Right-back review: Jenkinson to go it alone?

Carl Jenkinson: C-

• whoscored rating: 6.71
• Appearances: 14
• Tackles/game: 2.3
• Interceptions/game: 0.6
• Clearances/game: 2.4
• Team record: 6W, 4D, 4L

Carl Jenkinson

Jenkinson started the season strong but seemed to fade down the stretch, enough so that he didn’t make any appearances after 3rd March. Some of his strongest performances came early in the season; his first three starts each earned a score higher than 7 from whoscored. However, aside from a strong showing against Aston Villa, he struggled later with scores as low as 5.53 against Swansea (beaten as he was by Michu).

Whether this dip is due to fatigue, fragile confidence, or a re-emergence from Sagna, Jenkinson ended up watching the home-stretch from the bench. Despite that, I believe he has it in him to be our starting right-back as early as next year, if not on a full-time basis and certainly not as the only right back in the squad.

If Sagna stays on one more year, this might be enough time for Jenkinson to absorb more of his experience and insight while sharpening up his own game that much further with an eye to taking over the right-back position outright by August 2014.

If Sagna does end up leaving, it is no disrespect to Jenkinson that I insist we bring in another right-back and one who is more-experienced than him. We certainly can’t run the risk of having only one right-back as much as I do like Jenkinson. His speed and work-rate add a lot, but he is still much too one-footed and positionally weak.

In his defence, he’s just 21 and has made only 23 Prem League appearances across two seasons, but he’s taken great strides, a trend that will almost certainly continue into 2013-14.

He’s on record as having said “my ambition for my career is to play for this football club. I want to be good enough and make my mark here.” In the short time he’s spent on the field, he’s more than earned a chance to make his mark next year and in years to come.