Jordan Ayew has now been involved in three goals in his last two Premier League matches since Roy Hodgson’s return, and it could be the start of a resurgence…
Let’s wind the clock back to the 2019/2020 Premier League campaign. It was the season when Jordan Ayew was at the peak of his powers and was scoring for fun.
More than just a goalscorer, he was Crystal Palace’s most dangerous player after being made the focal point of the team’s attack by manager Roy Hodgson. Nine Premier League goals, two assists and leading the Eagles’ relegation survival charge later, that season remains Ayew’s most productive in the English topflight.
For his reward, he swept three awards at Crystal Palace’s end-of-year gala – Player of the Season, Players’ Player of the Season and Goal of the Season for his 90th-minute wonder strike against West Ham United, where he weaved his way through a sea of bodies and successfully executed an audacious Zidane-esque 360 turn to displace two more Hammers defenders, before dinking the ball over the goalkeeper to score a cheeky winner. Unreal moment.
These days the former Marseille forward, now 31, isn’t as prolific in front of goal, but there’s a reason he continues to be picked by his managers despite criticism from fans, and it’s neither by coincidence nor by fluke.
Ever since he arrived in England in the 2015/16 season, Ayew has been a mainstay in every team he’s played in – from Aston Villa to Swansea City and currently Crystal Palace – averaging 25 games per season in the last seven and a half years.
In that period, the Ghanaian has played under different managers too, including Tim Sherwood, Remi Garde, Roberto Di Matteo, Steve Bruce, Paul Clement, Carlos Carvalhal, Roy Hodgson and Patrick Vieira.
All the aforementioned managers had different styles of play but Ayew remained a constant fixture in their starting line-ups due to how adaptive he is to systems and his positional discipline on and off the ball. In plain terms, he gets the job done no matter where he’s asked to play.
It is to Ayew’s own credit that he has developed into this workaholic that we see today. When he first emerged on the scene over a decade ago, many branded him as lazy and for good reason. He used to be the type of player who didn’t like to tackle, track back or play to the strength of his teammates. He literally played for himself.
This made him frustrating to watch but he has since transformed his game in recent years, ditching his selfish tendencies to operate more as a team player and within a collective setting.
And it is why he continues to be picked by managers at both club and international levels.
Ayew is the player fans hate to see in the starting line-up because he no longer offers the flamboyance and verve that is expected of modern attackers. But coaches love him for his versatility and ability to play in varied positions with effectiveness.
Under Vieira, for instance, Ayew was deployed in five different roles, including as left-winger, right-winger, centre-forward, left midfielder and right midfielder. Many players would’ve complained about being shifted around in this manner, but Ayew accepted the challenge and sacrificed his numbers upfront tp work for the general good of the team.
It is why he was so valued under Vieira and although the sacking of the Frenchman has been criticised by some quarters, the return of Hodgson isn’t particularly a bad thing for a player like Ayew.
Hodgson was the manager who brought Ayew to Crystal Palace four years ago and it was under the English manager that he flourished the most. So he’s working under a familiar manager, whose system and style of play he’s already accustomed to.
And it is no coincidence that the Ghanaian forward seems to be regaining his mojo under the 75-year-old coach. In Hodgson’s first match in charge since returning, Ayew provided the match-winning assist as Crystal Palace defeated Leicester City 2-1.
On Sunday, Ayew was once again among the team’s best performers as he scored twice in the Eagles’ 5-1 demolition of Leeds United at Elland Road.
Ayew is a player who thrives on the trust of his managers and at the moment he retains the full confidence of Hodgson, a coach who knows how to get the best out of him. It’s early days yet, but maybe Ayew and Hodgson can roll back the years to the 2019/2020 season.
After all, the circumstances seem very similar: Crystal Palace are battling relegation and in dire need of a player to step up. And guess who has been stepping up with the goals and assists in their recent matches?
