WAB’s Brighton Power Rankings: January 2020
January 2020’s WAB Power Rankings have landed. Our complicated mathematical algorithm has taken your post-game Twitter player ratings and turned them into a score out of 100, helping us to rank every player who played for the Albion over the course of the month – and find out who Brighton’s best player in January was.
Or should that be Brighton’s least worst player? Because January 2020 was an absolute nightmare for the Albion. They failed to win any of their five games, couldn’t beat relegation rivals Aston Villa or Bournemouth and crashed out of the FA Cup at home to Championship opponents Sheffield Wednesday.
It says much that our highest rated Brighton player only achieved a score of 57.66 – and he began the month as reserve left back with only two starts to his name this season.
While the fact that Graham Potter played a second string side against Wednesday does skew the averages a little, that’s still a grim reflection of how dire January was. As a result, it’s an unusual top three at the end of an unusual month. Here’s how they ranked.
1) Bernardo (57.66 points)
Dan Burn’s fractured collarbone gave Bernardo the opportunity to get a run of games under his belt at left back and the Brazilian didn’t disappoint as he was rated Brighton’s best player in January. He featured in all five of the Albion’s games, topping the rankings in the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa – a far cry from December when he finished bottom of the pile.
2) Steve Alzate (53.00)
The Colombian international played in every game in January and in a variety of positions, ranging from right back, right wing, right wing back and central midfield. Nobody seems sure where he fits in best, not least Potter. What we do know is that he is a serious talent.
3) Neal Maupay (40.00 points)
The French striker started all five fixtures and although he didn’t manage to score a goal, he impressed with his work rate once again. He would perhaps find things a little easier if the Albion brought in a striker to ease the burden, seeing as Potter has made it clear that Glenn Murray isn’t in his plans.
4) Alireza Jahanbakhsh (48.73)
He was only on the pitch for 22 minutes of the 1-1 draw with Chelsea, but in that time Alireza Jahanbakhsh managed to secure a score of 85. That was solely down to his stunning overhead kick, one of Brighton’s best ever goals and the perfect way to kick start January. It also seems to have reignited his Albion career and he made three subsequent appearances against Wednesday, Everton and Bournemouth.
5) Lewis Dunk (46.06)
Not a great month by the high standards that Lewis Dunk has set himself so far in the 2019-20 season. Was at fault for Bournemouth’s first goal at the Vitality Stadium and struggled a little in the defeat against Everton. Even so, his performances were enough to put him fifth in the rankings.
6) Adam Webster (46.00)
This will please some people no end. Yes, Adam Webster really was our sixth highest rated Brighton player in January. He was helped by the fact that he started all six games and he only made one goal-costing cock up, which came in the defeat at Bournemouth. And given how bad everyone in blue and white was that night, it wasn’t one that stood out as much as normal.
7) Maty Ryan (44.90)
The Socceroos number one gave his best performance of January at Everton on the weekend in which he gave $500 to the Australian Bushfire Fund for every save made in the Premier League. Ryan made five stops that day and was 14 points clear of his nearest challenger in the ratings. He had a decent game against Chelsea too with his overall score for the month being low due to sitting out the Wednesday game.
8) Davy Propper (43.23)
Handsome Davy Propper seemed to be more afflicted than most by the Albion’s struggles throughout January. It wasn’t that he had a bad month, he just didn’t seem to do much at all – and given how pivotal he is to the way that Potter wants his side to play, if Propper doesn’t fire, then Brighton don’t either.
9) Aaron Connolly (36.60)
Aaron Connolly hasn’t scored since his barnstorming full Premier League debut against Tottenham Hotspur when he found the net twice back in October. The pressure of being Brighton’s new wonderkid and the saviour of Irish football seems to be weighing increasingly heavily on his shoulders and he spent most of January stomping around in a strop, not to mention his decision to delete all of his Albion-related content on Instagram. Desperately needs a goal for his own peace of mind if nothing else.
10) Aaron Mooy (31.40)
Aaron Mooy topped December’s WAB Power Rankings as Brighton’s best player and might well have come close to repeating the trick in January had he not missed two of the month’s five games. He was rested for the FA Cup game with Wednesday and injury ruled him out of the trip to Everton. It was no coincidence that the Albion gave their most toothless attacking display without him at Goodison Park.
11) Leandro Trossard (31.00)
The Belgian forward recorded his two best scores in the home game against Chelsea and Aston Villa, scoring Brighton’s equaliser in the latter. He remains frustratingly inconsistent however with his best performances in an Albion shirt still coming from the substitutes bench.
12) Dale Stephens (29.80)
The boo boys favourite has really struggled since having to sit out the Crystal Palace game in December through suspension. He only regained his spot in the starting line up with Potter’s switch to 3-5-2 at Everton but has kept his place since then. His best performance of January came against Villa when he achieved a rating of 65.
13) Martin Montoya (22.66)
Martin Montoya started just two games in as Potter preferred the youthful exuberance and dynamism that Alzate can bring to right back. Montoya’s best game in January came in Brighton’s draw with Chelsea while in the defeat at Everton he became yet another player that Potter has used out of position when starting the second half at left back.
14) Shane Duffy (22.06)
Two starts for Shane Duffy in January, one in the FA Cup and one in the league as a result of Potter switching to a back three at Everton. He was solid if unspectacular in both of those and while many Albion fans would prefer to see him starting ahead of Webster, it seems increasingly unlikely that Duffy has a first team future at the Amex as long as Potter remains in charge – with Arsenal one of the many other Premier League clubs he could wind up at.
15) Pascal Gross (21.73)
Another player who began the Potter Era well but has since fallen from favour. Pascal Gross started just one league game in January and that was something of a disaster as he scored an own goal against Bournemouth.
16) Yves Bissouma (17.90)
December felt like something of a breakthrough month for Yves Bissouma as he began to deliver some promising performances for the first time under Potter. As always seems to be the case with the Mali international though, it’s one step forward and two steps back. He had a shocker against Wednesday, since when Potter hasn’t given him any significant league minutes.
17) David Button (11.40)
The Albion’s shiny bonced number two goalkeeper got a rare run out in the FA Cup. Used the opportunity to remind everyone of what capable backup to Ryan he can provide by topping the player rankings with a score of 57.
18) Dan Burn (10.16)
Sometimes, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone. We’re finding out the hard way just how important Burn has been to the Albion this season as we’re yet to win a game since he was ruled out with a fractured collarbone early in the draw with Chelsea.
19) Ezequiel Schelotto (7.00)
The final three players in this month’s WAB Power Rankings were all seriously underwhelming in the FA Cup game and it’s hard to see them having futures with the Albion. Ezequiel Schelotto was supposed to be playing as a right wing back that day but instead decided to pop up in every position other than the one he was meant to be in. A baffling afternoon’s work from the Greyhound.
20) Leon Balogun (6.80)
Leon Balogun hasn’t played a minute of Premier League football so far this season and it’s hard to see that changing over the remainder of the campaign without the aid of a serious injury crisis. He picked up a score of 34 from his run out against Sheffield Wednesday.
21) Gaetan Bong (4.20)
It’s sad that a loyal servant like Gaetan Bong’s Albion career seems to be coming to an end in such unappreciated fashion. His sole appearance in January saw him booed off against Wednesday, a disgraceful way for so-called supporters to treat a player who will go down as one of Brighton’s best ever left backs. Yes, he may have struggled at times in the Premier League but he was a vital member of the team that got us to the top flight in the first place. Let’s hope that his final act in an Albion shirt isn’t to be getting abused by his own fans.
To play your part in helping formulate the WAB Power Rankings for February, make sure to follow us on Twitter and leave your post game player ratings in the relevant thread.
