Showing posts with label CFC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label CFC. Show all posts
Monday, July 14, 2014
Salomon Kalou? No, just no.
Salomon Kalou is a conundrum. Is he any good? Was he ever good? When he transferred from Feyenoord to Chelsea in 2006, he was coming off two productive years where he scored 42 goals in 80 matches in all competitions. Interestingly enough, his strike mate at the Eredivisie club was Dirk Kuyt, who scored 61 goals in 82 matches over that same span.
The first season for the 21-year-old Ivorian at Stamford Bridge was mildly successful as he bagged seven goals and assisted on five more in 1931 minutes played. Though seemingly a 'transition' year, Kalou would fail to improve much on those numbers for his remaining stay with the Blues. He would only manage 36 goals and 25 assists in 156 league appearances and was let go on a free to Lille.
Unfortunately, Ligue 1 hasn't treated him much better:
The first season for the 21-year-old Ivorian at Stamford Bridge was mildly successful as he bagged seven goals and assisted on five more in 1931 minutes played. Though seemingly a 'transition' year, Kalou would fail to improve much on those numbers for his remaining stay with the Blues. He would only manage 36 goals and 25 assists in 156 league appearances and was let go on a free to Lille.
Unfortunately, Ligue 1 hasn't treated him much better:
npgp90 | gcp90 | ccp90 | ap90 | ccv | |
2013-14 | 0.32 | 0.64 | 1.57 | 0.17 | 11.1 |
2012-13 | 0.53 | 0.7 | 1.27 | 0.12 | 9.7 |
pass% | bp% | sacc% | shot% | TTI90 | |
2013-14 | 75.9 | 47.9 | 48.9 | 17 | 15.8 |
2012-13 | 75.6 | 45.7 | 46.5 | 19.7 | 17.9 |
gap90 | gsp90 | gop90 | tgop | gopd90 | |
2013-14 | 0.7 | 1.28 | 0.58 | 0.53 | 0.05 |
2012-13 | 0.9 | 1.76 | 0.86 | 0.5 | 0.36 |
He has scored 30 goals in 66 matches, 6 of those were penalties though. His passing is painfully average, he turns over the ball too frequently, and his chance created values are nothing to get excited about. At 29, Kalou is the poster boy for 'unreached potential'.
The Liverpool is somehow linked to Kalou, but I don't think he's even worth the pitch time on a free. I'd rather see Ibe get more playing time than waste it on a 29-year-old forward who couldn't prove his worth in six seasons at Chelsea.
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Is Romelu Lukaku worth £26m?
Recent rumours have LFC linked to Chelsea striker, Romelu Lukaku. The 21-year-old Belgian has spent the last two seasons out on loan, first at West Brom and last season at Everton. Let's look at his output from those campaigns:
Everton 2013-14
West Brom 2012-13
npgp90 | gcp90 | ccp90 | ap90 | ccv |
0.53 | 0.74 | 1.13 | 0.21 | 18.8 |
pass% | bp% | sacc% | shot% | TTI90 |
66.5 | 53.3 | 45.9 | 15.3 | 11.1 |
gap90 | gsp90 | gop90 | tgop | gopd90 |
1.06 | 1.9 | 0.84 | 0.58 | 0.26 |
West Brom 2012-13
npgp90 | gcp90 | ccp90 | ap90 | ccv |
0.67 | 0.94 | 1.61 | 0.18 | 11.1 |
pass% | bp% | sacc% | shot% | TTI90 |
72.1 | 57.6 | 48.5 | 17.5 | 15 |
gap90 | gsp90 | gop90 | tgop | gopd90 |
1.8 | 1.7 | -0.1 | -0.1 | 0 |
Everton finished 5th last season, while WBA ended up 8th in 2012-13, though the difference between 7th, where Liverpool placed that year, was 12 pts and a 32 goal difference, the second largest point gap next to 19th and 20th, and the largest goal difference by much distance. Lukaku scored 32.1% of goals and was responsible for 39.6% of goals scored for West Brom, while he had part in 24.6% and 34.4% respectively for Everton last season.
The improvement in his chance created value and turnover rate are probably signs of both growth and being surrounded by more capable teammates, which, if he came to Liverpool, would be the case once again. His passing rate is a bit worrisome though, but in the few matches he has played for Chelsea, his percentage was 81.2%, which is significantly better. Why it decreased from WBA to Everton could also be due to the fact that he passed it backward less.
Is he worth £26m though? Well, given his age, physical capabilities, and skills, absolutely. In fact, that could wind up being a bargain. I don't think he'll ever be a world class talent, but I can see him scoring 20-25 goals for a lot of seasons to come. If I were Mourinho, I'd send Torres packing and start playing Lukaku, but you never know with the 'Special One'.
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