I Got The Blues - Detailed player scout and tactics analysis: Norwich

[Barbara 15,149]

I Got The Blues

Norwich 1 x 3 Chelsea – English Premier League

I Got the Blues is a contextualized stats point of view where chances created, blocked and conceded by Chelsea players during matches are scouted. The feature rates the players’ individual contribution in each of those aspects, in addition to any important mistakes and isolated plays that could be highlighted. As an attempt to identify players’ and tactics’ weaknesses and strengths, negative and positive contributions are rate separately instead of being deduced from one another. Rates vary from 1 to 5 [positively or negatively] and are giving to players individually. Collective plays are also rated in terms of team work and team chemistry, but unlike the players who are rated for almost every touch in the match, collectively only the best [or worst] displays are rated. It’s important to stress that rates are vary according to the contribution’s importance – meaning that a failed pass that gives the opponent a counter-attack will be rated more negatively than a failed pass in an end zone that simply concedes a turnover.

In addition to the data, a brief analysis is provided collectively and individually to assess the team’s performance in general.

For this week we showcased two 'specials': transition to attack and Oscar and Mata's interchange. For the transition readers should consider it the final pass that will get the ball in the attacking half or when someone crosses the mid-line carrying the ball with the clear intent to set up the attack. Most transitions weren't rated, only showcased because normally this is just another pass in the match and rating it would be counter-productive. Only amazing passes (and terribly incomplete ones) were rated - as they are usually.

Oscar and Mata's interchange is just informative, the author doesn't aim to say who is better as a CAM or as a RW or who should play in each position. The only opinion the author shares is that they shouldn't leave the RW abandoned so often, as for times during the matches both were in the middle as they naturally gravitate there.

Players ratings: total amount of contributions (positive rate/negative rate):

§ Petr Cech: 2 (5, -2)

§ Branislav Ivanovic: 15 (50, -12)

§ David Luiz: 21 (61, -19)

§ John Terry: 17 (54, -7)

§ Ashley Cole: 7 (11, -12)

§ Ramires: 18 (47, -22)

§ Frank Lampard: 8 (27, -7)

§ Juan Mata: 10 (28, -13)

§ Oscar: 15 (46, -14)

§ André Schürrle: 15 (45, -8)

§ Demba Ba: 10 (19, -10)

§ Samuel Eto'o: 2 (8,0)

§ Eden Hazard: 1 (5,0)

§ Willian: 4 (18,0)

Team Chemistry rates:

§ Only two plays were showcased, one positive (rated 5) and one negative (rated -3).

Team Work rates:

§ Ten plays were show cased and seven out of those were positive while three were negative. Seven plays rated 5, one rated -3 and two rated -5. All negative rates came from poor defending movement, positioning and cover.

Individual highlights:

§ John Terry, despite the mistake in the goal conceded, is the most consistent player in the defense.

§ The defensive trio formed by Ivanovic, Terry and Luiz [throughout the whole match] was very effective with few mistakes.

§ For the second match in a row Oscar is the player who contributed creatively the most for the team (6).

Additional observations:

§ Declining. Ashley Cole had a negative overall contribution, not only his negative rate were bigger than positive summing up, he also had more negative contributions (4) than positive (3).

§ The sun as a twelfth player. During the first half Norwich goalkeeper John Ruddy played against the sun and it seems like Mourinho had asked the team to insist on long and high ball in the box as they were exhaustively done with normally Ba as the target-man. It is a successful tactic because the England International goalkeeper found himself in trouble a few times during the match. Playing against the sun in the second half, those direct connections weren’t used by Chelsea as much.

Additional analysis:

§ Mata and Oscar Interchange. Mata played 58:05 minutes as a CAM, 20:51 as a RW and 01:18 as a LW; meanwhile Oscar played 30:11 as a CAM, 46:05 as a RW, and 04:14 as a LW.

§ Chelsea’s transition to attack. Except for counter-attacks, there were 53 transitions from defense to midfield or attack in open play. Out of those 40 were successful while 13 weren’t completed. The player that transitions Chelsea to the attacking half more often is Luiz with 17 hits and 4 misses, followed by Lampard with 8 hits and no miss.

Conclusions:

§ A secret weapon or overloaded? Luiz was the player responsible for most of Chelsea’s transitions from defense to midfield or attack. With good pass, first touch and ball control the CB provided accurate passing to make the transition to the attack and still he was rarely marked or pressed by opposition [it doesn’t happen only with Norwich, though]. No wonder so many fans want to see him as a DM.

§ Mata is the CAM, but he’s not alone. Whether this guidance comes from the manager or it’s an agreement between the players, for the most part of the match Mata worked as a CAM as showed in the charts above. Mata had 8 contributions in the attack (4 positive and 4 negative) which shows why most fans didn’t feel like he had a great match. He had four lovely passes [all 4 as a CAM], but also offered four turnovers, two of which very poor. Four positive contributions isn’t a bad number, but it was a below part display by Mata compared to his best days. Oscar on the other hand played mostly in the RW. Out of his 15 contributions in the match 8 were offensively (6 positive, 2 negative). Looking closer in those two negative contributions one of them was a way off-target shot (playing as a CAM) and a sloppy pass (as CAM) in the final seconds of the match. Looking at his 6 positive contributions, one of course is the goal (as CAM), as well as the pass for Hazard’s goal (as RW), but the other four consist in a blocked shot to the goal (as CAM), a header-pass for a counter-attack (as CAM), an assist to Schürrle inside the box (as CAM) and another for Ivanovic at the edge of the box (as RW). The Brazilian is progressing creatively even if he’s playing as a RW and while he’s still far behind Mata creatively, the partnership is very positive for Chelsea. There’s a down side to them though. As both prefer to play in the middle, for moments during the match both were positioned in the middle, leaving the RW abandoned. Against oppositions like Norwich [which didn’t sit too deeply and tried to make their own game] the lack of width isn’t too important, but in tight matches with overcrowded midfield at least one of them should hold position in the wing. Attached in the spoiler section is a table of their time in each position.

§ Oscar, MOTM. Despite his higher than usual amount of mistakes (he had 4 negative contributions out of his 15), Oscar was the best player in the pitch, actively participating in two goals, as well as providing assists to Schürrle and Ivanovic and two shots on goal. No other player contributed as much to the attack, while also recovering possession 3 times throughout the match.

§ Defensive? Just like last match against Steaua, the biggest contributions in the match came from the defense. On one hand this is positive because when the defenders are anticipating opponents and tackling to recover possession it means the team is pressing constantly, but maybe too deep in the pitch. Norwich’s pitch is even smaller than the usual in England and that makes the play more compact and even when the defense is high, it’s still quite inside the defensive half. In bigger pitches – especially in European competitions – it’s going to be interesting to see if the defenders will press deeper or if the players in the midfield – including the attackers – will press higher and give Mourinho the high pressure football philosophy he wants to have in place.

§ The pivot discussion. Chelsea fans are a very heterogenic lot, and different opinions about players, style and tactics are easily found in the middle of the Blues’ fans, but two things seem to be universal among fans: the pivot and the strikers. Today we won’t provide a closer look at the strikers, but the pivot was singled out. Ramires and Lampard had a lot of positive contributions throughout the match with overall good stats. Their pass accuracy was good – Ramires 56/62 (90%)*; Lampard 58/66 (88%)*– which means 25% of all passes by Chelsea (506)* passed through the pivot. While statistically it seems like the pivot participated enough, a closer look into the numbers and beyond them will show otherwise. Lampard didn’t participate enough in the attack, Ramires was slower than usual (and more erratic) and the transition to attack should involve them much more than it did. The double pivot helped starting Chelsea's attack 14 times which is less than half than the defense did (30) [considering only the goalkeeper and center-backs]. Who also contributed inexpressively to the transition were the FBs and their lack of action only makes the pivot issues more prominent. Cole and Ivanovic only transitioned the play three times [two of which failed]. A formation like the 4-2-3-1 Mourinho favors in Chelsea demands the full-backs and the double-pivot to start the transition more often, as the three attacking midfielders usually don’t go way back to start it. The pitiful amount of transitions made by the full-backs will only add to the team’s lack of width and relying on the defense will lead to more turnovers than necessary as the numbers show: the pivot and FB’s combined transitioned play 17 times and made only three mistakes (82% accuracy), whereas the defense conceded a turnover every three times they tried to buildup the play (66% accuracy). Whereas David Luiz is an amazing player to transition the play with great pass accuracy and vision, relying on the Brazilian helps the problem in the pivot, but definitely doesn’t fix it. Chelsea's double pivot needs to step up and start controlling the game for the team and the full-backs contribution must grow.

*passes accuracy data provided by Squawka

Spoiler

Data summary

First Half

00:28 – Luiz is pressed and risks a failed long pass conceding the turn over. Luiz -2 [Luiz failed transition to attack]

00:30 – Schürrle anticipates the opponent and recovers the ball, and gets a throw-in for Chelsea. Schürrle 3

01:07 – Luiz attempts a long pass from defense and fails. Luiz -2 [Luiz failed transition to attack]

01:16 – Oscar and Schürrle press the opponents in their half and lead them to a failed pass Cole intercepts. Team work 5. Oscar, Schürrle 4.

01:28 – Schürrle passes by one opponent and avoids three in the flanks, passing to Oscar, but the Brazilian is blocked. Schürrle 5.

02:02 – [Cech’s successful transition to second third]. Unrated.

01:57 – Cole successfully tackles the opponent and recovers ball possession. Cole 4.

02:34 – Schürrle presses and successfully tackles the ball recovering possession. Schürrle 5.

02:58 – [Luiz’s successful transition to second third]. Unrated.

03:05 – Lampard successful long pass to Ba. Lampard 5. [Lampard transition to attack]

03:32 – Lampard spectacular long pass to Ba, who shows amazing ball control before assisting Oscar who finishes with the class to make Chelsea 1x0. Chemistry 5. Lampard, Ba, Oscar 5. [Lampard successful transition to attack]

04:35 – Ivanovic anticipates opponent and recovers ball possession. Ivanovic 4.

04:41 – Mata can’t control the ball and concedes a turnover. Mata -4. [Lampard successful transition to attack]

05:07 – Ramires unsuccessful tackle offers space to opponent. Luiz anticipates opposition at the edge of the Chelsea's box, recovering ball possession. Ramires -4; Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition to second third]

05:58 – Ba recovers possession from a failed pass by Norwich. Ba 2. [Lampard successful transition to attack]

06:20 – Norwich presses and Chelsea go back, back, back until the ball is passed to Cech who tries the direct connection with the attack unsuccessfully. [Cech failed transition to attack]

06:46 – Terry wins aerial duel. Terry 3.

07:15 – [Luiz transition to attack]. Unrated

07:17 – Ivanovic poor pass in the attack. Ivanovic -3.

07:24 – Ba and Mata press the opponents and recover possession through a throw in. Team work 5. Ba, Mata 4.

08:07 – Lampard carries the ball from defense do midfield, pass to Ramires who is tackled by opposition offering counter-attack. Ramires -4. [Lampard transition to attack carrying the ball]

08:14 – Cole covers Terry in counter-attack. Team work 5. Cole 5.

09:27 – Luiz failed pass. Luiz -2. [Luiz failed transition to attack]

10:47 – Opponents pressed and defense passed back to Cech who passed badly to midfield. Cech -2. [Cech failed transition to midfield]

11:38 – Lampard takes a rebound from Ramires lost aerial duel and recovers possession. Ramires -1, Lampard 3.

11:59 – Luiz successful long pass to transition to attack when the team was highly pressed. Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition to attack]

12:30 – Terry anticipates opponent inside the box recovering possession. Terry 5.

13:01 – Mata incomplete pass in the attack. Mata -3

13:06 – Lampard anticipates opponent in the attack recovering ball possession, Ramires provides successful pass for Mata to linkup play. Lampard 4, Ramires 4.

13:11 – Mata assists Ba, but Ruddy saves Ba attempt. Mata 5. Ba 2.

17:17 – Sloppy pass from Cole puts Luiz in danger, but the Brazilian works around it and passes to Ba. Cole -1, Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition from midfield to attack]

18:21 – Terry long pass finds Ba in the box, but opposition clears the shot. Terry 5, Ba 2. [ Terry successful transition to attack]

20:10 – Lampard failed pass in attack concedes a throw-in. Lampard -3. [Lampard successful transition to attack (before the incomplete pass)]

20:15 – Terry wins aerial duel and recovers ball possession in attack half. Terry 3.

22:03 – Cech’s save in goalkeeper’s box. Cech 5.

22:30 – Ivanovic wins aerial duel in a corner by the opposition. Ivanovic 5.

22:37 – Ivanovic transitions to midfield. Unrated [ivanovic successful transition to midfield]

23:33 – Luiz transitions from defense to attack with a precise long pass. Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition to attack]

23:35 – Sloppy pass by Ba concedes a turnover. Ba -3.

23:40 – Ivanovic successful tackle recovers ball possession in the attack. Ivanovic 4.

23:48 – Oscar carries the ball from the right wing to the mid, taking on a couple of opponents and then assists Schürrle inside the box, but the German’s shot is off target. Oscar 4, Schürrle -2

24:27 – Terry wins aerial duel. Terry 3

25:08 – Oscar anticipates the opponent at the edge of Chelsea's box and starts counter-attack, but then risks a failed long pass. Oscar 5. Oscar -3

25:40 – Oscar and Ramires press the opponent and Ivanovic anticipates the pass. Team work 5. Oscar, Ramires, Ivanovic 5.

26:40 – Luiz carries the ball to transition from defense to mid-attack. Unrated. [Luiz successful transition from defense to mid-attack]

27:15 – Luiz carries the ball to transition from defense to mid-attack. Unrated. [Luiz successful transition from defense to mid-attack]

27:53 – Luiz hits the free-kick from midfield to the box, but Ba can’t reach. Luiz 3.

28:59 – Luiz long pass to attack. Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition to attack]

29:08 – Luiz anticipates opponent on the run in midfield and transitions to attack. Luiz 5 [Luiz successful transition from midfield to attack]

29:16 – Oscar passes to Ivanovic at the edge of the box, but he can’t control the ball. Oscar 3, Ivanovic -3

29:32 – Luiz covers Ivanovic in the right flank. Team work 5, Luiz 3.

31:10 – Terry takes advantage of an incomplete pass, but Luiz also concedes a turnover. Terry 2, Luiz -3

32:36 – Oscar tackles the ball and recovers possession in midfield. Oscar 4.

32:51 – Ramires makes transition from defense to counter-attack. Poor finish by Ba. Ramires 3, Ba -2. [Ramires successful transition to attack]

34:00 – Terry clears the ball in the box with a header. Terry 3.

34:04 – Terry anticipates the opposition at the edge of the box. Terry 4.

35:45 – Luiz anticipates opponent and recovers ball possession preventing a counter-attack. Luiz 5

36:13 – Ramires incomplete pass. Ramires -3

36:55 – Mata incomplete pass in the attack. Mata-3

37:35 – Luiz stops attack by anticipating his opponent. Luiz 4

37:44 – Oscar wins duel and recovers possessions. Oscar 3

38:47 – [Cole failed transition to attack]. Cole -3

38:51 – Terry wins aerial duel. Terry 4

39:08 – Sloppy pass by Ramires to make transition to attack. -2. [Ramires failed transition to attack]

39:10 – Luiz successful long pass to attack. 3 [ Luiz successful transition to attack]

40:00 – Ramires blocks shot inside the box. Ramires 4.

41:28 – Terry wins due and stops attack. Terry 4.

41:44 – Terry clears cross from the box. Terry 4.

42:05 – Poor defending/marking by Lampard and Schürrle allowing a cross. Lampard -4, Schürrle -3.

43:09 – Ivanovic wins aerial due. Ivanovic 3.

43:34 – Ramires transition from midfield to attack. Ramires 3. [Ramires successful transition to attack]

44:19 – Schürrle presses the opponent after Chelsea loses possession in the attacking half and delays Norwich counter-attack and then forces the opponent to pass sloppily. Schürrle 4.

44:52 – Cole wins a tackle and recovers possession. Cole 3.

+00:40 – Terry blocks a shot. Terry 3

+00:55 – Ivanovic loses an aerial duel in the box in a corner. Ivanovic -3.

Second Half

45:39 – Terry long pass to the attack is incomplete. Terry -2. [Terry failed transition to attack]

45:50 – Lovely linkup between Schürrle and Ramires in the left, but Ba couldn’t capitalize Ramires’ cross. Schürrle 4, Ramires 5, Ba -2

46:35 – Poor pass by Schürrle. Schürrle -3

47:12 – [Luiz makes the transition from defense to attack carrying the ball] unrated

48:02 – Good linkup between Schürrle, Lampard, but Oscar is blocked when he finishes. Schürrle 4, Lampard 5, Oscar 3

49:14 – [Cech bad transition to attack]. Unrated.

49:34 – Ramires anticipates the opponent in the final third and recovers possession. Ramires 5.

49:52 – [Ramires and Luiz make smooth transition to attack]. Unrated.

52:38 – Shaky movement by defense. Chemistry -3. Ivanovic -3, Luiz -2.

53:12 – Schürrle presses and forces a bad pass from opposition, recovering possession. Schürrle 3.

53:25 – Incomplete pass by Ramires in the attack. Ramires -3.

55:56 – [Luiz good transition to attack]. Unrated.

56:10 – Successful tackle by Lampard in the attacking field recovers ball possession. Lampard 5.

56:39 – Terry wins aerial duel. Terry 3.

57:36 – Good coverage by Ivanovic as Luiz tries to anticipate but can’t. Team work 5. Ivanovic 4.

58:01 – Bad marking by Cole, Terry is a bit slow but can clear the ball. Cole -5, Terry 3.

59:00 – Luiz good defending recovers ball possession and stops counter-attack. Luiz 5.

59:15 – [Good transition to attack by Terry under pressure]. Terry 5.

60:43 – Schürrle clears a corner away. Schürrle 3.

62:20 – Ramires clears the ball from the box. Ramires 4.

62:25 – Oscar wins aerial duel and links the counter. Oscar 5.

62:43 – Brilliant pass from Mata to Cole. [isolate play]. Mata 5.

62:50 – Good assist by Mata, but Oscar’s finish is way off. Mata 5, Oscar -5.

63:22 – Cole loses aerial duel. Cole -3.

63:30 – Ba intercepts the ball in the defense half. Ba 4.

63:35 – [schürrle makes the transition to attack carrying the ball]. Unrated.

63:46 – Ba is slow to reposition himself and is caught offside, although he doesn’t pursue the ball. Ba -3

64:15 – [Luiz good transition to attack]. Unrated.

66:00 – Mata presses opponent inside their box and forces him to concede a throw-in. Mata 4.

67:05 – Terry loses aerial duel inside the box, Luiz is a tad late to avoid the second header that ends up with Norwich’s goal. Terry -5, Luiz -4.

68:18 – [schürrle transition to attack carrying the ball]. Unrated.

70:15 – Slightly slow and bad coverage of Chelsea defensively after they took a corner. Team work -3.

70:54 – [Ramires good transition to attack]. Unrated.

71:05 – Lovely assist by Mata, but Schürrle’s shot is blocked. Mata 5, Schürrle 2.

71:43 – Successful tackle by Ramires prevents counter-attack. Ramires 5.

73:25 – Good cross by Cole. Cole 3.

74:50 – Ivanovic anticipates opponent inside the box, stopping attack. Ivanovic 5.

75:15 – [schürrle transition to attack carrying the ball + combo with Hazard]. Unrated.

75:35 – Successful tackle by Ramires in the attack. Ramires 5.

75:52 – Luiz loses midfield duel allowing counter-attack. Luiz -4.

75:59 – Luiz fixes his own mess and recovers ball possession. Luiz 3.

76:00 – [Luiz good transition to attack by carrying the ball]. Unrated.

76:28 – [Luiz good transition to attack]. Unrated.

76:36 – Poor cross by Mata to no one in the box. Mata -3.

77:20 – [Luiz good transition to attack]. Unrated.

77:51 – Eto'o anticipates opponent in the attack and recovers possession. Eto'o 4.

78:03 – Good cross by Ivanovic. Ivanovic 5.

79:07 – [ivanovic bad transition to attack]. Unrated.

79:39 – Terrible positioning by Chelsea defense, leaving an opponent completely unmarked at the edge of the box. Team work -5.

80:55 – Ivanovic + Willian combo pressing and tackling recovers the ball to Chelsea. Willian 4, Ivanovic 5.

80:59 – [Lampard transition to attack]. Unrated.

81:06 – Oscar bad control of ball gives it away. Oscar -3.

81:41 – Terrible positioning by Chelsea defense, leaving an opponent completely unmarked inside the box. Team work -5.

81:47 – [Luiz bad transition to attack with a long pass]. Unrated.

82:06 – Ivanovic anticipates an opponent and recovers possession. Ivanovic 5.

82:15 – [Willian smooth transition to attack]. Unrated.

83:05 – Bad defending by Ramires allows dangerous attack. Ramires -5.

84:01 – Ivanovic clears corner with a header. Ivanovic 5.

84:03 – Hazard wins an aerial duel, Willian controls the ball twice with his head to start the counter-attack led by Oscar who assists Hazard that scores. Team work 5. Hazard, Willian, Oscar 5.

85:25 – Luiz blocks a cross. Luiz 5.

85:32 – [Oscar + Willian combo make smooth transition to attack]. Unrated.

85:41 – Willian magnificent finish to score. Isolate play. Willian 5+

87:14 – Schürrle anticipates the opponent near the corner, regains possession. Schürrle 4.

88:01 – Ramires wins a tackle in midfield. Ramires 4.

91:16 – Willian successful tackle in the midfield. Willian 4.

91:38 – Schürrle anticipates the opponent and recovers possession. Schürrle 4.

92:16 – [Terry bad transition to attack with a long pass]. Unrated.

92:40 – [Cech bad transition to attack]. Unrated.

92:47 – Eto'o wins duel in the sideline and regains possession in the attack half. Eto'o 4.

93:12 – Sloppy pass by Oscar concedes turnover. Oscar -3.

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[CHOULO19 24,332]

Bump

[Barbara 15,149]

thanks, Nour.

I totally procrastinated it yesterday, but it's finally here.

decided to add a few charts to break a bit the long texts.

Data summary is here for those who may be curious about it

  Reveal hidden contents

First Half
00:28 – Luiz is pressed and risks a failed long pass conceding the turn over. Luiz -2 [Luiz failed transition to attack]

00:30 – Schürrle anticipates the opponent and recovers the ball, and gets a throw-in for Chelsea. Schürrle 3

01:07 – Luiz attempts a long pass from defense and fails. Luiz -2 [Luiz failed transition to attack]

01:16 – Oscar and Schürrle press the opponents in their half and lead them to a failed pass Cole intercepts. Team work 5. Oscar, Schürrle 4.

01:28 – Schürrle passes by one opponent and avoids three in the flanks, passing to Oscar, but the Brazilian is blocked. Schürrle 5.

02:02 – [Cech’s successful transition to second third]. Unrated.

01:57 – Cole successfully tackles the opponent and recovers ball possession. Cole 4.

02:34 – Schürrle presses and successfully tackles the ball recovering possession. Schürrle 5.

02:58 – [Luiz’s successful transition to second third]. Unrated.

03:05 – Lampard successful long pass to Ba. Lampard 5. [Lampard transition to attack]

03:32 – Lampard spectacular long pass to Ba, who shows amazing ball control before assisting Oscar who finishes with the class to make Chelsea 1x0. Chemistry 5. Lampard, Ba, Oscar 5. [Lampard successful transition to attack]

04:35 – Ivanovic anticipates opponent and recovers ball possession. Ivanovic 4.

04:41 – Mata can’t control the ball and concedes a turnover. Mata -4. [Lampard successful transition to attack]

05:07 – Ramires unsuccessful tackle offers space to opponent. Luiz anticipates opposition at the edge of the Chelsea's box, recovering ball possession. Ramires -4; Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition to second third]

05:58 – Ba recovers possession from a failed pass by Norwich. Ba 2. [Lampard successful transition to attack]

06:20 – Norwich presses and Chelsea go back, back, back until the ball is passed to Cech who tries the direct connection with the attack unsuccessfully. [Cech failed transition to attack]

06:46 – Terry wins aerial duel. Terry 3.

07:15 – [Luiz transition to attack]. Unrated

07:17 – Ivanovic poor pass in the attack. Ivanovic -3.

07:24 – Ba and Mata press the opponents and recover possession through a throw in. Team work 5. Ba, Mata 4.

08:07 – Lampard carries the ball from defense do midfield, pass to Ramires who is tackled by opposition offering counter-attack. Ramires -4. [Lampard transition to attack carrying the ball]

08:14 – Cole covers Terry in counter-attack. Team work 5. Cole 5.

09:27 – Luiz failed pass. Luiz -2. [Luiz failed transition to attack]

10:47 – Opponents pressed and defense passed back to Cech who passed badly to midfield. Cech -2. [Cech failed transition to midfield]

11:38 – Lampard takes a rebound from Ramires lost aerial duel and recovers possession. Ramires -1, Lampard 3.

11:59 – Luiz successful long pass to transition to attack when the team was highly pressed. Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition to attack]

12:30 – Terry anticipates opponent inside the box recovering possession. Terry 5.

13:01 – Mata incomplete pass in the attack. Mata -3

13:06 – Lampard anticipates opponent in the attack recovering ball possession, Ramires provides successful pass for Mata to linkup play. Lampard 4, Ramires 4.

13:11 – Mata assists Ba, but Ruddy saves Ba attempt. Mata 5. Ba 2.

17:17 – Sloppy pass from Cole puts Luiz in danger, but the Brazilian works around it and passes to Ba. Cole -1, Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition from midfield to attack]

18:21 – Terry long pass finds Ba in the box, but opposition clears the shot. Terry 5, Ba 2. [ Terry successful transition to attack]

20:10 – Lampard failed pass in attack concedes a throw-in. Lampard -3. [Lampard successful transition to attack (before the incomplete pass)]

20:15 – Terry wins aerial duel and recovers ball possession in attack half. Terry 3.

22:03 – Cech’s save in goalkeeper’s box. Cech 5.

22:30 – Ivanovic wins aerial duel in a corner by the opposition. Ivanovic 5.

22:37 – Ivanovic transitions to midfield. Unrated [ivanovic successful transition to midfield]

23:33 – Luiz transitions from defense to attack with a precise long pass. Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition to attack]

23:35 – Sloppy pass by Ba concedes a turnover. Ba -3.

23:40 – Ivanovic successful tackle recovers ball possession in the attack. Ivanovic 4.

23:48 – Oscar carries the ball from the right wing to the mid, taking on a couple of opponents and then assists Schürrle inside the box, but the German’s shot is off target. Oscar 4, Schürrle -2

24:27 – Terry wins aerial duel. Terry 3

25:08 – Oscar anticipates the opponent at the edge of Chelsea's box and starts counter-attack, but then risks a failed long pass. Oscar 5. Oscar -3

25:40 – Oscar and Ramires press the opponent and Ivanovic anticipates the pass. Team work 5. Oscar, Ramires, Ivanovic 5.

26:40 – Luiz carries the ball to transition from defense to mid-attack. Unrated. [Luiz successful transition from defense to mid-attack]

27:15 – Luiz carries the ball to transition from defense to mid-attack. Unrated. [Luiz successful transition from defense to mid-attack]

27:53 – Luiz hits the free-kick from midfield to the box, but Ba can’t reach. Luiz 3.

28:59 – Luiz long pass to attack. Luiz 5. [Luiz successful transition to attack]

29:08 – Luiz anticipates opponent on the run in midfield and transitions to attack. Luiz 5 [Luiz successful transition from midfield to attack]

29:16 – Oscar passes to Ivanovic at the edge of the box, but he can’t control the ball. Oscar 3, Ivanovic -3

29:32 – Luiz covers Ivanovic in the right flank. Team work 5, Luiz 3.

31:10 – Terry takes advantage of an incomplete pass, but Luiz also concedes a turnover. Terry 2, Luiz -3

32:36 – Oscar tackles the ball and recovers possession in midfield. Oscar 4.

32:51 – Ramires makes transition from defense to counter-attack. Poor finish by Ba. Ramires 3, Ba -2. [Ramires successful transition to attack]

34:00 – Terry clears the ball in the box with a header. Terry 3.

34:04 – Terry anticipates the opposition at the edge of the box. Terry 4.

35:45 – Luiz anticipates opponent and recovers ball possession preventing a counter-attack. Luiz 5

36:13 – Ramires incomplete pass. Ramires -3

36:55 – Mata incomplete pass in the attack. Mata-3

37:35 – Luiz stops attack by anticipating his opponent. Luiz 4

37:44 – Oscar wins duel and recovers possessions. Oscar 3

38:47 – [Cole failed transition to attack]. Cole -3

38:51 – Terry wins aerial duel. Terry 4

39:08 – Sloppy pass by Ramires to make transition to attack. -2. [Ramires failed transition to attack]

39:10 – Luiz successful long pass to attack. 3 [ Luiz successful transition to attack]

40:00 – Ramires blocks shot inside the box. Ramires 4.

41:28 – Terry wins due and stops attack. Terry 4.

41:44 – Terry clears cross from the box. Terry 4.

42:05 – Poor defending/marking by Lampard and Schürrle allowing a cross. Lampard -4, Schürrle -3.

43:09 – Ivanovic wins aerial due. Ivanovic 3.

43:34 – Ramires transition from midfield to attack. Ramires 3. [Ramires successful transition to attack]

44:19 – Schürrle presses the opponent after Chelsea loses possession in the attacking half and delays Norwich counter-attack and then forces the opponent to pass sloppily. Schürrle 4.

44:52 – Cole wins a tackle and recovers possession. Cole 3.

+00:40 – Terry blocks a shot. Terry 3

+00:55 – Ivanovic loses an aerial duel in the box in a corner. Ivanovic -3.

Second Half

45:39 – Terry long pass to the attack is incomplete. Terry -2. [Terry failed transition to attack]

45:50 – Lovely linkup between Schürrle and Ramires in the left, but Ba couldn’t capitalize Ramires’ cross. Schürrle 4, Ramires 5, Ba -2

46:35 – Poor pass by Schürrle. Schürrle -3

47:12 – [Luiz makes the transition from defense to attack carrying the ball] unrated

48:02 – Good linkup between Schürrle, Lampard, but Oscar is blocked when he finishes. Schürrle 4, Lampard 5, Oscar 3

49:14 – [Cech bad transition to attack]. Unrated.

49:34 – Ramires anticipates the opponent in the final third and recovers possession. Ramires 5.

49:52 – [Ramires and Luiz make smooth transition to attack]. Unrated.

52:38 – Shaky movement by defense. Chemistry -3. Ivanovic -3, Luiz -2.

53:12 – Schürrle presses and forces a bad pass from opposition, recovering possession. Schürrle 3.

53:25 – Incomplete pass by Ramires in the attack. Ramires -3.

55:56 – [Luiz good transition to attack]. Unrated.

56:10 – Successful tackle by Lampard in the attacking field recovers ball possession. Lampard 5.

56:39 – Terry wins aerial duel. Terry 3.

57:36 – Good coverage by Ivanovic as Luiz tries to anticipate but can’t. Team work 5. Ivanovic 4.

58:01 – Bad marking by Cole, Terry is a bit slow but can clear the ball. Cole -5, Terry 3.

59:00 – Luiz good defending recovers ball possession and stops counter-attack. Luiz 5.

59:15 – [Good transition to attack by Terry under pressure]. Terry 5.

60:43 – Schürrle clears a corner away. Schürrle 3.

62:20 – Ramires clears the ball from the box. Ramires 4.

62:25 – Oscar wins aerial duel and links the counter. Oscar 5.

62:43 – Brilliant pass from Mata to Cole. [isolate play]. Mata 5.

62:50 – Good assist by Mata, but Oscar’s finish is way off. Mata 5, Oscar -5.

63:22 – Cole loses aerial duel. Cole -3.

63:30 – Ba intercepts the ball in the defense half. Ba 4.

63:35 – [schürrle makes the transition to attack carrying the ball]. Unrated.

63:46 – Ba is slow to reposition himself and is caught offside, although he doesn’t pursue the ball. Ba -3

64:15 – [Luiz good transition to attack]. Unrated.

66:00 – Mata presses opponent inside their box and forces him to concede a throw-in. Mata 4.

67:05 – Terry loses aerial duel inside the box, Luiz is a tad late to avoid the second header that ends up with Norwich’s goal. Terry -5, Luiz -4.

68:18 – [schürrle transition to attack carrying the ball]. Unrated.

70:15 – Slightly slow and bad coverage of Chelsea defensively after they took a corner. Team work -3.

70:54 – [Ramires good transition to attack]. Unrated.

71:05 – Lovely assist by Mata, but Schürrle’s shot is blocked. Mata 5, Schürrle 2.

71:43 – Successful tackle by Ramires prevents counter-attack. Ramires 5.

73:25 – Good cross by Cole. Cole 3.

74:50 – Ivanovic anticipates opponent inside the box, stopping attack. Ivanovic 5.

75:15 – [schürrle transition to attack carrying the ball + combo with Hazard]. Unrated.

75:35 – Successful tackle by Ramires in the attack. Ramires 5.

75:52 – Luiz loses midfield duel allowing counter-attack. Luiz -4.

75:59 – Luiz fixes his own mess and recovers ball possession. Luiz 3.

76:00 – [Luiz good transition to attack by carrying the ball]. Unrated.

76:28 – [Luiz good transition to attack]. Unrated.

76:36 – Poor cross by Mata to no one in the box. Mata -3.

77:20 – [Luiz good transition to attack]. Unrated.

77:51 – Eto'o anticipates opponent in the attack and recovers possession. Eto'o 4.

78:03 – Good cross by Ivanovic. Ivanovic 5.

79:07 – [ivanovic bad transition to attack]. Unrated.

79:39 – Terrible positioning by Chelsea defense, leaving an opponent completely unmarked at the edge of the box. Team work -5.

80:55 – Ivanovic + Willian combo pressing and tackling recovers the ball to Chelsea. Willian 4, Ivanovic 5.

80:59 – [Lampard transition to attack]. Unrated.

81:06 – Oscar bad control of ball gives it away. Oscar -3.

81:41 – Terrible positioning by Chelsea defense, leaving an opponent completely unmarked inside the box. Team work -5.

81:47 – [Luiz bad transition to attack with a long pass]. Unrated.

82:06 – Ivanovic anticipates an opponent and recovers possession. Ivanovic 5.

82:15 – [Willian smooth transition to attack]. Unrated.

83:05 – Bad defending by Ramires allows dangerous attack. Ramires -5.

84:01 – Ivanovic clears corner with a header. Ivanovic 5.

84:03 – Hazard wins an aerial duel, Willian controls the ball twice with his head to start the counter-attack led by Oscar who assists Hazard that scores. Team work 5. Hazard, Willian, Oscar 5.

85:25 – Luiz blocks a cross. Luiz 5.

85:32 – [Oscar + Willian combo make smooth transition to attack]. Unrated.

85:41 – Willian magnificent finish to score. Isolate play. Willian 5+

87:14 – Schürrle anticipates the opponent near the corner, regains possession. Schürrle 4.

88:01 – Ramires wins a tackle in midfield. Ramires 4.

91:16 – Willian successful tackle in the midfield. Willian 4.

91:38 – Schürrle anticipates the opponent and recovers possession. Schürrle 4.

92:16 – [Terry bad transition to attack with a long pass]. Unrated.

92:40 – [Cech bad transition to attack]. Unrated.

92:47 – Eto'o wins duel in the sideline and regains possession in the attack half. Eto'o 4.

93:12 – Sloppy pass by Oscar concedes turnover. Oscar -3.

[manpe 10,861]

This I Got the Blues series is hands down the best analysis I've ever read. Interesting, insightful. I usually get bored quarter way through reading those, but not with this one.

[English Freak 456]

Okay analysis....way, way too long.

Probably second best analysis i've read on this forum...the best would have to be Hjperdeath (or however you spell the name)

[Barbara 15,149]

  On 08/10/2013 at 22:12, English Freak said:

Okay analysis....way, way too long.

Probably second best analysis i've read on this forum...the best would have to be Hjperdeath (or however you spell the name)

actually the spoiler content is for curiosity purposes, just so if anyone wants to know which plays were showcased, the main article itself I don't think it's that long.

I also prefer Sherry's analysis because it's more practical. This is actually a deep stats thing. His is more dynamic and tactic oriented

@manpe, thanks mate

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

Defenders will always "start" more attacks because the opposition turns the ball over more in the offensive zone than they do in midfield. Starting at attack is a fairly loose and unquantifiable term for me anyway. If Terry passes 5 yards to Lampard who then passes to Oscar who feeds Mata who scored, Terry started the attack, but a 5-yard uncontested pass is not a particularly good play. It's a play that any player should make 100% of the time. This system gives way too much credit for what is an extremely basic play.

Also, what's a positive play and how much are positive plays worth? Ashley Cole had 4 interceptions which is great. How do 4 interceptions, 1 tackle, 87% pass rate, and 1/1 in crosses only add up to only 3 positive plays? Hazard and Willian didn't have a lot of positive plays but they scored goal and a goal is worth a lot of positive points. How does Eto'o who had 7 touches and no defensive contribution get a higher score than Hazard who was 15/15 for passing and scored the game-winning goal?

Also, the pivot was very good. 89% passing, 9/10 on long balls, 5 tackles, 3 interceptions, 4 key passes, was fouled 3 times, had 2 dribbles, and combined to turn the ball over twice. Again, there is just way too much emphasis being put on who is doing the transition to attack.

[CHOULO19 24,332]

Ashley and Frank again with the least number of contributions. And if I understood you correctly, then all 8 of Frank's contributions were in transition and therefor none in defense? Scary if true. Can you send this to Jose, please?

  On 08/10/2013 at 18:31, Barbara said:

Luiz was the player responsible for most of Chelsea’s transitions from defense to midfield or attack. With good pass, first touch and ball control the CB provided accurate passing to make the transition to the attack and still he was rarely marked or pressed by opposition [it doesn’t happen only with Norwich, though]. No wonder so many fans want to see him as a DM.

I find this point self-contradictory. You just that he was able to do the transition because he was not marked, why would you want him to move to DM where he will surely be marked?

A minor note on the pivot or our pressing in general, on several occasions Frank and Rami tried to press high up the pitch when the front four lose the ball but failed miserably at it and our back four suddenly had 5-6 players running at them. Even when Norwich were in "set-offense" and we had 9 men behind the ball, Norwich always managed to create something when they got the ball centrally in our half because both Frank and Rami were too easily atracted to the ball leaving spaces in "the hole" behind them. In general, our pressing was off, I felt, in this match. Even Cole was too keen to press in numerous occasions in the first half and got beaten by the ball over his head which put the whole defense and JT in particular in trouble.

[Barbara 15,149]

I think I should have made it clear in the post that most transitions were unrated, because they were showcased just to analyse how Chelsea transitions to attack. If you guys check the spoiler section in my second post you'll see most transitions weren't rated. They were only rated when they were an excellent pass or a terrible one. Mainly I just showcased the 53 of them to see who's making the pass that crosses the midfield line or who carries the ball there and how positively or negatively they're contributing to start our attack.

  On 09/10/2013 at 01:48, TorontoChelsea said:

Defenders will always "start" more attacks because the opposition turns the ball over more in the offensive zone than they do in midfield. Starting at attack is a fairly loose and unquantifiable term for me anyway. If Terry passes 5 yards to Lampard who then passes to Oscar who feeds Mata who scored, Terry started the attack, but a 5-yard uncontested pass is not a particularly good play. It's a play that any player should make 100% of the time. This system gives way too much credit for what is an extremely basic play.

Also, what's a positive play and how much are positive plays worth? Ashley Cole had 4 interceptions which is great. How do 4 interceptions, 1 tackle, 87% pass rate, and 1/1 in crosses only add up to only 3 positive plays? Hazard and Willian didn't have a lot of positive plays but they scored goal and a goal is worth a lot of positive points. How does Eto'o who had 7 touches and no defensive contribution get a higher score than Hazard who was 15/15 for passing and scored the game-winning goal?

Also, the pivot was very good. 89% passing, 9/10 on long balls, 5 tackles, 3 interceptions, 4 key passes, was fouled 3 times, had 2 dribbles, and combined to turn the ball over twice. Again, there is just way too much emphasis being put on who is doing the transition to attack.

You didn't understand (neither I explained). The transition is actually that pass that will get the ball in the attacking half or when someone crosses it carrying the ball with the clear intent to set up the attack. All times we simply kept passing the ball around the mid-line (is that who you guys call the line in the middle of the pitch?) and didn't do anything with it, I didn't count as a transition. I counted as a transition when 1) a player passed the ball vertically and an attack was indeed started 2) when a player carried the ball over the midline and went into the final third.

That's why I provided the stats... no matter how good Luiz passing is, he makes more mistakes than Lampard does, for example, also Lampard has more freedom (tactically) to carry the ball and he doesn't need to try a long pass as many times.

That may be basic, but it's also very important. That's why the pivot is there and FBs as well when we have possession in the defense. They are supposed to have the minimum vision and creativity to start the attack in a smart way a few times during a match. Mourinho isn't a tikitaka manager and the style he chose for Chelsea isn't tikitaka. It's more objective and puts a lot more pressure in the opponent in the very vertical and acute plays it has. It's also a bit more based on pace (although not as much as counter-attack minded styles). So whoever does the transition controls partially the match's tempo and dictates the rhythm in the midfield. This 'basic thing' as you call it, is very important imo and I did say our pivot was statistically good, but they could have done better in the attack (get more involved in the start of the play), Ramires was slower than usual (probably tired) and made a few mistakes he doesn't normally do (defending). Lampard was also slow (his usual) and positioned himself badly in some of Norwich best chances (where they started, in their transition) giving Norwich space to advance because he wasn't marking anyone, was just a headless chicken in the mid (note I'm not saying he did this all the match, but in some plays, and some of them led to Norwich best chances in the match). Only looking at numbers like squawka provides can lead to mistaken how much a player really contributed. I think if we only see stats and don't contextualize them we are missing an important point in a match.

All that said I may have made mistakes. They have computers and high-tech to provide them stats, I did it manually, observing the match deciding when a tackle is worth a 5 rate when it's worth a 3 rate, when an interception is indeed interception and not some lame pass the opposition gave in the foot of one of our players who didn't have to do anything, just exist in the pitch to receive the pass (incomplete passes to our players shouldn't count as an interception, as it was a mistake the other guy did, no merit in our player)

If you look the spoiler section in my second post you'll find Cole's three contributions: an interception around the mark 1:57, a tackle in the midfield at 44:52 and a cross at 73:25. I have no idea where they found another three interceptions, if this site you checked provides the time they happened, let me know. I may have missed it, or mixed him with another player, or I simply didn't consider a rebound from someone's block or tackle an interception as well as a bad pass as explained above. If the player is standing there, doing nothing and the ball somehow goes exactly where he is either because of a rebound or a bad pass and he wasn't active in the play at all I won't give him an interception. Some will consider this a flawed system, but as the first paragraph in the article states, the point here is to evaluate players' contributions to the match, not their luck and out of context stats or plain stats. His negative contributions were 1) a sloppy pass that almost gave Norwich a counter-attack at 13:11, but that somehow Luiz was able to fix; a bad transition to attack at 38:47; that cross inside the box he allowed because of sloppy defending and Terry despite being slow could still run and do a last second block at 58:01 and finally he lost an aerial duel at 63:22.

  On 09/10/2013 at 10:10, CHOULO19 said:

Ashley and Frank again with the least number of contributions. And if I understood you correctly, then all 8 of Frank's contributions were in transition and therefor none in defense? Scary if true. Can you send this to Jose, please?

I find this point self-contradictory. You just that he was able to do the transition because he was not marked, why would you want him to move to DM where he will surely be marked?

A minor note on the pivot or our pressing in general, on several occasions Frank and Rami tried to press high up the pitch when the front four lose the ball but failed miserably at it and our back four suddenly had 5-6 players running at them. Even when Norwich were in "set-offense" and we had 9 men behind the ball, Norwich always managed to create something when they got the ball centrally in our half because both Frank and Rami were too easily atracted to the ball leaving spaces in "the hole" behind them. In general, our pressing was off, I felt, in this match. Even Cole was too keen to press in numerous occasions in the first half and got beaten by the ball over his head which put the whole defense and JT in particular in trouble.

Chou, as I said I made a mistake by not saying that most transitions weren't rated, I only showcased them to evaluate who's doing our transition and how well or not they're doing it. Lamps had other contributions in the match that weren't his transitions, as I just explained to torontochelsea in this post, he positioned himself marking no one, being just a number in the midfield in 3-4 Norwich chances in the attack. He left our defense unprotected a few times as you explain so perfectly in your last paragraph here. That's why I said looking beyond the stats our pivot made many mistakes during the match.

No, I'm not suggesting Luiz to be a DM - I'm totally against it - I'm saying that his good skills to make the transition (even if he makes a lot of mistakes too) is what leads people to want him as a DM. I want him to be a CB forever and ever.

btw: if I edit the post here, does it edit in the site as well (not only at the forums)?

[CHOULO19 24,332]

  On 09/10/2013 at 11:17, Barbara said:

btw: if I edit the post here, does it edit in the site as well (not only at the forums)?

No, only admins can edit the articles on the main site. What do you want to edit?

PS: Great post!

[Barbara 15,149]

  On 09/10/2013 at 11:29, CHOULO19 said:

No, only admins can edit the articles on the main site. What do you want to edit?

PS: Great post!

I added a whole paragraph explaining the transition thing as you guys opened my eyes I didn't provide enough explanation (and I found a couple of typos in the the rest, but you can ignore those). So if you can just add this paragraph just above the players rating in the site, so people can understand the transition concept and how it was showcased, I'd appreciate

[CHOULO19 24,332]

  On 09/10/2013 at 11:44, Barbara said:

I added a whole paragraph explaining the transition thing as you guys opened my eyes I didn't provide enough explanation (and I found a couple of typos in the the rest, but you can ignore those). So if you can just add this paragraph just above the players rating in the site, so people can understand the transition concept and how it was showcased, I'd appreciate

Done.

[TorontoChelsea 4,064]

@Barbara both whoscored and squawka give Cole 4 interceptions. Anyway, my problem with the idea of "starting attacks" remains. To me, it is like an uncontested rebound in basketball. If one player doesn't do it another one will. If Luiz isn't there, it's not like we'd have fewer attacks, they'd just be spread out differently. If Cahill is in instead, it's not like he's going to just kick the ball out of play. He's also going to move it forward. He just likes to run it up a little less so he'd have fewer "attacks started" and everyone else would have more but the end effect for the team in this measurement (starting attacks) would be the same. Luiz likes to carry the ball across the midfield line but that's neither a positive nor a negative. It's just the way he plays. Almost everything he does positively or negatively is already quantified in stats. (Pass percentage, accurate long balls, interceptions, clearances, etc..) With all analytics, you have to to ask yourself what you are analyzing and the benefit of the statistic and here I literally see no benefit to measuring this beyond perhaps curiosity and certainly would never use this as a way to judge who had a positive or negative impact.

[Barbara 15,149]

  On 10/10/2013 at 05:28, TorontoChelsea said:

@Barbara both whoscored and squawka give Cole 4 interceptions. Anyway, my problem with the idea of "starting attacks" remains. To me, it is like an uncontested rebound in basketball. If one player doesn't do it another one will. If Luiz isn't there, it's not like we'd have fewer attacks, they'd just be spread out differently. If Cahill is in instead, it's not like he's going to just kick the ball out of play. He's also going to move it forward. He just likes to run it up a little less so he'd have fewer "attacks started" and everyone else would have more but the end effect for the team in this measurement (starting attacks) would be the same. Luiz likes to carry the ball across the midfield line but that's neither a positive nor a negative. It's just the way he plays. Almost everything he does positively or negatively is already quantified in stats. (Pass percentage, accurate long balls, interceptions, clearances, etc..) With all analytics, you have to to ask yourself what you are analyzing and the benefit of the statistic and here I literally see no benefit to measuring this beyond perhaps curiosity and certainly would never use this as a way to judge who had a positive or negative impact.

let's restart. I didn't use the transition to determine who has a positive or a negative impact. I used to evaluate how well we do that and if we can improve. Did you read the part I said I didn't rate most of the transitions? The point wasn't rating them, just see how we make that transition. If you think anyone can do it, great for you. Others may want players with a better vision to do it so the attack can be more dangerous instead of doing it the predictable way or instead of passing the ball to the side and behind for an eternity before finally breaking through. A lot of things influence on that such as opposition defending, lack of space, attacking players movement, but it also passes through the vision of who starts the play, of who sees a teammate unmarked in a position that they can in fact advance towards the box and the goal.

It's a blessing we have Luiz because he has a great vision, but our pivot could and should improve on it. If you think this isn't of importance 1) modern football definitely disagrees with you 2) it's an opinion you're entitled to have 3) we can agree to disagree.

Also as I'm stubborn as heck (though I'm just as ready to admit my mistakes if I realize I made them), I went to Squawka and checked the 4 interceptions. One of them surely coincide with mine. Here the other three.

12:12 mark - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k2x3NA1YhNo0y14Jl9B&start=1019

15:05 mark - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k2x3NA1YhNo0y14Jl9B&start=1188

I don't consider these interceptions, not here, not in Jupiter. In both cases Cole touches the ball, that goes straight to an opponent, without even slowing down their attack. Sorry if touching a ball as a pass to an opponent counts as an interception for you and for Squawka, it doesn't for me. What's the point of an interception that doesn't recover possession or at the very least slows down the attack? If anything you just proved my point why contextualizing stats is necessary otherwise it'll look like Cole intercepted four balls for us, when in reality he intercepted one and in three other times he touched it before the opponent, his touch becoming a pass to another opponent to continue their play exactly from where it stopped. It's like they did a 2-1 with Cole.

Now here is the best of all

21:54 mark - http://www.dailymotion.com/video/k2x3NA1YhNo0y14Jl9B&start=1596

Not only the same in the two above happens again, but this one happens at the lateral edge of the box, Cole touches the ball straight to Snodgrass foot and I won't describe the play, I'll let the commentator words describe it 'Good play by Snodgrass here and Chelsea might have a problem. Oh for sure that's a really big problem'

You know which play this one happens to be? That cross to Howson who forces Cech to make that incredible reflex save and all of it started because Cole couldn't properly mark Snodgrass, but still Squawka considered it an interception, and the best part, you don't see the perfect cross by Norwich in their stats.

The vids are linked straight to the marks where the plays happen, not sure if it'll work like that, but be my guest to check.

I stand by my point, but as you made me look Cole's closely, you actually helped me. Since the day I've posted this article I knew I was missing one single rate because I had 148 lines in Excel and 149 in Word, meaning one line from data summary was missing in Excel where I do the individual calculation, but I didn't bother to check all 149 lines so see which one I skipped because I thought one rate wouldn't change a whole analysis (it doesn't). Such a big coincidence it was Cole's tackle at 01:57 mark, rated 4. So his updated rating is Ashley Cole: 8 (15, -12).

I won't even bother to edit the main article, but thanks for that, mate.