Crewe Alexandra: Abdul Osman happy to put in shift to keep Crewe flowing
ABDUL Osman says he is revelling in his role as the conductor of Crewe’s ugly business, even if it will never make him a poster boy.
The 25-year-old admits he was not brought into Gresty Road from Greek side Kerkyra last summer for his prolific scoring or killer passes.
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Abdul Osman
The central midfielder, who has made 30 appearances this season, expects he will break his Alex duck sooner or later but he has other priorities.
His task, as he puts it, is “to do a job for the team” and that means interceptions, quick short passes to the more creative team-mates around him and getting stuck in.
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So everyone needed a double take when he popped up in Coventry City’s six-yard box with a diving header last week, sending an effort just wide.
“I think he had a nose bleed in that position,” said manager Steve Davis.
It is now more than two years since Osman scored in English football ... robbing Matt Tootle of possession to score in a 6-2 win for Northampton against Crewe in February 2011.
“I’m due a goal,” he said. “I’m going to keep trying, surely it will come.
“I would need to add that goal threat to my game if I am to become a complete midfielder, but what I bring to the team is important.
“Goals would just be a bonus. A big bonus.”
The defensive midfielder’s lot has never been trendy.
Even Didier Deschamps, who won the World Cup, European Championship glory and two Champions League titles, was branded as a “water carrier”.
“He gets by because he always gives 100 per cent, but you can find players like him on every street corner,” said his one-time France team-mate Eric Cantona.
Yet Claude Makelele succeeded in getting a deep-lying role named in his honour and now has a chapter dedicated to his approach in a Uefa coaching manual.
Osman said: “The manager hasn’t been pestering me about scoring more goals. He wants me to do the job I do. That’s what I have been brought to Crewe for.”
In all, Osman has found the net nine times in his professional career.
The Johnstone’s Paint Trophy northern area final second leg against Coventry will be the 200th elite match he has played in – and he is 30/1 to score first.
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