Before Ashley Cole stepped onto the pitch to face Brazil at Wembley to win his 100th cap, there were doubts about the reception he would receive. In the end he received a warm welcome.
The Chelsea star is generally considered to be one of the best left-backs of his generation but it his alleged behaviour off-the-field that taints his legacy.
But another subplot was swirling under the Wembley arch: Is it time for Everton’s outstanding left-back Leighton Baines to claim his inheritance in England’s starting XI.
The former Wigan full-back has been in fantastic form for the last 12 months and has been a key part of Everton’s challenge for Champions League place.
But is he a better left-back than Cole or Manchester United’s Patrice Evra? Of course when considering the trio’s merits, one has to take into account the fact that they are at different points of their careers.
Cole is the wrong side of 30 and carries a long-term ankle problem around with him, while Evra will be celebrating his 32nd birthday in May along with a possible fifth Premier League title for United.
On the other hand at 28, Baines is firmly in his peak years.
Offensively
Baines likes to involve himself going forwards and when it comes to chances created he blows both Cole and Evra out of the water. The Everton man has created 84 chances this season, which is an enormous figure compared to Evra (22) and Cole (15). In fact Baines has created 29 more chances than Steven Pienaar who plays directly in front of him for David Moyes’ team.
The Evertonian also gets himself on the scoresheet regularly for a defender because of his brilliance at set-pieces. Baines has scored five times in the league this season, one more than Evra who has increasingly become a goalscoring threat at corners for Man United. Goals have never been part of Cole’s game – although he started his career as a striker – with a solitary goal this term.
But if you scratch below the surface, Baines is not as effective as the numbers suggest. Although he creates countless chances, very few actually amount to goals. Only 36 of his 159 crosses have actually reached their intended target – a rate of 22.6 per cent – and he only has three assists.
Meanwhile Evra has two more assists than Baines despite putting in just 62 crosses. Cole’s rate at crosses is abysmal with only four successful crosses this season – a rate of just over 10 per cent. However he does have two assists.
Of course, in Evra’s case it helps to have Robin Van Persie as a target in comparison to Fernando Torres or a Nikica Jelavic in poor form.
Baines is an inferior passer of the ball compared to Evra and Cole. His pass accuracy rate stands at 82 per cent (which falls to 69 per cent) in the opposition half. Meanwhile the United and Chelsea have rates of around 87 – 88 per cent which drop to the late 70s in the opposition half.
Defensively
Baines is an effective tackler, winning almost 81 per cent of his challenges, which is significantly higher than Cole’s 74 per cent. But Evra is superior to both of his opponents when it comes to his efficiency at tackling. He was 84.5 per cent of his tackles.
In an Everton that commands slightly less possession than United or Chelsea, Baines has 39 interceptions, compared to Evra’s 29 and Cole’s 28. But Evra has won a far greater percentage of his one-on-one duels with the opposition in comparison to Baines or Cole.
Individually, it seems that Evra is a more efficient full-back than Baines or Cole – both offensively and defensively.
But when it comes to the battle between Baines and Cole, it seems the Everton man should be given the England nod ahead of the centurion.
