the bench. In the end, he’d be on the move again in January, back to League One on loan at Wigan Athletic. He made 17 appearances for Ryan Lowe’s side last year, scoring once.
For us, we’ve got a fantastic sample size to work with. Across the last two seasons, Dale has made 58 appearances in League One, totalling 3,533 minutes of action. That gives us ample scope to take a deep dive into the numbers and assess what he may bring to Argyle. Compared to what we had to work with in McCabe’s data, that should be a piece of cake.
But more importantly, for Argyle, Dale brings a wealth of League One knowhow to a side severely lacking. Aged 26, he doesn’t necessarily fit the definition of your classic “experienced” footballer. What he does clearly possess, however, is experience of the league in which Argyle are playing. Given what we’ve seen from the Greens in the opening weeks of the season, that could prove invaluable.
Old-school winger attributes
In the modern game, you can probably place wingers into one of two distinct categories. There are the old-school wingers, with blades of the touchline wedged in their studs, who are expected to create chances for others. Then there are the modern-day wingers, expected to cut inside on their stronger foot to create and finish chances for themselves. Based on his data, Dale falls into the former category.
Dale doesn’t strike me as the sort of player who will take shots with regularity. Across his last three spells in League One, he’s taken an average of 1.45 shots per 90 minutes. That’s not insignificant, but four Argyle players bettered that figure last season. When you consider Argyle were relegated, and often on the defensive, that feels like a significant difference.
However, when it comes to creating chances for others, Dale flourishes. His average of 1.10 key passes per 90 is solid, whilst his 0.18 big chances created per 90 was only beaten by two Argyle players last term. And Dale is a man who loves to cross. When you consider that Tymoteusz Puchacz and Matty Sorinola were the only Argyle players to attempt more crosses per 90 last season than Dale’s 3.62, it gives you an idea of the sort of style he brings.
| Player | Crosses Attempted per 90 |
| Tymoteusz Puchacz | 6.89 |
| Matty Sorinola | 3.65 |
| Owen Dale* | 3.62 |
| Adam Randell | 3.56 |
| Nathanael Ogbeta | 3.01 |
| Ibrahim Cissoko | 2.95 |
Another key attribute for an old-school winger is dribbling. Dale also has that in his locker, with Ibrahim Cissoko the only Argyle player from last year to post a higher dribbles completed per 90 figure than Dale’s 1.37. Besides, Cissoko’s figure is inflated by the fact that he often seemed to try beating the same man umpteen times – note how, despite Cissoko’s significant number of dribbles completed, he ranks below Dale in the crossing table.
| Player | Dribbles Completed per 90 |
| Ibrahim Cissoko | 3.08 |
| Owen Dale* | 1.38 |
| Freddie Issaka | 1.37 |
| Morgan Whittaker | 1.29 |
| Darko Gyabi | 1.06 |
| Rami Al Hajj | 1.04 |
I think Dale can be exciting to watch. He seems to be the sort of player who won’t shy away from beating his man, before getting to the byline and putting a cross into the area. It’s good news for the likes of Lorent Tolaj, who will seek to feed off anything Dale can offer going forward.
Dale’s style, whilst perhaps not as familiar in the modern game, is nothing out of the ordinary. Being a tricky winger who puts crosses into the area has been tried and tested over decades, and has succeeded in many systems all over the world. However, can it be successful in the system Cleverley is adopting at Argyle at this time?
If I’m honest, this is where I’m slightly concerned. Thus far, we’ve seen a clear preference from Cleverley for playing wingers on their “opposite” side; the right-footed Bali Mumba has been on the left, with the left-footed Amaechi on the right. Amaechi’s injury suggests Dale will directly replace him. But Dale is a right-footer, and I wouldn’t call him and Amaechi similar players. Alternatively, Dale could play on the left, but where would that leave Mumba?
This is the quandary Cleverley must resolve. It’s perhaps not particularly urgent, because Dale certainly isn’t as right-footed as Amaechi is left-footed. However, it could well mean the system needs a rethink to get the best out of the player.
Talents out of possession
One thing I have noticed in Dale’s numbers, that perhaps isn’t the case for other wingers, is his defensive ability. I suspect he’ll be the sort of player who does his fair share of tracking back from wide positions where necessary, and he could certainly prove effective if Argyle look to deploy a high press.
Across his last two years in League One, Dale has made an average of 3.69 defensive actions per 90. For the average player, that isn’t particularly high, but for a winger it’s a decent figure. It’s more than many of Argyle’s options on the wing – Mustapha Bundu, Morgan Whittaker, Callum Wright, Whittaker and Cissoko – managed in the Championship last year.
Dale’s number looks even better when we consider the context, and the standards of the teams in which he featured. He was, of course, promoted with Oxford, but the Blackpool side he played in for the first half of that campaign was also strong for the level, finishing eighth. Wigan weren’t quite as good last season, but they still finished 15th, eight places above Argyle’s position in the Championship. In short, Argyle’s wingers had more opportunities to defend, but Dale topped the ranking.
Caveats apply the other way. For instance, some of Dale’s games came at wing back, such as in the right wing back position in Lowe’s familiar system at Wigan. As such, he would occasionally have found himself in more defensive positions, getting the opportunity to make more tackles and interceptions. That, at least in part, could explain his high figure.
However, there are also positives from Dale’s spell at wing back. The skills picked up in that role should be transferrable to playing as a winger, particularly if Argyle find themselves under pressure. It also gives Argyle another shape option – could they get Bali Mumba playing in his favoured left wing back role by putting Dale on the other flank? I wouldn’t hate the idea.
Enough in front of goal?
We’ve established that Dale is a player with good pedigree in the third tier. He’s a strong conventional winger, and could also help out defensively when required. The one thing I think has held him back, and stopped him becoming a Championship regular, is that he doesn’t seem to consistently deliver in front of goal.
Earlier in this piece, I mentioned that Dale’s big breakthrough year at this level came at Crewe. He scored 11 league goals, and earned himself his first foray in the second tier. That 11-goal campaign came in 2020/21; in the entirety of the four seasons since, he’s scored eight league goals. It’s just been nowhere near the standard he looked like he could set.
That extends to assists too; when we consider Dale’s goal contributions in recent times, the numbers paint a clear picture. In his last two years in League One, Dale has averaged 0.20 goal contributions per 90. Seven Argyle players posted a higher figure last season, despite the Greens being relegated. Bluntly, it hasn’t been good enough.
Now, there’s every chance poor fortune may have come into play here. Put enough crosses into the box, and you’d expect the assists to eventually rack up. It’s not as if Dale is a particularly bad crosser – his 21% success rate is perfectly acceptable. However, for whatever reason, the goal contributions just haven’t come, and I suspect that’s why he was never in favour under Gary Rowett in the Championship.
That’ll be the real test for Dale as he returns to the third tier. I suspect he’ll improve Argyle as a side, which I admit isn’t saying much at the moment. But can he really shine? Can he reach double figures for goals or assists this season? I suspect not, but I’d be delighted to see him prove me wrong.