Kenwyne Jones

Much travelled Trinidad and Tobago forward, Kenwyne Jones, has had a winding road to reach Cardiff City. Arriving in Southampton in 2004 as a promising youngster, he was farmed out on a couple of loans, to Sheffield Wednesday and Stoke City, to get him acclimatised to English football.



Never a clinical striker, his record is only slightly better than a goal every 4 matches, Jones has the physical attributes and technical ability to be a top class player. He is big, strong, in a similar way to players like Didier Drogba, he could easily bully defenders and run amok, if he could just muster up the enthusiasm to bother.



The ability is there to run past defenders as well, he could so easily have been a truly special talent, the kind of player Everton are hoping Romelu Lukaku turns out to be. Right now though, they will be hoping he does not end up like Jones.



This video sums up Jones well:



A lovely turn, followed by a nutmeg, race to the edge of the box and blast it hopelessly high.

Kenwyne Jones has real ability, but is just too laidback to really put it to its best use. That brute strength, power, pace and acceleration he has could have put him in the top bracket of players, but his lack of real effort and desire has meant he slipped down from the top flight.



As you can see from this clip of a goal on his debut for Bournemouth last season:



Jones is extremely strong in the air, his height and power making him a difficult player for defenders to mark.



In short spells, he seems to get the bit between his teeth and showcase his abilities, leading to a cult status with the fans of whichever club he has just joined. Sadly though, that initial burst of effort wanes over time and the goals dry up, the performances become lacklustre and he drifts through games having little effect on them.







At his best Jones is a beast of a player:







On good days Jones is unstoppable, a truly great player with skill, good touch, pace, power, aerial ability, strength, pretty much everything you could ask for in a striker is in his locker. The shame of it is that he leaves it in the locker more often than he brings it out on to the field with him.