🇪🇸 Kepa Arrizabalaga

[Vesper 30,195]

Friday February 28 2020 Football Nerd

Do Chelsea have a bad 'keeper or simply been unlucky? By Daniel Zeqiri Chelsea have conceded 45 per cent of the shots on target they've faced in the Premier League this season CREDIT: PA Dropping goalkeeper Kepa Arizzabalaga was not a decision Frank Lampard took lightly. The men between the sticks have an acute sense of status, and being usurped by 38-year-old Willy Caballero will sting Chelsea's £72 million signing. Kepa has little cause for complaint statistically. Chelsea have conceded 45 per cent of the shots on target they've faced in the Premier League this season - more than any other team - and the highest ratio of any team since these records began in the 2003/4 season. It is easy to see why Chelsea have dramatically underdelivered on their Expected Goals metrics - conceding 37 when their xG against is 26.58 - making a top-four finish far less comfortable than it ought to have been. Perhaps Chelsea just concede a higher quality of chance than their rivals, putting opponents in advantageous shooting positions that leave Kepa with no chance? Unfortunately for the Spaniard, that defence falls short also. Expected Goals per shot conceded is quite stable across the league - Wolves are best at 0.09 xG per shot conceded and West Ham's the highest at 0.14.   CREDIT: OPTA Chelsea's average of 0.11 is almost identical to Liverpool and Arsenal's 0.10, and Alisson and Bernd Leno's save percentage is more than 70 per cent. Kepa is not facing unusually easy attempts. Chelsea's problems really do seem as simple as needing a better goalkeeper. Comparisons have been made to David De Gea's early struggles at Manchester United but he had a very specific problem - dealing with physical contact on crosses and at set-pieces. This can be worked on through training ground and gym work. Shot-stopping on the other hand, is worryingly basic. However, while one might justifiably claim Kepa has been substandard, perhaps this season has been a slightly freakish one for Chelsea. Shot-conversion rates across Europe's big leagues are consistently between 13 and 15 per cent, with the conversion of shots on target a shade more than 30 per cent. The principle of regression to the mean - in any system with multiple variables extreme outcomes tend to be followed by more moderate ones - suggests Chelsea will eventually start conceding fewer goals than they currently are. We tend to be quick to rain on the parade of teams outstripping their metrics, but rarely make allowances for those underperforming. Should Chelsea buy a new goalkeeper he might benefit in two ways: by being better than Kepa and also playing in a more typical season.

[NikkiCFC 8,326]

Will DDG be dropped after that horror show? No, he won't! Just sayin... 

[Tomo 21,751]

51 minutes ago, NikkiCFC said:

Will DDG be dropped after that horror show? No, he won't! Just sayin... 

DDG is finished, and even in his prime you could say he wasn't particularly suitable to the modern game.

Was absolutely delighted when United gave him a mega new deal.

[Superblue 6,372]

2 hours ago, Tomo said:

DDG is finished, and even in his prime you could say he wasn't particularly suitable to the modern game.

Was absolutely delighted when United gave him a mega new deal.

United over the next year or two have a similar problem on their hands to us when we had to make a decision on Cech and Courtois.

The difference is Courtois had built up quite a reputation across the continent, whereas Dean Henderson has not yet. Add in the deal De Gea is on which makes it almost impossible for United to be able to move him on, and they could well end up making a big mistake. They may get away with loaning out Henderson again next season but will struggle beyond that. Will be interesting to see what they end up doing.

[Jase 43,479]

12 minutes ago, Superblue_1986 said:

United over the next year or two have a similar problem on their hands to us when we had to make a decision on Cech and Courtois.

The difference is Courtois had built up quite a reputation across the continent, whereas Dean Henderson has not yet. Add in the deal De Gea is on which makes it almost impossible for United to be able to move him on, and they could well end up making a big mistake. They may get away with loaning out Henderson again next season but will struggle beyond that. Will be interesting to see what they end up doing.

Henderson's contract expires in 2022 and De Gea's ends in 2023. If we are going to look for a new #1 in the summer, it might be worth to just test the waters with Henderson. 

[Superblue 6,372]

7 minutes ago, Jason said:

Henderson's contract expires in 2022 and De Gea's ends in 2023. If we are going to look for a new #1 in the summer, it might be worth to just test the waters with Henderson. 

I agree, what I've seen from him he looks a very good keeper.

If he see's his route blocked by De Gea and feels he's ready for the next step up he'll be in a reasonable position in the summer to attempt to force United's hand if we showed interest.

[BlueLyon 9,359]

He might become incredible in his early 30s, late 20s, but he had been complete crap this season.

All those passes and throws straight into opposition say plenty of how concentrated he is.

[Strike 7,492]

On 2/27/2020 at 0:49 PM, gdlk said:

Lampard wants to turn us into a team full with English overrated woods(called football players). 

The only one i see with potential to be world star is Sancho, rest is trash. 

What exactly tells you this? He has signed Ziyech, possibly over Sancho. And is using English players within the club in a season he could not sign players from elsewhere

[Jase 43,479]

6 hours ago, BlueLyon said:

All those passes and throws straight into opposition say plenty of how concentrated he is.

Kepa hasn't been great this season but his passing hasn't been the problem. His passing success rate is 4th highest in the league, behind only Ederson, Alisson and Mat Ryan. 

[OneMoSalah 8,886]

16 hours ago, Tomo said:

DDG is finished, and even in his prime you could say he wasn't particularly suitable to the modern game.

Was absolutely delighted when United gave him a mega new deal.

Wouldnt say hes finished. His best attributes are still his shot stopping, agility and reflexes. Its not as if he is physically in a bad condition either where he is getting less agile or slower. Just making more mistakes but there can be many reasons for that.

The amount of mistakes have been weird because prior to the last 18 months you wouldnt have thought someone of that calibre would make so many but as we talked about with Cech, Courtois, Courtois, Buffon etc maintaining that top level consistency as well as throwing in being the last line of defence while your team is struggling isnt exactly easy either. Plus when GKs make mistakes as we all know, it is more or less 99/100 times a goal. Even look at Hugo Lloris, how many mistakes has he made since he came to the PL? He is still a top GK I would say.

The only GK who I have seen truely deteriorate from reasonably good to really poor in say a few seasons in recent times is Joe Hart. Even Casillas' drop off wasnt as dramatic with Real and Spain I think that was probably because he had already dipped from one of the best to one of the best of the rest sort beforehand. 

The big deal De Gea is on will make it tough to shift him if they decided to but again I dont think theyll be so quick to get rid of him. He still has a lot to offer. Dean Henderson is very promising but has also made a couple of basic mistakes this season although he is 100% a better GK than the ever overrated Jordan Pickford in my eyes.

8 hours ago, BlueLyon said:

He might become incredible in his early 30s, late 20s, but he had been complete crap this season.

All those passes and throws straight into opposition say plenty of how concentrated he is.

What have you been watching? His passing out is probably the only passable thing hes done this season (no pun intended) in some peoples eyes. Hes very comfortable on the ball, kicks very well with his left and right foot long or short. His throwing isnt bad either but considering the fact he more than normally drops or rolls the ball out to the CBs, I don't see how you could say his throwing is inaccurate because its hardly as if he ever goes and throws it like 30m like Heureulo Gomes or Manuel Neuer have done in the past. 

I mean if your gonna criticize the guy for his GKing this season yes fair enough crack on but his passing? Christ sake. 

I still think there is a lot more going on than it just being Kepa as to why hes underperforming. I mean our defence, midfield and attack has been underperforming for months bar the odd game here and there. Kante and Jorginho have both looked out of sorts in periods this season. Rudiger as well, Emerson too although never top level looks like a championship footballer, Kepa obviously as well. Dont people find it strange? I didnt think theyd regress/play so poorly this season.

People have mentioned about going from the strict training with Antonio and Sarri to what is happening now, which was branded as less boring and more fun IIRC seen it somewhere in an interview. Do think that has to be taken into accounts for some of these guys who shown beforehand they were a lot better in performances too, theres been a drop off all across the board not just Kepa. Yes we have a lot of average players but if you said Kante, Rudiger, Jorginho, Kepa and even Emerson would perform nowhere to the levels they did towards the back end last season before a ball had been kicked I wouldnt of been so sure. 

[Henrique 9,133]

I don't think we should discussing if Kepa is good enough to be a starting XI. This discussion should take place in another moment. The main discussion should be: is Willy Caballero better than Kepa? Is Willy Caballero's form better than Kepa's form before he was dropped?

Thats should be the main discussion, its not he main discussion because many people don't want to get into the subject: Lampard is making another silly and amateurish mistake by dropping Kepa when his backup is such a bad keeper as Willy Caballero.  

[BlueLyon 9,359]

15 hours ago, OneMoSalah said:

Wouldnt say hes finished. His best attributes are still his shot stopping, agility and reflexes. Its not as if he is physically in a bad condition either where he is getting less agile or slower. Just making more mistakes but there can be many reasons for that.

The amount of mistakes have been weird because prior to the last 18 months you wouldnt have thought someone of that calibre would make so many but as we talked about with Cech, Courtois, Courtois, Buffon etc maintaining that top level consistency as well as throwing in being the last line of defence while your team is struggling isnt exactly easy either. Plus when GKs make mistakes as we all know, it is more or less 99/100 times a goal. Even look at Hugo Lloris, how many mistakes has he made since he came to the PL? He is still a top GK I would say.

The only GK who I have seen truely deteriorate from reasonably good to really poor in say a few seasons in recent times is Joe Hart. Even Casillas' drop off wasnt as dramatic with Real and Spain I think that was probably because he had already dipped from one of the best to one of the best of the rest sort beforehand. 

The big deal De Gea is on will make it tough to shift him if they decided to but again I dont think theyll be so quick to get rid of him. He still has a lot to offer. Dean Henderson is very promising but has also made a couple of basic mistakes this season although he is 100% a better GK than the ever overrated Jordan Pickford in my eyes.

What have you been watching? His passing out is probably the only passable thing hes done this season (no pun intended) in some peoples eyes. Hes very comfortable on the ball, kicks very well with his left and right foot long or short. His throwing isnt bad either but considering the fact he more than normally drops or rolls the ball out to the CBs, I don't see how you could say his throwing is inaccurate because its hardly as if he ever goes and throws it like 30m like Heureulo Gomes or Manuel Neuer have done in the past. 

I mean if your gonna criticize the guy for his GKing this season yes fair enough crack on but his passing? Christ sake. 

I still think there is a lot more going on than it just being Kepa as to why hes underperforming. I mean our defence, midfield and attack has been underperforming for months bar the odd game here and there. Kante and Jorginho have both looked out of sorts in periods this season. Rudiger as well, Emerson too although never top level looks like a championship footballer, Kepa obviously as well. Dont people find it strange? I didnt think theyd regress/play so poorly this season.

People have mentioned about going from the strict training with Antonio and Sarri to what is happening now, which was branded as less boring and more fun IIRC seen it somewhere in an interview. Do think that has to be taken into accounts for some of these guys who shown beforehand they were a lot better in performances too, theres been a drop off all across the board not just Kepa. Yes we have a lot of average players but if you said Kante, Rudiger, Jorginho, Kepa and even Emerson would perform nowhere to the levels they did towards the back end last season before a ball had been kicked I wouldnt of been so sure. 

Mate he passed the ball straight into opposition which led to almost a goal at least 4 times in those couple games in a row before he was dropped. You make that mistake here and there (Oblak did it aswell vs pool) but not that many times, like in every game almost. Thats as clear sign he was not right with his mind in the games and thats why he got dropped. 

[BlueLyon 9,359]

17 hours ago, Jason said:

Kepa hasn't been great this season but his passing hasn't been the problem. His passing success rate is 4th highest in the league, behind only Ederson, Alisson and Mat Ryan. 

Im not talking about general passing. Im talking about those suicidal passes straight into opposition which then had a clear shot on goal. He was unreliable as hell.

[NikkiCFC 8,326]

Guess who get over ex girlfriend?

MY FIRST KEEPER FOR THE NEXT DECADE!

[Jase 43,479]

 

[Laylabelle 9,535]

That triple save! Boom!!

[Strike 7,492]

Maybe leaving him out for an extended period is the best thing that could happen to him!

[Johnnyeye 7,510]

4 hours ago, Strike said:

Maybe leaving him out for an extended period is the best thing that could happen to him!

lets just hope he maintains some consistency.

[Vesper 30,195]

Kepa Arrizabalaga 'ready to fight for Chelsea future'

By Matt Law, Football Editor | 1m

https://www.sportsmole.co.uk/football/chelsea/transfer-talk/news/kepa-arrizabalaga-ready-to-fight-for-chelsea-future_393330.html

Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is reportedly not interested in leaving Stamford Bridge this summer.

The 25-year-old has struggled for consistency since joining the Blues from Athletic Bilbao in August 2018 and has conceded 43 times in 33 appearances at club level this term.

Kepa recently lost his starting role at club level to Willy Caballero, although he did return for his side's last Premier League clash at home to Everton earlier this month.

There continues to be speculation surrounding the Spain international, but according to the Daily Mail, Kepa is determined to stay and fight for his future.

The same report claims that the stopper is confident that he has the support of the club's hierarchy despite being removed from the starting XI by head coach Frank Lampard.

Kepa, who has a contract at Stamford Bridge until June 2025, has conceded 32 times in 25 Premier League appearances this season.

 

snip

[Jase 43,479]

Mark Bosnich on Kepa...

https://www.goal.com/en-sg/news/chelsea-should-stick-with-kepa-says-bosnich/1l6hxdasfzs8y1ujt87qvwggip

"I was probably in the minority as a goalkeeper as I didn't mind competition for places," Bosnich told Goal. "I thought being a goalkeeper was the same as any position that if you are not playing well, then it is understandable that someone else comes in.

"With Kepa, it is a little bit different because of the price tag that surrounds him but it wasn't Frank Lampard who bought him. It was somebody else. I was impressed with the way he came back but he has been struggling a little bit this season.

"It is completely understandable as a manager if someone is not doing it for you at a big club you think somewhere else. There are stories around about Donnarumma or Onana but with any goalkeeper you talk about purchasing, especially from abroad, there's nothing like playing the position in England.

"There's more physical challenges on the crosses that you get in England than anywhere else in the world. You have to be careful. I am not privy to what's gone on behind the scenes but if a manager-player relationship breaks down, then that's a different matter.

"I just think it was down to his form which in terms of the standard when he first came, it hasn't been up to scratch this season. Frank was well within his rights to leave him out when he did but I thought he did well when he came back.

"I rate Kepa, I thought he was a superb shot-stopper with good agility and his kicking was okay for me. I think people make too much of his problems with distribution but the first job is to keep the ball out of the net. Kicking is a bonus.

"In terms of dominating his box, he is young and slight so it has taken time to get to grips with that. That's something they need to work on. For me, he has not been a disaster in any sense of the word. He has done okay so far.

"It is difficult to follow Petr Cech in their most successful era at the club. Then you have Thibaut Courtois, who was exceptional as well. I believe that Kepa has the ability given time to get to that level."