What Will Jordan Elsey Bring To Perth Glory
Perth Glory have today announced that Jordan Elsey will join the club on a 2-and-a-half-year deal, further strengthening Ruben Zadkovich’s options for the centre-back role.
The 28-year-old has made extensive appearances for Adelaide United and more recently with the Newcastle Jets.
But what will he add to this Perth Glory side?
Elsey is an aggressive defender, who excels when it comes to long balls and aerial duels, however, there are some flaws in his game, which will be discussed later.
The data I will be using to analyse Elsey will involve some from this season, but mostly from last season, given there is a greater sample size of games played.
So as mentioned before, Elsey is a defender that is quite combative. He’s a bit like Shane Lowry, in that he’ll throw his body around to block shots, especially when in the box.
When it comes to tackles, last season he was someone that was ranked in the top percentile of centre-backs in the A-League.
This will be essential for the Glory’s back three system, as the wider centre-backs have got to have the aggression as well as the ability to step out and apply pressure quickly.
Arguably his best strength is his presence in the air. Last season, he won 75% of his aerial duels, placing him in the top 9% of centre-backs in the A-League.
This season, it’s a similar story as he’s won 64% of his contests in the air.
What this should mean for the Glory, is that we’ll have an even greater presence in both boxes.
Not only is Mark Beevers excellent in the air, but so is Jordan Elsey, so from both offensive and defensive set-pieces, those two will be extremely crucial assets to have.
Long balls are another area that Elsey is quite accomplished in.
With quick forwards like Adam Taggart, Ryan Williams and Salim Khelifi available for Ruben Zadkovich, it’s clear in my eyes that we’ll look to play plenty of balls in behind.
Last season, Elsey had a 47% long ball accuracy, and this season it’s improved, as he currently has a 48% accuracy with long passes.
Distribution wise, the 28-year-old will also look to help Darryl Lachman progress the play. Lachman has an exceptional passing range but is often the only one capable of playing those penetrative, line-breaking passes.
With Elsey, Lachman will get some much-needed assistance, as last season the defender was in the top 9% of centre-backs for progressive passes.
Another reason why it’s clear in my mind that Elsey will operate on the right of the back three, is his ability to carry the ball.
While his passing is much better, his ability to progressively carry the ball is decent, as last season he was in the top 31% of centre-backs for progressive carries and the top 33% for accelerations with the ball.
Now, while the qualities mentioned are decent, there are a few concerns.
Elsey is naturally an aggressive defender, so he is prone to errors and lapses in discipline.
This season, ironically against the Glory, Elsey received a red card for a high boot on David Williams.
Albeit these mistakes haven’t been common over the last 18 months, they are a slight concern.
But in saying that, the Glory have an excellent centre-back at their disposal. Elsey’s positives as a defender outweigh the negatives.
What this will also give is excellent depth for the centre-back position, as now the Glory have Darryl Lachman, Mark Beevers, Johnny Koutroumbis, Jacob Muir, young Kaelan Majekodunmi and now Jordan Elsey.
Fingers crossed the big defender does well with us and hopefully is a part of the core group that gets this club back to the finals.
*The data I used for this piece was sourced from SofaScore and from my friend Ben Griffis’ player radars.
Link to Ben’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/BeGriffis
