Would you switch Jonas to the right?

At times I feel that our Argentinian winger (Jonas Gutierrez in case you didn't guess) gets the rough end of the stick.

He works hard for the team, rarely moans, is rarely injured and has been one of our only players capable of beating a man in the last couple of seasons. None of that seems to be the issue though and the main criticism of Jonas seems to be his lack of a cross or a killer ball.

At times I agree, but I think there is a much better player hidden behind the Jonas that we all know and some love. In fact I think that by moving him to the right we will see a much better Jonas Gutierrez. Why? Well here goes...

Firstly, to the best of my knowledge it's actually his position. He was signed from Mallorca, where he played on the right and in fact started off playing for us on the right. Even the bible that is Wikipedia says: "Following the departure of Left-sided winger Damien Duff in the transfer window, Gutierrez has switched from his usual right winger to left winger position." Now it's only Wiki, but would somebody really take the time to mess with that? Putting him back on the right will lead me nicely on to my next point.

Jonas is right-footed. Very few of us, even professional footballers, have the ability to be equally adept with either foot. It's just the way it is. Putting him on the right, where he can use his stronger foot, would only be a benefit surely? Maybe then we can see him whipping balls in as he'll have the confidence to do so.

A good place to look would be at his goals. Now I'm only doing a couple as I don;t want this to read like Michael Owen's brochure, but take this first effort against Barnsley. That screamer from the season in the Championship.



Notice anything about it? How about this next one against Wolves?

In case you missed it, both goals were scored with his right foot, as were his goals against Bristol City, Blackpool and Manchester City. Even his goal at Chelsea deflected in off his right arse cheek! Does that not say something about his preferred side?

There is of course another benefit to switching Jonas to the right, and that is the fact that it will strengthen our right side in defense aswell as in attack.

Jonas' work rate is appreciated, as is his defensive work. We see it now where he tracks back and generally maks a nuisance of himself. Now if he could do that with Danny Simpson wouldn't you agree that it would make us stronger on that side of the park? At times I think Simpson has struggled purely through the lack of support he gets from Joey Barton, but that's for another day....

So what do you reckon? Is it worth giving Jonas a go on the right? I mean if you look at it there is some pretty compelling evidence to suggest that at least he should be given a shot, and with the players available to cover the left whilst Jonas switches to the right it makes it a no-brainer in my view.

Of course it will mean the end of the Jose/Jonas combo, but that could happen anyway. Why not use him in a more effective position and try and get the best out of him?

Your thoughts please.