28th Sep 2022 • Written by Nikhil Bandlish

Jordan Ayew: Hero or Villain?

Wilfried Zaha, Yannick Bolasie, Glenn Murray, Mile Jedinak Darren Ambrose, Joel Ward, Julian Speroni... Jordan Ayew?

These are players that (arguably) epitomise what it means to be a part of the Crystal Palace community, now and over the last 10-15 years (of course there are countless more, these were just off the top of my head). We’ve had club legends, cult heroes, one-season wonders and a host of flops along the way but on the whole, a solid collection of players who will undoubtedly be remembered fondly. There are also players with whom we have an affinity; great individual performances or consistent contributors, without making the headlines every week. 

One such player is Jordan Ayew. An enigmatic figure, he has often been labelled a relic of a bygone era: the Hodgson years. And therein lies the problem. You would be hard-pressed to find a genuine Crystal Palace supporter who doesn’t appreciate the job that Roy Hodgson did for the club, but the proliferation of numbers and stats in the modern game would have us believe almost every player severely underperformed across his tenure, when in fact, they may have done their job to a tee.

An enigmatic figure, Jordan Ayew has often been labeled a relic of a bygone era.

Having signed permanently for a reported £2.5 million in 2019 following a successful loan, Jordan Ayew has gone on to make 140 appearances, scoring 15 goals and assisting 11 in all competitions. Here we look at his legacy, whether he has lived up to expectations, or if he has fallen short.

The Good

Although he isn’t the most prolific player in the world, Jordan Ayew has brought great moments to Selhurst Park and has played an instrumental role in the renaissance of the club as a whole. His Goal of the Season contender against West Ham in 2019 will forever live on in our memories as a reminder of his ability and potential, but now at the ripe age of 30, it’s about time we appreciate him for his contributions: Agility, work-rate, tracking back, ability-to-win-fouls-out-of-nothing and of course, boiling piss, for which he is (arguably) rivalled only by Zaha.

So often we find ourselves pinned back, unable to get out and constantly under pressure. In these moments, it always seems to be Ayew who tries to carry the ball up the pitch and failing anything else, wins a cheap foul to provide relief all around. It is this part of his game that split’s opinion among the Palace fanbase. We see Ayew for his natural position: forward-thinking right winger. What we fail to see is his development into a box-to-box midfielder, who just happens to occupy a spot on the right. 

What we fail to see is his development into a box-to-box midfielder, who just happens to occupy a spot on the right. 

The Bad

With 29 goals and 15 assists in 207 appearances, (including his Swansea and Villa days), his attacking stats are by no means the greatest. I won’t rattle off all the numbers but chances created, dribbles completed and crosses attempted all reflect consistently average performances since he first joined Palace on loan in the 18/19 season. But it isn’t for a lack of trying. The all-important eye-test ensures that we get the bigger picture and while his ability to find space and exploit it to get up the field is renowned, his release in the final third lets him down severely. With an average of just under 2 Big Chances created per season, there is no doubt he lacks end-product in and around the 18-yard box.

Then there is the frustration factor, the element of his game that can’t quite be quantified. Perhaps this one isn’t the fault of Ayew himself, but when we’ve been spoilt silly with Zaha and Bolasie bombing down the wing, rinsing defenders for no other reason than to humiliate them, anything else seems like a downgrade. The glory days of Crystal Palace Football Club are, as the last year has shown, yet to come. For a long period, our flair on the pitch and constant willingness to give it a go set us apart from competitors. In this regard, Ayew fails to live up to the admittedly high standards set by his predecessors. Although his occasional bursts of pace and tact get supporters on the edge of their seats, they inevitably sit back in frustration when he fails to release the ball soon enough, or launches the ball into the stands.

Then there is the frustration factor, the element of his game that can’t quite be quantified.

Essentially, he is an attacker that can’t really attack effectively. This isn’t at all to say that he is a bad player, but perhaps his place on the wing was cemented through convenience, rather than necessity. 

The Ugly

Every team has one of them, that player. Grealish at Villa, Hazard and Costa at Chelsea, Vardy at Leicester. Players that know how to get under the opposition’s skin, and Ayew does it better than most; never becoming aggressive himself, always willing to protect the ball with his body and always willing to push higher and higher.

It’s the ugly side of the game that differentiates the good from the great. Ugly doesn’t necessarily mean physicality and an overall disdain for rules, more so the mentality. Staying positive, determined and resolute are subjective traits that are manifested in the performances we see. In an age of technology and optimisation, there are no numerical parameters that can determine the mindset of an individual; it can only be refined from within and players that can harness this, tend to perform under the radar.

Hero or Villain?

As the club identity shifts to a more progressive style and with the emergence of younger talent, we are left to contemplate Ayew’s role in the squad. The idea that he could move into a more central position has been floated in the last couple of weeks in order to facilitate the return of Olise on the wing. His high work rate and nimbleness on the ball suggests it could prove fruitful, with the absence of Gallagher proving difficult to rectify in the box-to-box department.

Like Roy Hodgson, Ayew has largely performed the duties asked of him, in spite of his low attacking returns. This is not at all to say that he has been a failure; far from it. His defensive presence ensured a spot in the squad, but with the new system in place, the focus on attacking output is more prominent than ever.

His high work rate and nimbleness on the ball suggests his new role could prove fruitful.

Overall, while he won’t go down as a club legend, or even a cult hero, Ayew has proved himself a more than capable player. While we may not have appreciated his consistency once upon a time, he has been a ‘hero’ in an era of volatility and change within the club. 

Safe in the knowledge that he has scored one of Palace’s greatest goals of the Premier League era, Ayew will join the list of club stalwarts and sit alongside the like of Joe Ledley, Cheikhou Kouyate, Scott Dann and many more who put in the time and effort required to compete in the most competitive league in the world.

❤️💙

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