Official: Chelsea Sign Kepa Arrizabalaga

[Blue_In_Every_Way]

21 minutes ago, Michael Tucker said:

Particularly if he's in the habit of reading these forums! It's been brutal on here.

Is he as bad as he's made out to be? Probably not, but each to his own as they say.  

I can't say its been undeserved to be honest. In fact, I believe that he got a lot of leeway.

We do have (and have had) players who are unfairly criticized at times. I can list Drogba, Malouda, Ballack, Fabregas, Willian off the top of my head. 

But what we see from Kepa, and what the hard statistics show... its hard to defend him.

[Michael Tucker]

4 hours ago, Blue_In_Every_Way said:

In fact, I believe that he got a lot of leeway.

I don't. Very little, if any in fact - he's been regularly slaughtered on here virtually from day one. Maybe he deserves that, but I'm not sure that any player does tbh. 

[Droy was my hero]

6 hours ago, Blue_In_Every_Way said:

I can't say its been undeserved to be honest. In fact, I believe that he got a lot of leeway.

I can, honestly.

[Bridge Soldier]

"Some Kepa stats this season:

- He has the worst save percentage in Premier League history (to play 10+ games), with 54.5%. 730th place.

- He has conceded 8% of Chelsea’s Premier League goals since 1992 in 2 years.

- For 14/47 goals conceded this season, he didn’t move (30%)."

That first one, eek. The first one isn't exactly outrageous given he's played in 6.4% of our Premier League matches and we play more attacking football than we have at other points. 

Edited July 28 by Bridge Soldier

[The_Ghost]

2 hours ago, Michael Tucker said:

I don't. Very little, if any in fact - he's been regularly slaughtered on here virtually from day one. Maybe he deserves that, but I'm not sure that any player does tbh. 

He got an incredible amount of leeway from day one. It wasn’t until his antics in the league cup final that he started to get some serious criticism. I had hopes he would take a step forward this season and build on a half decent first season with us. Sure, his weaknesses were clear already last season, but this season he’s been absolutely diabolical. There is absolutely no excuse for his performances. He’s simply not been good enough. 

49 minutes ago, Bridge Soldier said:

"Some Kepa stats this season:

- He has the worst save percentage in Premier League history (to play 10+ games), with 54.5%. 730th place.

- He has conceded 8% of Chelsea’s Premier League goals since 1992 in 2 years.

- For 14/47 goals conceded this season, he didn’t move (30%)."

That first one, eek. The first one isn't exactly outrageous given he's played in 6.4% of our Premier League matches and we play more attacking football than we have at other points. 

I think the first and third are very clear. I’d love to see for how many goals he has backed into his own goal before attempting a save. His footwork is really weak, coupled with some weird flapping with his arms before attempting a dive and being short doesn’t really help his cause. 

Personally I think he will need to take a step back and work on some of his basic technique. That he lacks understanding and anticipation is what it is. Not too much to do about that. His height ditto. But his basic GK technique isn’t good enough and that’s inexcusable at this level. 

[Mark Kelly]

28 minutes ago, The_Ghost said:

. I had hopes he would take a step forward this season and build on a half decent first season with us. Sure, his weaknesses were clear already last season, but this season he’s been absolutely diabolical. There is absolutely no excuse for his performances. He’s simply not been good enough. 

I think that sums it up in a nutshell , he's regressed for some reason , he really wasn't anywhere near as bad last season , it really is like he's forgotten everything he's supposed to do to keep goal. 

[chelboy]

1 hour ago, Bridge Soldier said:

"Some Kepa stats this season:

- He has the worst save percentage in Premier League history (to play 10+ games), with 54.5%. 730th place.

- He has conceded 8% of Chelsea’s Premier League goals since 1992 in 2 years.

- For 14/47 goals conceded this season, he didn’t move (30%)."

That first one, eek. The first one isn't exactly outrageous given he's played in 6.4% of our Premier League matches and we play more attacking football than we have at other points. 

If the first and third stats are true, my word. 

I take it we have the 730th worst defence then in a 10+ game spell and it’s not really Kepa’s fault?!

The more analysis on him, the worse it gets. How we scouted him and decided he would become our No.1 for the next 5 years is worrying. It’s like buying Cab for £71M at the level that he is now but age being 24.  I would have given it a year as I do with most transfers then start looking at what makes him a top GK or with potential to become one. It would become more obvious that nothing stands out and perhaps the scouting/recruitment department  misread the players ability. 

For a GK to not move for a third of the goals he conceded that just brings his anticipation into question. It’s not like you are going to save all these shots without moving. And it’s not like all these shots were rockets flying at lightning speed. 

Tim Krul has the worst defence by far yet he has performed better than Kepa in nearly every aspect. I can understand Kepa not performing as well as other top 6 GK’s but when it’s worst than the Norwich GK something is clearly not right. I don’t think he is as bad as what we have seen this year but I think it’s pretty obvious to me he is just an average GK. No.2 GK for any top club. 

[paulw66]

3 hours ago, Bridge Soldier said:

- He has conceded 8% of Chelsea’s Premier League goals since 1992 in 2 years.

 isn't exactly outrageous given he's played in 6.4% of our Premier League matches 

it's not outrageous, just completely pointless

Cech's contribution must distort every other GK's percentages so that they have a higher amount conceded to games played.  

Edit - not defending the other stats BTW before someone has a hissy fit

Edit 2 - so I found the data (wasn't easy)........Big Pete has played in 30.95% of our PL matches, and conceded 22.92% of our PL goals, which means the other GKs contribute 69.05% of games and 77.08% of goals conceded. 

Edited July 28 by paulw66

[Ham]

5 hours ago, The_Ghost said:

His footwork is really weak, coupled with some weird flapping with his arms before attempting a dive and being short doesn’t really help his cause. 

 

You're forgetting how he often chooses to reach for the ball with the hand that's furthest away. 

[paulw66]

12 minutes ago, Ham said:

You're forgetting how he often chooses to reach for the ball with the hand that's furthest away. 

Again, not defending Kepa, but this isn't unusual for high shots from range. If you dive to your left, once you are in mid air, your right arm is higher, so has more reach