The WAB Brighton Player Power Rankings: August 2021
There are a lot of players who the Albion should be expecting big things from in the 2021-22 season. Judging by the way he played in August to top the WAB Power Rankings as the best Brighton player over the course of the month, Jakub Moder is one of them.
The Polish midfielder changed the game with his introduction with 20 minutes left to play on the opening day of the campaign against Burnley. He then went onto score his first goal in Brighton colours in the 2-0 Carabao Cup win at Cardiff City, topping the Player Ratings in the process.
When used in his natural central position, he looks like a star. The challenge for Graham Potter is finding a way to fit him in there as the Albion are ridiculously well stocked for centre midfielders.
That is something which these first Power Rankings of the season also highlight. Of the top 10, six can play centrally – Moder, Yves Bissouma, Alexis Mac Allister, Adam Lallana, Enock Mwepu and Pascal Gross. Talk about strength in depth.
We are not just here to wax lyrical over midfielders, of course. 27 players pulled on the blue and white (and mint green) in August and here they all are ranked for their efforts.
1) Jakub Moder (68.66 points)
Tops the rankings as the best Brighton player in August largely on account of the fact that he featured in all four matches. His introduction sparked the Albion comeback from 1-0 down at Burnley to winning 2-1 and he scored his first goal for the club with a well taken finish in the League Cup game against Cardiff City.
2) Yves Bissouma (58.75)
How he is still an Albion player is a mystery on a par with what happened to Agatha Christie when she disappeared for 11 days. Topped the WAB Player Ratings as the best Brighton player for both the Watford win and Everton defeat in August, two games in which the dynamic midfielder looked head and shoulders above any other player on the pitch – most notably when setting up Neal Maupay for his goal against the Hornets by winning possession and playing the perfect through ball.
3) Shane Duffy (55.01)
The greatest comeback since Sprinter Sacre returned from heart surgery to win the Queen Mother Champion Chase. Written off by virtually everyone after a terrible loan spell at Celtic, he was a surprise inclusion at Burnley when Joel Veltman was ruled out because of a close Covid contact. Took his chance brilliantly to be the best Brighton player on the pitch as August began with a bang. The scenes when he scored in the 2-0 win over Watford will live long in the memory.
4) Neal Maupay (52.04)
Last seen in Brighton colours getting himself into a spot of bother with a red card after the final whistle for abusing referee Jonathan Moss at Wolves in May. Has looked a different, more mature player so far in 2021-22. Two clinical goals have been despatched against Burnley and Watford from the sort of opportunities that he would have cocked up last season. Long may it continue.
5) Alexis Mac Allister (50.42)
Like Moder, he helped turn the game around at Turf Moor following his second half introduction which ended with him scoring the winner. Impressed in the Watford win with a creative display as a number 10 but was the sacrificial lamb at home to Everton when Potter had to abandon his strange idea of playing Moder and Gross as wing backs against two out-and-out wingers in Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend.
6) Adam Lallana (49.23)
Helped Brighton assert more control on proceedings at Burnley after his half time introduction. It was notable when he played in front of a full capacity Amex for the first time just how important his leadership is to this young Albion side when he ran the show against Watford.
7) Enock Mwepu (49.11)
Offered a glimpses of what he is capable of in August but the best is still to come from a player Brighton paid £22 million to sign from Red Bull Salzburg. Not the first foreign import to struggle with the frenetic pace of the Premier League, he was hauled at half time of his debut at Burnley. His assist at Cardiff when releasing Moder via a 30 yard through ball which split the Bluebirds defence was incredible.
8) Pascal Gross (48.25)
A victim of Potter Selection Roulette in August, he was played at right back at Burnley and right wing back against Demarai Gray when Everton came to town – not the best idea to have the slowest player in the Brighton squad up against the fastest player the Toffees possess. Despite all this, he still assisted 50 percent of the league goals the Albion scored.
9) Lewis Dunk (48.09)
The Albion captain made a slow start to the last campaign and he has kind of followed suit in 2021-22, certainly not hitting the ridiculously high standards we have come to expect of him. Managed to get in his new calling card of a ridiculously calm chest back to Robert Sanchez under a lot of pressure when Watford visited the Amex – the same move which saw him win WAB Flair Moment of the Season – much to the delight of the Amex crowd.
10) Robert Sanchez (47.06)
Looked a little on edge at Burnley where he nearly gave the Clarets a couple of goals. Followed that up with a welcome clean sheet against Watford but again, there were question marks surrounding if he could have done better with Gray’s opener for Everton. Young goalkeepers tend to go through peaks and troughs – more than a player in an outfield position – and the fact that the Albion have six points from nine when their number one has not been at his best in August is promising.
11) Adam Webster (46.77)
His 11th place in the Power Rankings is largely because he looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights at Burnley, unsure of whether he was meant to be playing as a right back or a right wing back and not really doing either. Miles better in the Watford win when he strode forward with purpose with the ball at his feet, he then struggled against the threat posed by Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
12) Leandro Trossard (46.23)
A quiet start to the season for the Vampire of Genk. His best moments came in the opening five minutes against Watford when he could have had a couple of goals following a blistering start. Knowing him, he will follow up a pretty anonymous August by being one of the best Brighton players in September.
13) Steve Alzate (34.62)
Used in a defensive midfield role at Burnley to allow Bissouma to play further forward but that did not really work. Gave a mature display as one of the older, experienced heads in the young Albion side Potter named for the Carabao Cup win against Cardiff.
14) Solly March (34.42)
His natural width and pace have never looked so important as when he missed the Everton game, leading Potter to opt for his square-pegs-in-round-holes solution of using two number 10 as wing backs. Did a seriously underrated job in keeping Watford winger Ismaïla Sarr quite too, just one week after Sarr had single handedly torn Aston Villa apart.
15) Taylor Richards (31.85)
The fact he has not gone on loan to the Championship to build on last season’s promising year spent in League One with Doncaster Rovers suggests he is part of Potter’s first team plans. Solid if unspectacular at Cardiff before making his Premier League debut four days later as a second half substitute in the Everton game.
16) Haydon Roberts (21.67)
Another excellent defender set to roll off the production line and potentially Lewis Dunk’s successor one day as Brighton captain. Looked like an experienced centre back at the peak of his powers against Cardiff rather than a 19-year-old making only his third start for the club. It would not be a surprise to see him involved in the Premier League before the end of the season.
17) Jason Steele (21.67)
Things you never thought you would see other than in a dream caused by too much MDMA – Jason Steele, Albion captain. Took the armband at Cardiff and recorded a clean sheet, making a couple of good stops and looking assured with the ball at his feet. What a man.
18) Antef Tsoungoi (21.67)
The junior partner in the Carabao Cup centre back partnership. Like Roberts, he looks set for a long career at the highest level. The passion he showed when going mad in front of the away end showed how much it means to him.
19) Michal Karbownik (20.83)
His second Brighton appearance might well have been last. Showed the pace and attacking threat at Cardiff that had led to him being one of the most coveted young talents in Europe before Brighton paid £4.5 million to bring him in from Legia Warsaw. Subsequently shipped out on loan to Olympiacos a few days later with a rumoured right-to-buy clause included. Another strange transfer dealing from the Albion.
20) Andi Zeqiri (20.83)
Scored his first goal in Brighton colours with a clinical finish to wrap up the Carabao Cup win. Despite the Albion’s lack of striker options, Danny Welbeck’s injury record and Aaron Connolly being more interested in appearing in the gossip pages of The Sun than scoring goals, he has joined Bundesliga side Augsburg for the season.
21) Moises Caicedo (20.00)
Neat and tidy against Cardiff and another who found his way to Europe immediately afterwards. This is a loan that actually makes sense as Bissouma staying severely limits his chances of first team involvement, meaning a year with wonderfully named Belgian side Beerschot.
22) Marc Leonard (19.17)
Did not stand out quite as much as some of his other Under 23 teammates in the Cardiff win. Kept things simple and was able to display the versatility we saw when he made his first team bow in pre-season against Scottish Pub League champions Rangers.
23) Andrew Moran (15.83)
The most notable thing about his cameo from the bench in the Welsh capital was how quick he is. Cardiff could not deal with that raw pace and he earned several free kicks in dangerous positions during his 20 minutes.
24) Odel Offiah (15.83)
Potter turned to the 18-year-old to help Brighton see out the closing stages against Cardiff. He did a fine job in nullifying the threat posed by the experienced Kieffer Moore when Mick McCarthy threw on his star striker in an attempt to wrest something from the tie.
25) Aaron Connolly (14.64)
Dropped from the matchday squad for the trip to Burnley after throwing a hissy fit in training because he was not starting. Produced a catastrophic miss against Watford and made it into the newspapers (again) for being captured on film trying to start a fight in Shoosh.
26) Danny Welbeck (11.61)
Dat Guy was a second half substitute against Everton but looked rusty and was unable to help Brighton find a way back against the Toffees.
27) Joel Veltman (11.07)
Introduced at half time against Everton as Potter switched from 3-4-1-2 to 4-4-2 in an attempt to nullify the threat Rafa Bentiez’s side were posing from out wide. Duly conceded a penalty within nine minutes of his introduction with a clumsy foul on Seamus Coleman.
The WAB Power Rankings are formulated through our matchday player scores. To play your part, make sure to follow us on Twitter and leave your post game player ratings in the relevant thread.
