However, defending and the stats surrounding it are VERY hard to guage and even harderr when comparing players from different clubs-you alter any part of those teams, too, and the CB’s job can alter dramatically.

Cahill’s recent stats may suggest he’d be the type of player who might aid Chelsea playing a higher line if he’s the last guy to step up but Bolton’s back line when stepping up were very often a lot deeper, not right back but deeper, than Chelsea were playing when getting regulalry caught out with through balls and one on ones beating the offside. Also, doubtful that Bolton would press as high to get the ball ba k as high as they’re not technically good enough to try to play press/possession in the other team’s ahlf and definitely nopt with a back four line as high as ours was early in the season.

I also think the fact he’s tackling less can be added to him being THEIR covering defnder and not starting from a high line and oicking up more through balls than tackles as a false sweeper of a kind. Also, the number of interceptions and offsides come abouyt, surely, because Bolton just defend MORE. I’d be more interested if we could see the map of where their offsides compared to Chelsea’s take place. Are the opposition inChelsea’s case caught nearer the HW line? I’d be amazed if that were not the case, and if so does that make Garty the positional hgenius we might suspect a little from the stats given?

No, while a couple bits are of note for being surprising I’m actually not that enlightened or relieved by the bulk of it-I think the personnel played with, the tactics on a micro scale and the fact Chelsea just defend less and higher all act to paint a pretty hard picture for us to read. Add to that fact Cahill will likely have been their senior defende and defence set up more or less to suit him and the issue gets distorted further. You only have to see the difference in the opinion of Luiz’s Chelsea form to his national team form to see how playing different systems and in different teams with different players and different languages can change a player’s statistical and actual performances and ensure that, especiaslly at this end of the pitch, stats and damn lies are very close bedfellows.

I hope, truly, that Cahill can be great for Chelsea but my feeling that he’s EASILY the least talented (and with Chalobah’s potential, Kalas performances and Bruma’s turnaround in Hamburg I’m not putting them on a diferent level to Cahill either and would rather have promoted one or two of them than pay Gary more than Mata!!)CB now in first team contention and should we end up losing the talent of Luiz and playing the pairing of JT and his northern impersonator(like a poor covers band)we will lose miles more than we gain and have put Luiz through a half season of hell learning to communicate in English while the team learnt a new system defensively for nothing and a football talent like Luiz is NOT worth losing just to play a clogger from Sheffield-and certainly not when you think JT could well be the one to lose a long term place through THAT court case or, just as likely right now, his back giving way. Rotate the three(plus Bran)but do notm just bench Luiz AVB. This time be as good as your word-unlike the speil about if the player in possession doesn’t play well those in the wings will get their chance which only seemingly works if you speak Portuguese or Spanish. Why is Josh gone to Swansea when their CM three is totally settled and works and ours isn’t and doesn’t? they do not need a creative CM and we do? And why won’t AVB play him even though Meireles is almost universally regarded as nowhere near good enough? Stick by Luiz AVB, please? I’ll lose all faith in you still wanting to play attacking football if you cave again.

Good, thoughtful read though but I doubt the wisdom of listening to too many CB related stats. Maybe from the same team about partners to ONE CB but not like this.