Over the past few weeks, I have read many negative comments about Jordan Ayew on Twitter. Some of the criticisms are understandable and justified, but one term that keeps being used to describe him is lazy. Many Villa fans feel that Jordan Ayew is a lazy footballer. Well, I am having none of it!
There are many words you could use to describe Jordan Ayew: talented, frustrating, skillful, wasteful, speedy, greedy and sulky, but for me, lazy is not one of them.
I think it is easy for fans to use the lazy card when talking about Ayew, simply because of his demeanour.
However, this is an attitude that many talented players show in football right now and have shown throughout the years.
Watching the games this season, he has tracked back well and provided good cover for whichever full-back he has played in front of.
So let`s look at the data, from last season and the games played so far this season, provided by Birmingham Mail and WhoScored.com respectively.
Last season Ayew was second in the entire squad, only to Ashley Westwood (11.42km), when it came to average distance covered per game (11.27km). On average this season, he has won the second most tackles per game (2.5), behind only Aaron Tshibola (3) and he has the second most interceptions per game (1.8) of any midfielder or attacker, behind only Ashley Westwood (1.9).
Also there has been a clear difference in defensive support given to the full-backs when players like Kodjia and Green have been deployed in those wide areas.
At some point in the not too distant future, given the amount of shots he has per game (3.3), he will start to score goals. Hopefully then his body language becomes more positive.
However, until that point there are negatives you could use to describe Jordan Ayew, but lazy is not one of them.