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Of the many signings brought in to Chelsea this summer none have surprised quite as much as Oriol Romeu. The young Spaniard burst onto the scene last fall and saw an extended first-team run during the winter but after a (reportedly minor) injury he has been relegated to the bench. His last start was on January 31st and recently he’s seen back-to-back appearances as an unused substitute under new manager Roberto Di Matteo. So does he deserve to be on the pitch or does he actually belong on the bench? Let’s find out…
Chelsea have a win percentage of 64% in the 22 games Romeu has played in (W14 D6 L2), up from only 37% (W7 D5 L7) in the 19 matches Romeu has not featured.
A pretty substantial difference, Chelsea have seen a 73% increase in their win percentage this season when Romeu has played in any part of a match.
Chelsea have a +23 goal difference in the 22 games Oriol Romeu has played (average goal difference of 1.05 per game), allowing only 18 goals in these games (0.82 goals allowed/game) and scoring 41 goals (1.86/game). In the 19 games without Romeu Chelsea have a +7 goal difference (average GD of 0.36/game), allowing 24 goals (1.26/game) and scoring 31 goals (1.60/game) in these matches.
Not only do Chelsea have a goal difference of more than three times as much in matches Romeu has played in, but they also allow over half a goal less per game and ironically scoring has actually increased by 16% when Romeu plays any part of the match.
With these stats alone you could make a pretty strong argument that Chelsea are better when Romeu is on the pitch, but when you look at the stats below it’s an easy call…
Chelsea have an 82% win percentage (9W 1D 1L) when Romeu players full 90 minutes of a match and only a 38% win percentage (12W 10D 8L) when he doesn’t.
When Romeu plays the full 90 minutes Chelsea have scored 22 goals (2 goals/game), conceded only 6 (0.55 goals/game) and have a goal difference of 16 (1.45 goals/game).
In the 30 games Romeu hasn’t played the full match Chelsea have scored 50 goals (1.67/gm), conceded 36 goals (1.2/gm) and have a goal difference of only 14 goals (0.47/gm).
Yes, that’s correct, Chelsea have a better goal difference in the 11 games Romeu has played the full 90 minutes in than the 30 where he hasn’t. Simply amazing, not to mention Chelsea have allowed twice as many goals per game in the same situation.
I don’t care what the reason is for Romeu riding the pine lately at Chelsea, be it his ever looming and confusing buy-back clause with Barcelona, respect for more “senior” players, or even the return of Michael Essien, there needs to be a place for Oriol Romeu in the starting 11 of Chelsea. He’s earned it.
I would be happy if you outline the same statistics on Mikel, coz I feel he is unfairly treated as well. Get me right, I appreciate your post & it’s very reasonable. It’s only asking for an extention of the good work you have done.
I will put together some high-level numbers for Mikel and post them this evening 🙂
Chelsea have won 13 of the 23 games Mikel has played in (56.5%). 6W 2D 1L when he plays the full 90 (66.6% win percentage). Both stats pretty far behind Romeu but it’s not a dramatic difference and better than many CFC players.
It is possible to link Romeu stats with any other to see why this is th case. eg possesion,interceptions etc.
I agree with you.. i think romeu has been a better player than Mikel or Essien this season and he deserved to have a place in starting 11. He oozes class when he play.. He should play more
Agreed (although I’m a huge Essien fan) and it’s clear Romeu is still developing as a player. He has the potential to be a top 25 midfielder in the world.
Is there not something to be said for the matches Romeu has played in, and who the opposition were in those matches?
Have heard similar inquiries regarding other players and if their sample size of games is big enough (which in Romeu’s case it is) it’s usually a wash. He’s played against City, United, Spurs, Valencia, Liverpool, on and on but has also missed games against similar clubs. Unless it’s a Mata or Cole who isn’t a rotation player you’re always going to encounter this and it usually evens itself out and is a non-factor.
These stats are misleading on his actual impact. Do this for the whole squad and there’d be many similarities. Based on this alone, he’s Chelsea’s saviour. But we all know he isn’t.
Not sure what you mean when you say there would be “many similarities” – highly unlikely to find another Chelsea player where the team has such a high winning percentage when the play the full 90 minutes…
Nah Romeu is decent but Mikel is class and has been unfairly criticised at time this season. More recently he’s been earning the plaudits he’s deserved. Essien was quality but I feel this season he’s been a different player in some bad ways. Romeu should be given the role of understudy to Mikel and should be played in the cup and games after a Champions league match and see how he does with Essien leaving in the summer