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2011/12 Chelsea Statistics - Plus/Minus: Players, Positions

A.Cole, JT, Matinha, and Kalou are all highlighted in this post.  Unfortunately, they seem distinctly unimpressed.
A.Cole, JT, Matinha, and Kalou are all highlighted in this post. Unfortunately, they seem distinctly unimpressed.

Previously...[Minutes], [Goals], [Assists, Addendum], [+/- Part I]

Having seen how the two 2011-12 Chelsea managers' chosen formations stacked up against each other in Part 1, let's look at how Chelsea's players fared individually last season in terms of both overall and per-position Plus/Minus statistics.

Chelsea finished a +46 for the season, scoring 112 goals in all competitions and conceding 66. This provides a theoretical max of +112 and a theoretical minimum of -66 for any given player, neither of which should be even remotely approached, of course. Drilling down a little bit though, we do find some interesting numbers, such as Ramires achieving a +25 under AVB, on whose reign the books were closed at +26. Key player, anyone?

But first, let's look at some overall and by-position numbers. Each player will be examined in detail later in this post (or, more appropriately, 'can be examined' by you, dear reader), so I will concentrate on just the best in each case.

Oh, one more thing, let's get the goalkeepers out of the way:

Gk_medium

Yep. Petr Cech. I think that's all that needs to be said.

So, onwards with the field players:

NB: just like for formations, the shorthanded situations were mostly ignored. They do count for the Overall player Plus/Minus, but they were not associated with either manager or with any particular position. While this automatically induces a potential error of about 5% (300 minutes played with 9/10-men out of 5610 total minutes), it saved me the frustration of having to assign positions in such dynamic and special circumstances (i.e. Drogba as a left back). It also simplified the individual player cards that you see at the end of this post.

Plusminus_medium

Cole & Mata were clearly a cut above the rest. Joining them in the 30+ club were Terry, Ramires, Ivanovic, Lampard, and David Luiz. Let's call them our key players. I don't think many would disagree.

* Oriol Romeu was a +12 under AVB, but a (-3) in his brief cameos for Di Matteo.

** Florent Malouda was a superbly underwhelming big fat 0: +1 for Robbie, +1 in short-handed situations, (-2) for AVB. More on this later.

  • EPL-only: Cole (+20)
  • CL-only: David Luiz (+13)
  • FA/League Cups: Mata (+14)
  • Left Back (DL): Cole (+40)
  • Center Back (DC): Terry (+34)
  • Right Back (DR): Bosingwa (+22)
  • Holding Mid (DMx1): Romeu (+12)
  • Pivot Mid (DMx2): Lampard (+16)
  • Central Mid (MC): Ramires (+22)
  • Left Wing/Forward (AM/FL): Mata (+23)
  • "In-the-hole" (AMC): Mata (+20)
  • Right Wing/Forward (AM/FR): Daniel Sturridge (+21)
  • Center/Lone Forward (FC/ST): Fernando Torres (+20)

Before you ask, Bosingwa just barely edged Ivanovic out for the right back spot (+22 v. +20). Ashley Cole was followed by Mata & Sturridge, both on +19, in the EPL-only count. All of this, and much more, can be seen in the following player cards (assuming I collected this data with any semblance of accuracy...).

In the interest of saving space (and time), I'm posting the cards in groups, rather than individually - so don't worry about trying to make sense of the order:

Terrycahillalex_medium

John TERRY: Relative to his Premier League numbers, he did not cover himself in glory in the Champions League campaign.

Gary CAHILL: Just further proof of Gary's solid play. The only real negative was his involvement in the debacle of Naples.

ALEX: He was just not very good. The only outfield player with a negative plus/minus (more conceded than scored while he was on the pitch)!

Luizivanhutch_medium

DAVID LUIZ: Playing just about every single minute of our Europe-conquering campaign, Sideshow was the man.

Branislav IVANOVIC: Just in case you're still wondering which is his best position: +9 as DC; +20 as DR. Led the team with 232 minutes played in short-handed situations, too. RAWR!

Sam HUTCHINSON: Hutch was on the bench for Nottingham Forest's first match of the new season.

Bossbertpf_medium

Jose BOSINGWA: Now QPR's secret weapon. He's clearly amazing at center back.

Ryan BERTRAND: That Premier League record is a bit worrying (-3), but the only way is up for the promising (and potentially versatile) youngster.

Paulo FERREIRA: The Phantom at right back seems to be synonymous with 'Goal Fest'.

Essmikelromeu_medium

Michael ESSIEN: Small sample, but it really doesn't look bad. Perhaps there's still some hope left for the Bison to resurrect (part of) his old self.

John Obi MIKEL: That FA Cup run sure makes his stats look good.

Oriol ROMEU: It'll be very interesting to see how Romeu fits into Di Matteo's plans. Will we see a return of that promising Romeu who had fans' tongues wagging?

Lampsmce_medium

Frank LAMPARD: Almost twice as effective with Di Matteo than with AVB.

Josh McEACHRAN: Still waiting for that next step. Remembering all those silly reds in his League Cup matches make me sad.

Rammeirmalouda_medium

RAMIRES: Best utilizing the amazing Ramires will be key to the new season...but based on this, he sure looks a lot better in a midfield-three than on a right/left wing.

Raul MEIRELES: I guess at the end of it all, he was not entirely horrible. MRLSH, you're a cult hero!

Florent MALOUDA: On the other hand... Why did we insist on the playing Malouda so often and in such varying positions?

Stumataanelka_medium

Daniel STURRIDGE: I believe in Harvey Dent Daniel Sturridge!

Juan MATA: Quite clearly carried the load by himself. Let's make it easier on him this year.

Nicolas ANELKA: You really must wonder what AVB was thinking in [fun]ing up the Nico-situation.

Kaloutorreslukaku_medium

Salomon KALOU: This just makes me sad that he's gone. A pox on your petty house, AVB! Hopefully Di Matteo sent his notes along with Sala to Lille, so that he may be utilized there just as well.

Fernando TORRES: Much better with Robbie. Hope!

Romelu LUKAKU: WBA's loan of Lukaku will be the transfer of the season. You're welcome, Steve Clarke.

Drogyossiash_medium

Didier DROGBA: We'll always have Munich, Didier.

Yossi BENAYOUN: The key question: can Yossi improve on his 2 minutes played? My money is on 'No'.

Ashley COLE: Ash, you're a legend, even if I just stuck you in at the end.

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