2012/13 Player Analysis - Part 1

[The Skipper 20,593]

After winning the Europa League and confirming our top four spot and as the end of the season dawns it's only right that we sit down and analyse how well each of our players have performed and where we go from here heading into the future. I will analyse and evaluate the general performance of each player in the first team squad at Chelsea FC and give them a rating out of 10. Please do remember that these ratings are in the view of my own opinion and are in no way definitive.

In part 1, we review our goalkeepers and defenders and glance at the long season they've had:

Goalkeepers:

1. Petr Cech

Another solid season from our evergreen goalkeeper Petr Cech. Whilst he hasn't had to perform his Munich heroics over the year, he has still at times single handily kept us in games. Not much to say about Petr apart from the fact that he has been one of our most consistent players this season and has also grown as a leader. Still one of the best in the world.

Season Highlight:

I'll just leave you with this little gem.

Rating: 8/10

22. Ross Turnbull

Unspectacular season from Ross, in what looks like to be his last season at CFC with his contract expiring. In the handful appearances he did make though he was mostly dreadful. Ross made 7 appearances this season for us, in which we lost games against Swansea and QPR, whilst also drawing against Reading and Brentford. Chelsea must look for a more competent second choice goalkeeper next season, preferably homegrown.

Season Highlight:

None.

Rating: 2/10

40. Hilario

N/A. Didn't make an appearance this season and seems to be off as well with his contract expiring. Good luck, Henrique.

Defenders:

28. Cesar Azpilicueta

A break through season for the young 23 year old Spaniard who has done remarkably well to establish himself as Chelsea's number 1 right back. An excellent defender, Cesar has exceeded expectations and deservedly won his first Spanish cap after some stellar performances at Chelsea. One thing young Cesar can improve on though is his attacking prowess. Whilst not bad at getting forward and providing the team width, Cesar needs to work on consistently putting in accurate crosses for the benefit of his team. Definitely one of the better RB this season in the PL. All in all, not a bad first season at all from the young man, who has great potential.

Season Highlight:

Stellar defensive performance against Norwich away, in which we won 1-0.

Rating: 8/10

2. Branislav Ivanovic

Quite an average season for Branislav. Started the season relatively poorly by his standards but slowly got back in to form as the season progressed. A fierce defender on his day, he has been quite solid after featuring more at centre back than right back this season where he became one of our better defenders as the year went on. Still provides excellent versatility as he's able to slot back in right back at any time - but this season has shown that his main position is probably at centre back, which will be an interesting conundrum for the club to look at. Do we give Ivanovic a starting berth or should we look at other options? Overall, an okay season for Branislav, who remains an excellent player for the squad.

Season Highlight:

His scintillating header to win us the Europa League final. Great header; deserved after he missed out on the Champions League final last season.

Rating: 7.5/10

19. Paulo Ferreira

Our ever-present veteran defender hasn't had much to do this season, but he's always performed decently whenever called upon. A great influence on the squad, it's a shame that it's his last season with us due to his contract expiring. Loyal servant and Paulo are quite the synonym, so it's best we wish him best in his next career move. Thanks for the memories, Paulo.

Season Highlight:

None.

Rating: 5/10

4. David Luiz

Luiz has been a breath of fresh air to many of us this season. Constantly berated for his proneness to mistakes in defence, Luiz started the season with a reputation of being a erratic centre half and he has done exceptionally well to turn that notion around. Defensively, Luiz has become a lot more consistent and has often been called and heralded by some Chelsea fans as their best defender this season. Luiz has also shown great versatility and performed well when placed in midfield where he has performed at a solid level. He has this season evolved as a player and shown that he can be a great leader, often being called the future captain by some. It has been a stellar season for Luiz, who'll look to establish himself even further next season.

Season Highlight:

David scored some great goals this season, so I'll leave you with two of the best:

Rating: 8.5/10

24. Gary Cahill

An indifferent season for Gary. Some thought that after last seasons heroics in the Champions League that he'd push on as John Terry's successor but unfortunately he's all but confirmed this season that he'll never get to that world class level as a centre back. He however, does remain an excellent 3rd choice centre back and squad player. He has also reminded everyone of his finishing ability - grabbing 6 goals this season as of date. A great player to have around the squad that has done a decent job despite being overplayed this season in my honest opinion - mostly due to John Terry's injury ravaged campaign.

Season Highlight:

Scrumptious volley with striker-like technique against Spurs in one of his finest performances in a Chelsea shirt and his last ditch tackle against Benfica.

Rating: 7/10

26. John Terry ©

Overall, an injury ravaged campaign that saw John miss out on quite a few games. John has still provided the team with leadership and was great at the start of the season when we raced to the top of the league before he got injured. John still provides that presence whenever he plays and the defence in general look a lot more coordinated when he's in it but he's not the John Terry of old - he now struggles to play 2 games a week which is natural after the way John has put his body on the line for this club. Still a great defender to have around and a great leader of the squad, overall John has had a decent season and played a major role in our run to the Europa League final.

Season Highlight:

The Liverpool game which we drew 1-1. Before he got injured in the game, JT provided great defensive stability and an air of presence in a defence that was lacking leadership at the back sorely at the time. Scored a great header as well and looked well on his way for the MOTM until his horrific injury which sidelined him for months.

Rating: 6.5/10

3. Ashley Cole

Mr. Consistency. Still impervious at the back - maybe not as flying going forward as he was before but still a great asset to the squad. Ashley's had a good season, often his good performances have gone unnoticed simply due to the consistency in his performances; it's almost normal for Ashley to have a good game. While he is getting older and therefore can't get up and down the pitch as often as he used to, and has lost some of his defensive tenacity, he is still a great offensive outlet and very astute at the back. Solid season from Mr. Cole, who recently signed an one year contract extension. Hope to see the same solidness in his play next season.

Season Highlight:

His winner 5 minutes before time against Stoke.

Rating: 7.5/10

34. Ryan Bertrand

It has been a difficult season for young Ryan - who was seen by many after last season as Ashley Cole's potential heir. Provided he's rarely had the opportunity to show what he can do at left back (constantly being played out of position at the left wing), Bertrand managed to redeem himself somewhat when Ashley Cole came down with injury for a few games. He was given a consistent run in at left back and showed that he has the potential to be a good player there. Whether or not he's good enough to eventually replace Ashley Cole remains to be seen.

Season Highlight:

The solidness he showed at left back when Ashley Cole was out for a couple of crucial games.

Rating: 6.5/10

*To be continued... Look out for part 2 where we discuss and analyse our midfielders and forwards.

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[CHOULO19 24,332]

Seems everyone is in an Article-writing mood today!

Great read, mate. Looking forward to part two

[Strike 6,961]

Spoilers on the OP maybe a good idea? Took a looooong time to load for me

Anyway, good read. Agree with most of it. But 2/10 is harsh on Turnbull. Did well vs Everton and a few other games and Cahill - 7/10? Been error-prone.

[didierforever 7,349]

bertrand 6.5 /10??? everytime he has been given a chance he has come to the party wonderfully... the only thing bad is that he has not got as many oppurtunities as u would like him to have especially since we have played 68 games... also for his highlight u could have put his run in the europa league against rubin kazan in which he dribbled past 3 defenders...

[yuvala 2,167]

That was great.

Pretty much agree with everything..

[Jase 43,479]

Kinda disagree on a few things in the article. As much as Turnbull is nowhere near a top class keeper and is a bit dodgy sometimes, to just rate him 2/10 seems nonsensical. Unless my memory have gone completely wrecked, he hasn't really committed any apparent mistakes in the games he played in, which you mentioned barring probably the Brentford away FA Cup game. And think people have also forgotten that he replaced Cech at HT against Everton at Goodison Park last December and coped well with the shots/pressure he faced. That 2/10 rating to me feels more of a case of judging him based on his reputation as opposed to his actual performances.

On the subject of judging a player based on his reputation, same case goes with Ferreira. I'm not denying the fact that he has done alright whenever been called upon but to even rate him at all when he has made just 7 appearances all season with only 2 of them as starts make very little sense. Think there should be a minimum requirement perhaps in terms number of starts etc if a player is to be judged. That way, we can probably gauge the rating of the performances better.

And also, I think you're being too generous with your ratings on Luiz, Cole, Ivanovic and Cahill. Each of them did have their own great moment(s) over the course of the season but ultimately, the trio of Cole, Ivanovic and Cahill had an average season and proved to be disappointing after the high standards and quality performances that they have set themselves to be at and we, as fans, come to expect but didn't get it. Azpilicueta was arguably our best defender all season - defended better than all of our other defenders and was consistent from start to finish, especially when you consider it's his debut season in England, and to be rated at 8/10, only 0.5 more than Cole and Ivanovic doesn't do him any justice in terms of his actual performances. If you are to give Cahill 7, Cole and Ivanovic 7.5, then Azpilicueta should probably be getting like 8.5, 9 or 9.5. Even Cech can probably be compared here, despite the different position, when his performances have been consistent from the very first game till the last and he saved loads of times in games as well. To give him an 8 only, again, doesn't do him justice whatsoever.

[edetarod 2,155]

the defense was atrocious for most part of the season, a shadow of the old Chelsea defense in which a 1-0 meant we'd already won the game

so many pathetic goals conceded

give me a solid defense over that tiki taka crap