When
you make as many signings as Steve Evans has at Rotherham, it's
inevitable that not all of them will work out.
But
there was something about the arrival of Ipswich midfielder Anthony
Wordsworth that didn't quite seem to make sense and as a result its
subsequent flop came as little surprise.
The
25-year-old arrived at New York on a five-month loan in August, with
the Millers' Championship campaign three games old.
It
followed a day after Evans added to his midfield ranks by completing
the permanent deal of Richie Smallwood and added further weight to
the notion that the boss stacking his squad with quality of quantity.
The
most pertinent question upon his arrival was did the Millers really
need him?
After
all, it's not like they were short of midfield options when
Wordsworth joined.
Smallwood, Paul Green, Ryan Hall, Paul Taylor,
Connor Newton, Febian Brandy and John Swift had all already arrived
at the club during the summer and joined existing talent Lee
Frecklington, Ben Pringle and Rob Milsom.
Nevertheless,
Evans was pleased to bring Wordsworth to the club and thought his
versatility would be useful.
He
said at the time of his signing: “He
was a lad that we tried to sign on a few occasions last season but on
every occasion we got close he was then back in Mick McCarthy’s
first team so it never became a reality.
“The
lad will bring a nice balance to our midfield area, he is naturally
left-sided with a sweet left peg and can play on the left or
centrally should the need arise.
“It
was important that if I added to the squad that I brought a player in
who was with us for some time, and not just a few weeks.”
Despite
the scepticism surrounding his move, initial impressions were
positive as Wordsworth played his part in the 1-0 win at Millwall 24
hours after he signed on the dotted line.
But
at that time of the season, Evans was doing his best impression of
the Tinkerman and made changes in each game.
It
meant the Ipswich man was never able to get a run in the team, though
did manage 90 minutes in games against Bolton, where he scored, and
Charlton.
But Frecklington regained his place in Evans' side and Wordsworth was restricted to substitute appearances against Blackburn and Norwich.
So,
although he had not been a regular in the team, he had been part of
the matchday squad and seemingly in Evans' plans.
And
then, all of a sudden, he dropped off the radar completely and only
featured in a matchday 18 twice in the last 11 games, being an unused
sub on both occasions, though he has been carrying a calf injury in
recent weeks.
Unsurprisingly
Wordsworth has returned to his parent club at the end of his loan
deal and leaves New York having made three starts, three substitute
appearances and scored one goal.
While
the Millers boss has spoken of his desire to bring back Tom Lawrence
and Emmanuel Ledesma after their loan spells ended, he has been
noticeably quiet on Wordsworth's future.
It's
safe to assume that he won't be coming back, ending one of the most
strangest loan deals in recent memory.
