White Hart Lane. 14th April 2010. That goal versus Arsenal. But what has the young England left back done for Tottenham Hotspur since?
Well, not much, seeing as he wasn’t really given a chance at left back due to the good form of Cameroonian Benoit Assou-Ekotto, or Disco Benny to the Spurs faithful.
Thankfully for Rose, Martin O’Neill and Sunderland came to his rescue at the start of the 2012/2013 campaign, resulting in a very successful season at the Stadium of Light for the loan signing.
Following his impressive season for Sunderland, can he stake a claim as Spurs first choice left back considering he has a very competitive and consistent left back above him in the Spurs rank at the moment?
Defence
In terms of the pair’s defensive abilities, it can be argued that Danny Rose trumps Benoit Assou-Ekotto.
To begin, Danny Rose played twice the games (25) that Benoit Assou-Ekotto played last season (12)
Rose won a total of 60% out of 253 total ground 50-50s, compared to Assou Ekotto’s 49% from 87 total ground 50-50’s.
He triumphs over his fellow Spurs team-mate in terms of tackle success. From a total of 63 attempted tackles, Rose successfully tackled his opponent 87% of the time, while Benoit Assou-Ekotto attempted 20 tackles, successfully dispossessing his opponent 80% of the time.
Although, aerially Assou-Ekotto dominates his counter part with a 71% win ratio compared to Rose’s 57% in terms of aerial 50-50s. In terms of minutes per aerial 50-50, the pair are very close – 47.57 minutes per aerial 50-50 for Assou-Ekotto, 45.53 for Rose.
The ability to read the game is crucial to the art of defending, which both can do with relative success, Rose intercepting his opponent 80 times, while Assou-Ekotto intercepted his opponent 49 times.
Rose was dribbled past 22 times in 25 games, while Assou Ekotto was dribbled past 10 times in 12 games – an area on which both players may want to focus on in pre-season.
Possession
In terms of possession, it’s pretty much as expected for a player who played twice the games compared to his counterpart.
Danny Rose lost possession 459 times in 25 games, a high average when you look at it in terms of minutes per loss of possession, Danny Rose lost possession every 5 minutes. The young left back isn’t on his own in terms of this particular statistic – Benoit Assou-Ekotto lost possession 303 times in 12 games, averaging a loss of possession every 4 minutes.
In regard to winning possession in each third of the pitch, Benoit Assou-Ekotto just about edges Rose out in this particular battle.
Assou-Ekotto won possession 63 times in the defensive third, 20 times in the midfield third and once in the attacking third. However, Rose won possession 90 times in the defensive third, 50 times in the midfield third and 3 times in the attacking third. It may look like Rose has beat Assou-Ekotto in the possession aspect of the game, but in terms of minutes per possession won, Assou Ekotto averaged 14 minutes, Rose averaged 15 minutes per possession won. Close, oh so very close.
Assou Ekotto was dispossessed 11 times in 12 games, while Rose was dispossessed 22 times in 25 games.
Passing and creativity
Comparing the pair in terms of passing and creativity is very tight, as in the areas discussed above.
Rose played a total of 971 passes, successfully completing 746 passes – a 77% rate. Assou-Ekotto played a total of 641 passes, successfully completing 470 – a 73% pass rate. Both players aim to look forward as much as possible, as expected of a modern left back, with Rose passing forwards 53% of the time, while Assou-Ekotto passed the ball forward 41% of the time. Attacking is crucial of the modern left back – as the passing zones show.
 
In terms of creativity, Rose successfully dribbled past his opponents 28 out of 57 total dribbles, compared to Assou-Ekotto’s 10 out of 18 successful dribbles.
Crossing is where Rose desperately needs to concentrate on in his pre-season, if he is to overtake Assou-Ekotto as Spurs first choice left back. Rose and Assou-Ekotto attempted the same amount of crosses (54) but Assou-Ekotto found his man more accurately (15 accurate crosses – 28%), compared to Rose (6 accurate crosses – 11%).
In terms of creating chances for their teams, both players could definitely improve. Rose registered a single assist during his Premier League campaign for Sunderland, while Assou Ekotto failed to. Although, Assou-Ekotto did create 14 open play chances – a chance created every 82 minutes. Whereas, Rose created 11 chances, including one assist – a chance created every 202 minutes.
Goals
Well, as they’re both left backs they don’t come across opportunities as much as others, but compared to Patrice Evra and Leighton Baines, they have much to aspire to.
Rose and Assou-Ekotto both registered a goal for their team’s cause.
In conclusion, if Andre Villas-Boas sees fit for a bit of healthy competition for the left back slot, as he did with Friedel and Lloris last season – it could be a ground breaking season for Danny Rose at White Hart Lane, if he can finally take Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s position.
[box_light]All of the stats from this article have been taken from the Opta Stats Centre at EPLIndex.com –Subscribe Now (Includes author privileges!) Check out our new Top Stats feature on the Stats Centre which allows you to compare all players in the league & read about new additions to the stats centre.[/box_light]
