I posted the following Tweet early on Saturday morning, and it’s fair to say, it provoked a reaction.
I refuse to believe these Chelsea ‘fans’ who claim Marcos Alonso had a good season actually watched any of our games.
— Jamie Wilkinson (@parkedthebus) July 15, 2017
Chelsea fans, far and wide, appear to think that Marcos Alonso was a revelation last campaign. Chelsea fans, far and wide, are wrong. Here’s why.
There can be few arguments that Alonso was flimsy defensively last campaign. His lack of discipline and positional awareness were staggering, it’s remarkable that we had the third best defensive record in the Premier League with the the Spaniard being a cornerstone in our defence. Gary Cahill, who is rough around the edges himself, continually bailed Alonso out last season.
Alonso is solely rated among the Chelsea faithful due to his ability going forward – the question I pose to you is; what ability going forward? It’s a complete myth.
Alonso playing at left-wing-back gives him an edge over his full-back counterparts, he, by definition, has a more offensive role. However, he is still outperformed by the many of the left-backs in the league. Below is proof of that.
Chances created & key passes per 90 minutes
James Milner: 1.60 & 1.51
Danny Rose: 1.53 & 1.41
Leighton Baines: 1.50 & 1.40
Christian Fuchs: 1.04 & 0.93
Ryan Bertrand: 0.97 & 0.83
Van Aanholt: 0.76 & 0.76
Marcos Alonso: 0.77 & 0.67
Alonso, who is widely regarded among Chelsea fans as one of the best crossers in the Premier League, successfully completed 14 crosses in the league last season. No, that is not a typo, 14.
Granted, Alonso is a goal-threat, I can’t argue with that, I acknowledge it, but we are not talking about our centre-forward here. Repeat after me – left-wing-back. Left. Wing. Back.
I’m all for respecting opinions, football is a game of opinions, but suggesting that Alonso is not a weakness, and we shouldn’t look to upgrade on him at the first possible opportunity is, quite frankly, laughable.
Chelsea are back in the Champions League now, and winger facing Alonso will be licking their lips, we need to find a replacement, and fast. Whether that be Alex Sandro, Alex Telles, or even giving Ryan Bertrand a second shot at life in SW6 – get it done.
Feel free to continue this debate in the comments section!