By Ross Mooring
If you’ve followed my ratings blogs during the course of the season you probably have a vague idea of how I rate individual displays. Obviously, the higher the rating the better my opinion of performances!
First off, it goes without saying that these are subjective evaluations. Over the course of the season and through 57 games I would expect that they even out for players’ overall scores (which are averaged over minutes played for accuracy). First up, the team and player of the season blog can be found here.
From kick off, every player starts on a 6 – a minimum score I would expect a top level Premier League player to achieve. During every game I track players’ individual challenges, passing, decision making, work rate, creative play, finishing, etc (and saves, command of the box and distribution) and measure up plus bits of play versus negative ones. Ratings often fall between numbers and are rounded up or down.
A players’ time on the pitch does not factor into their score, other than there being a minimum of 10 minutes played to be rated by, so a sub who nets a brace off the bench in the 76th minute – like Demba Ba versus Spurs in our 4-0 win – would score a 9 or a 10, although in Ba’s case he wasn’t a candidate for man of the match as the game was already won, even if his score was the highest on the day.
Scores (roughly) translate as follows:
1 to 3 / 10: Shocking. You’re not a professional footballer. More akin to a combination of Chris Sutton’s finishing ability combined with Neil Sullivan’s athleticism, Paul Furlong’s first touch and Winston Bogarde’s love of the game. No one in a Chelsea shirt received a 3 or lower in 2013/14, although one or two came close.
4 / 10: Bad. General poor play combined with one or two noteworthy errors and a distinct lack of effort. By this count, Chelsea’s 2-0 defeat at Newcastle in November was the Blues’ worst of the season with the majority of that day’s side scoring 5 or worse.
5 / 10: Poor. Negative or lack of impact on the game or one or two good moments weighed against several bad ones.
6 / 10: Average. Every player starts the game on this score, moving up or down depending on their play. Quite often Chelsea’s defenders and goalkeepers receive 6s in home games as they aren’t tested by the opposition and have little opportunity to impress.
7 / 10: Good. Involved in the game and made positive contributions at the back or in attack. Generally, the more players in this category in a single game means the team has played well.
8 / 10: Very good. Had a solid game, making few or no errors and winning battles against opponents. Scored or assisted a goal or made an important save or defensive challenge.
9 / 10: Excellent. A match-winning type performance in defence or attack (or both).
10 / 10: Outstanding. Unplayable, faultless, superlative! Twice this season I gave scores of 10, both to Eden Hazard for his blistering display at Sunderland in the league and his hat-trick performance, including a peach of a goal, at home to Newcastle.
