For any Liverpool fan obsessed with statistics about players or the club, I fully recommend visiting Anfield Index who utilise Opta Index stats. Comparing some of the Premier League’s top left backs, one of the shocking things is that Gael Clichy comes out favourably in terms of his defensive stats but is surprisingly poor in the offensive third.
Myth 1) Gael Clichy Cannot Defend – Looking at the stats, it is apparent that Clichy gets an unfair press for his defensive frailties. On 50/50 challenges, he wins 58% of a total of 351 challenges while Everton’s Leighton Baines is at 55% and Newcastle’s Jose Enrique is at 51%. In regards to total tackles, Clichy made 50 more than Enrique and 27 more than Baines with a favourable success percentage of 81% to Enrique’s 84% and Baines 74%. On aerial challenges too, Clichy attempted 111 compared to just 44 by Enrique and 43 by Baines and winning just over half at 51%, a better percentage than Enrique (32%) but less than Baines at 63%, although the number of aerial challenges attempted means Clichy won more in total.
Myth 2) Gael Clichy makes too many crucial mistakes – A very simple stat that shows that Clichy is equal to both Enrique and Baines. Clichy made one defensive error that led to a goal last season, according to Opta Stats, while Leighton Baines made 2 and Jose Enrique made 1.
no need to prove with stats, liverpool can have him… in fact he’s great lol
we jst cnt sign hm.shut up
oh dear, what poor journalism! Looking through OPTA to try and justify the players crudentials! Ask any Arsenal fan and they will tell you that he has gone backwards in his development. Stats tell half the story! We havnt just decided to want rid of him for the sake of it, he will be a fine player for liverpool because the rest of your squad is not a high standard, so for you he will be fine but for a top club he is too much of a liability. He will just about be ok for the europa league but not the champs, lucky for you as your not in either!
Myth 4: Liverpool are going to sign him. Can’t see it happening.
Stats doesn’t prove anything, look at Torres, he scored over 20 goals in his first season at anfield but scored only once in Chelsea
@ jjb (re: your last sentence) – You’ve never won either!! hahahaaaaa!! Mug!
Haha listen to this lot talkin a load of arse! Ur whole team has gone backwards an ur best 2 players want to move to “big clubs”. We will Finnish above u next season guaranteed! Admittedly we’ve had r problems the last few yrs but were over all that an ready to challenge once again…. arsenals problems r just about to start I think!
gerrard is becoming the next carragher, he’s spends more time talking now a days than he does playing… liverpool the new tottenham
Can he defend? yes, can he attack? yes is the the best? No. He is prone to lapses of concentration and seems on occassion to panic or dither. However this could be the coaching, where the Arsenal players always have to look for a pass when sometimes just sticking your boot thought the ball and putting it in row Z would be the safest option. As an Arsenal fan would I rather he stayed or have a talented but injury prone Kieran Gibs as first choice? I rather he stayed.
Going to sign for Man City – another one bites the dust but how can we compete with their cash ??
Lol Liverpool will challenge? Are you sure? In all fairness you had a good end to the season but still lost crucial games.. Your problems are far from over.. Just because you’ve paid 20 million for an average 20 year old English lad doesn’t make you any better.. Just to put that in perspective we paid 5 million for ramsey a far better player.. you’ve got so many average players in your squad your still 2years from challenging for the top 4.. Cesc wants to leave for the best current club side in world football? Wow what a shock.. Nasri is after more money.. If your talking about big clubs.. When was the last time Liverpool were a big club????? 30 years ago? Pipe down scum..
Haha
@Jamie England – Last time we were a big club? Well how about when we were Champions of Europe again in 2005. No club can claim to be truly great club without a European Cup! Also Henderson was 16m not 20m if you ignore the rags and find some proper sources. We were 2nd in the form table behind chelsea once KK took over so no reason to think we wont push on from there.
BIG CLUBS PLAY IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE.. NUFF SAID!
“Clichy made one defensive error that led to a goal last season”
This just proves that while Opta are good at gathering stats in general; they nevertheless know nowt about football. Clichy’s terrible positioning, inability to play the offside trap and failure to close down opponents who are clearly about to cross the ball accounting for a lot more than 1 solitary goal conceeded by the mighty Arse. I haven’t been keeping tabs so I don’t have the exact figures, but I remember 3 separate occasions where Clichy standing about 5 yards off his man raised his leg in a very casual attempt to block a cross, but instead deflected the course of the cross straight onto an opponents head and into the back of the net. It was infuriating because it happened too often that his total failure to even close down the crosser led to goals, but what was worse was that he was turning crap crosses into assists to boot.
Clichy is a huge disappointment as a few years ago we all thought he’d be the best left back in the world by now. He isn’t even close. That said a good coach and unforgiving bastard of a coach/manager could no doubt put him back on track.
Failing that though he is an average defender that can’t cross to save his life. He gets up and down the flank faster than almost anyone in the game but he never even beats the first man with a cross and never apologies. He has become a pointless player.
@Saajib – Correction: Big Clubs win the Champions League.
Trust me…you will be glad if City get him ahead of you. Look at all the key goals Arsenal concede at crucial times against top opposition. Three of the back 4 will be in a line and then 2 yards behind them playing the striker onside will be Clichy!
Ask yourself this…will Arsenal fans be sorry to see Fabregas leave – yes; Nasri – yes; Clichy – No! Think about it! Don’t agree, then why are Arsenal making no attempt to keep him at all? Give me Baines any day!
@willmottt any team that has LUCAS in the starting line up can never be regarded as anything but a joke..
What’s with the capitals akmed? Come back when uve got old big ears in ya trophy cabinet!