If any player best epitomized Newcastle's run in the first half of last season, it was Jonás Gutiérrez. Unlike the stylish attacking team we saw last spring, the 11-match unbeaten run that started the year featured a lot of ugly nail-biters and very little flair. Jonás slotted in wherever asked, be it left wing, left back, attacking or defensive midfield roles, and did so relatively effectively.
Sure, he could only score against the league's worst team, and his crosses usually elicited a derisive "he really should be doing better with that" from announcers. But it was hard to deny how hard he worked, or how much pressure he was able to relieve by drawing fouls and dribbling out of danger.
And when Newcastle piled up loss after loss this fall, Jonás again seemed a perfect symbol of the club's travails. His flaws mirrored a team-wide lack of creativity. While there was no doubting his, or the team's, effort every week, that effort was mostly channeled in unproductive and ineffective ways. Alan Pardew singled him out as an underperformer in December, yet he looked as poor as ever after returning from injury.
On Saturday, we remembered why we loved Gutiérrez so much. His tear-filled exultation after his headed goal released months of frustration supporters had with him, as well as the disappointment he'd had with his own play. It wasn't just the goal, though. Jonás put together a performance against Chelsea that, while not making anyone forget about Hatem Ben Arfa, was as effective as he'd been in months.
But the strange thing about comparing the Jonás of 2012-13 to the one of 2011-12 is how little difference there actually is by the numbers. Let's have a look:
Stats are certainly not everything, and Jonás has looked much worse to my eye as well. Whether through injury, age, or fatigue, he appears to have lost a step, which may be the cause of his lower dribble rate. But everywhere else, the numbers show that he's essentially the same player that he was a year ago.
What fans have seen from Jonás this year is a classic case of how a decent player can look very different depending on the performance of the club. Mistakes stand out more when they turn into goals, and poor crosses get erased from memory when Newcastle is leading rather than chasing a match. Win, and his obvious effort and passion is applauded. Lose, and he's a clogger who can't produce on the offensive end when the club desperately needs goals.
There's no surer sign of how far Newcastle has progressed in building the roster than seeing how Gutiérrez has slipped down the pecking order. When coming up from the Championship, he was an automatic starter. Now, he's a serviceable player in a sea of excellent ones, and will likely be dropped to the bench in favor of Ben Arfa, or even Sylvain Marveaux. Instead of being relied on for creativity he has never really possessed, Jonás can do what he does best - add energy in short bursts to close out matches. It's up to the rest of the squad to get Newcastle the lead for him to protect.
Jonas has never been able to cross th ball, his goalscoring record is a joke even for a winger, he's been played out of position since he arrived.
His only saving grace is he tracks back.
But i would rather have a player on the wing like Robert, who never tracked back.
His diving is legend, probably gained more useless free kicks than anyone, thnk about it.
Posted by: chuck | 02/06/2013 at 07:45 AM
I think the problem with Jonas this year is that he hasn't had the consistently performing quality players around him every week. Whereas last year he was one of the weakest links in a strong unit, this year he's expected to be one of the strongest and he's just been found out.
Looking at the stats (which I appreciate don't tell you everything) they haven't changed much - it's just that there's been an expectation of him taking a bigger burden when Cabaye/HBA/Tiote have been missing. It's asimilar problem that Tiote has faced this year - he's tried to take on some creative responsibility in Cabaye's absence and come up short.
Posted by: Mike | 02/06/2013 at 07:54 AM
I will preface this by saying that Jonas has been one of my favorite players to watch over the years but I have to agree (somewhat) with chuck. His crossing from the right was terrible during the Chelsea match, as was everyone's crossing from the right side. I kept yelling at the T.V. for someone to get the ball over a Chelsea player's head and not directly to them at chest level or below. Ironically the cross for the goal came from the right and was well hit.It became preditictable, and a major talking point of my buddies and I during the match.
Posted by: MichiToon25 | 02/06/2013 at 09:53 AM
One of the main things he brings to NUFC is his ability to run with the ball, protect it and draw fouls. Not so much in an offensive, creative sense but in enabling retention of possession or in relieving pressure. Take this away from his game and he doesn't offer much that couldn't be replaced easily (other than a big heart and an epic workrate)
His 'successful dribbles' have decreased by 25% as compared with last season. That's a big difference.
'Crossing accuracy' seems to be a misleading stat - i wonder how it's defined.... any idea Matt?
Posted by: M | 02/06/2013 at 10:59 AM
I think you're pretty much right on, M - that dribbles stat is the one I keyed on as well.
I believe Opta defines a successful cross as one that is next touched by a teammate, though their definition of a cross (like their definition of a long ball) is a bit murky. It doesn't take into account how useful that touch is. I think that's what you're seeing with that stat - his trajectory is often poor, which means that a teammate can't necessarily do anything with one of his "accurate" crosses.
Posted by: Matt | 02/06/2013 at 11:14 AM
Winning is the ultimate deoderant and right now we are a bit gamey. If we were sitting 6th on the table at this point, Jonas would be the veteran stalwart whose work rate is insane, etc, etc.
(1) I've never understood fully why Jonas never got a run on the right side as he's right footed. Seems to me everyone in the EPL...even the announcers...seem to know he's going wide and then cutting in. Would it kill anyone to try it, even for a half? Pardew had Jonas in the middle at the end of a season two years ago and he was actually kind of fun to watch.
(2) Jonas (like everyone else you cannot help but like the guy...and having personally met him, he was as gracious and personable as they come) is a bit Jekyll/Hyde for me. One game he can be a great track back defender, win some free kicks and contribute...the next game he can be within an eyelash of being sent off (See Aston Villa second half). If he's "on" he can be a good player, but when he's off he's not measurably better than Marveaux.
(3) Jonas seems streaky to me. When he's off (see #2 above) he's off for a while...but when he heats up, he seems to ride that momentum. Since he just scored an emotional goal and the side have won two straight, I think Jonas will demonstrate some good form over the next couple of weeks.
I hope.
Posted by: MNTOONARMY9 | 02/06/2013 at 11:17 AM
with the current play of gouffran and hba coming back soon, it'll be hard to find a place for him in the starting XI....he's great for using up time when we're ahead, with all those free kicks he earns....
never questioned his heart or dedication to the team but im guessing his glory days are over and that might cost him a starting spot. but i like pardew's faith in him and who knows... maybe this goal will give him more confidence and produce a magical run like he did against wolves last year.
Posted by: Jaeger | 02/06/2013 at 12:08 PM
hasn't just been crossing and offensive capability that has seen him singled out this year, him and other big names (tiote!) have shown sometimes a lack of basic ball control and the ability to string a few passes together. this coupled with jonas' change in style where by he no longer runs to the byline or dribbles past people, and his already poor assist rate, has been his downfall. fantastic on saturday though, apart from a few poor crosses had a hell of a game.
Posted by: supershola | 02/06/2013 at 03:21 PM
to be fair we now have a choice of ben arfa, gutierrez, marveaux, obertan or gouffran in this 4-3-3 system so all is good.
Posted by: supershola | 02/06/2013 at 03:22 PM
Jonas has always looked best playing wide in a 4-4-2, where even if he does not necessarily produce the spectacular, he can usually retain possession or draw a free kick. The change to three in the middle has deprived him of his most comfortable role.
It also has to be said that the whole team has struggled to find space and build attacks at pace. The arrival of Sissoko and Gouffran looks to have helped a lot. Hopefully Jonas will find his feet again in a new role.
Posted by: Rob | 02/07/2013 at 02:13 AM