Cesc Fàbregas is one of the best players in the world. But, looking at his appearance and injury stats, I’m beginning to doubt whether we can rely on him to be the heartbeat of our team.
With typical bad timing his latest injury has cleared up just in time for him to go away on international duty with Spain, but luckily this time, they have decided not to risk him.
So far this season Cesc has appeared in five of our 10 competitive fixtures – a ratio of exactly 50%.
Last season he played in 27 EPL games (71%), plus nine games in other competitions. The year before he turned out in the EPL 22 times (58%) and in all competitions 33 times.
Contrast that with his previous few seasons:
2007/8: Total appearances 45, including 32 (84%) in the EPL.
2006/7: Total appearances 54, including 38 (100%) in the EPL (yes, that’s right – every single EPL game, although four were as substitute).
2005/6: Total appearances 50, including 35 (92%) in the EPL.
2004/5: Total appearances 46, including 33 (87%) in the EPL.
It’s a worrying trend, showing our captain apparently becoming more injury prone as the years go by (and as opposition cloggers increasingly identify him as the main threat and kick lumps out of him).
We’re used to Robin van Perise having the label ‘Sick Note’ – but is that tag ready to be passed on to Fàbregas as well?
It’s automatic to think of RvP as a persistent absentee, but in the last two seasons his appearance record is not far behind Cesc’s (in the seasons 2008/9 and 2009/10 Cesc played in 64% of our EPL fixtures, Robin played in 58%. In the same period Cesc’s total appearances in all competitions were 69, Robin’s were 64).
What conclusions can we draw from this?
For me, a very blunt one: if Cesc is not fit to play the vast majority of our competitive fixtures this season (by which I mean at least 80%) then maybe it really is time to cash in and sell him to Barcelona next summer.
We won’t win anything when our two best players are each missing at least a third of the season every single year.
RockyLives
Arsenal News 24/7
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Morning all, I was pretty sure Cesc hasn’t been called up to the Spain squad as per : http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/3284/euro-2012/2010/10/07/2154853/xavi-cesc-fabregas-jesus-navas-pedro-and-fernando-torres-out
One would hope that means he’s going to be in London resting up on order to be ready to take on McLeish’s bruisers and not cruising around Barcelona media outlets saying to all and sundry how he wants to return “home” and have Xavi examine his Barca DNA etcetera etcetra.
R Lives – I think we will probably see him go at the end of this season whether he plays lots of games or not although of course no one knows definitively what he will do except the man himself.
Apparently he’s not in Spain’s squad?
Morning Rocky (when you get up) 🙂
You too CharyB.
They are interesting statistics Rocky, and I am a little surprised. My impression is that Cesc has spent sizeable chunks of each of the last three seasons hor de combat.
Your stats are more reliable than my memory, and it maybe that the team misses him so badly when he does not play that it just seems longer.
Gooner,
This is an Arsenal fans site, please don’t shame yourself with your vulgar abuse of a lifelong fan.
Hi Rasp,
Well done, I should have known you would intercede! 🙂
Morning Red Arse,
Gooner has been ‘edited’ or as I prefer to think of it, neutered 😉
Morning RedA, I didn’t see “gooner” ‘s diatribe but I’m sure it was tasty.
I have a stinking cold today and am in a grumpy mood.
Baah !
If we have to catch in on an injury proned player, that honor should go to RVP who has been a sleeping lion all this while, Cesc has display more gut, courage n steel hence he is named captain ahead of an older RVP.
Morning all
What to do, what to do, what to do ……. its a contact sport, footballers get injured, some of our injuries ie hamstrings, groin strains in training should never happen if muscles are warmed up enough, footballers used to play through the pain with cortisone injections ……. its becoming a farce 😦
Morning,
Interesting stats. I think this is bound to happen as Cesc hasn’t had a decent break, other than through injury, since before the Euro’s in 2008. He’s basically being asked to play all year round which is always going to take a toll.
It worries me that a similar thing might eventually happen with Wilshere. I think it’s scandalous that England finally get a skilful, creative, left footed midfielder and decide to flog him for the U21’s and the Seniors.
International matches do my head in. I’m already dreading waking up tomorrow morning to count the injuries we’ve picked up in various matches across the globe. One benefit is that a few of our key players aren’t on international duty as they’re recovering from injuries already!
Club before Country.
i’d love to know what gooner’s crime was.
was he pointing out the error of the spain call up?
was he pointing out the folly of saying sell cesc because he has had some bad luck
so if we apply the sell cos injured premise. bye bye
cesc
van persie
diaby
rosicky
walcott
denilson
bendtner
vermaelen
clichy
gibbs
hello
insane asylum
the championship
Peaches,
You soundeda bit like Old Mother Hubbard there for a minute! 🙂
I think doctors sometimes refer to illnesses as being physchosomatic, being all in the mind. I think this can apply to footballers who have been badly injured but in recovery cannot face tough tackling anymore.
I wonder if this also applies, if a player’s subconscious is still set on joining Barca, and the desire to recover from injury and get back playing is now a little lacking?
He is waiting it out for Barca.
Hi silentstan,
Gooner was pointing out that Cesc wasn’t in the Spain squad, which is fine, he chose to end with a lame insult – which isn’t.
I think the point of the article was that (as was the case with TH14 and PV) next season may be the best time to let him go because the physical toll his body has been taking is catching up with him.
Smithy,
I share your concerns, but imagine how Arsene feels.
Silent, There was no crime, look at the comment, it is pure as the driven snow.
Not quite sure what your point was with the sell because of injury list. Are you being serious? Or just facetious?
Stats are just stats ! They don’t prove anything. The reason cesc is more injured is because he is becoming more decisive for our game and hence he gets more kicks and hard tackles. Yes he is not the strongest there is ,but his vision and ability for one touch splitting defenses passes makes him a target. He is getting more kicks as he gets better. Happens to all the great players out there. The better you are the more kicks you get.
Ha ha, Hleb is unhappy at having to try and play “hoofball” with McCliesh’s cloggers :
http://www.sport.co.uk/news/Football/44890/Hleb_critical_of_Blues_style_of_play.aspx
How does that Milanese ice cream taste now ?
Ited,
Agree that stats don’t tell the whole story but I don’t comepletely agree that Cesc is suffering from more kicks and therefore more injuries.
He might be getting more kicks but a lot of his injuries are muscular rather than impact injuries. The Sunderland game wasn’t the first time his hamstring has gone in recent seasons. The broken leg against Barcelona was the exception I think.
CharyB,
You are a very, very, naughty boy! 🙂
Morning Red Arse – you’re nice and feisty this morning 😛
Feeling like Old Mother Hubbard is a trait of mine that I try to keep under wraps – so many injuries, not enough football and the stupid FA think its ok for Jack to play for the under 21’s and then join up with the big boys. I want the FA to know my wrath, they are pathetic – they have a whole campaign to control football at the grass roots but don’t sanction managers or players that spoil the game at the highest level.
Ited,
I do not think the purpose of graphs or statistics is to “prove” anything.
They are simply a way of collecting and showing data in a tabular or visually digestible format, to inform opinion or to focus attention.
To that extent you are right. But, and there is always a “but”, without the data expressed in this way it is not always easy to understand the extent, or otherwise, of any given problem.
Ask any Captain of Industry, if he could manage without stats or graphical representations! If he said “yes”, he would put half the management accountants out of a job. 🙂 Same principle here for us fans! 🙂
Naughty RedA, but not having fun. 😦
Peaches,
I was writing an appropriate response, in French, when typing new found brilliance using the “alt” key, it disappeared into the ether.
It may well be stuck in Rasp’s ear as we speak. 🙂
Me, fiesty? Surely not. I am well known for my pussycat tendencies. 🙂 CharyB’s your man for grumpy and Fiesty! 🙂
Hope you get over your cold quickly CharyB, “summer” colds can hang around too long, and I am scared of you when you are grumpy! 🙂
I sort of agree Rocky, i think its ireelevent however as he’ll be jumping ship next season anyway. I’m sure that we will have the personnell to cope aswell.
Interesting to see the redsox owners were given the arsenal tour prior to the liverpool bid, they want to copy our sustainable model it seems.
Interesting to see Manure announcing £80m losses last year.
It usually takes me about a couple of days to get over the worst of it(the cold) RedA – the other half merely rolled her eyes this morning and said(erroneously) “You’re always ill” – so no sympathy there.
If I come across a Stoke or Birmingham city fan anytime soon I could well lose my composure. As Dr Bruce Banner used to say “Don’t make me angry, you wouldn’t like me when I’m angry”
Hi Tommy,
I am always glad to see Manure have a hard time. Not a nice trait, I know, but I cannot help it! 🙂
Don’t know him CharyB, but I think I like him already! 🙂
Oh, unless you mean the fictitious character in the Incredible Hulk. I’m not big on movies. 🙂
sorry. good morning red & to you charey
That’s the one RedA – that programme used to light up my Saturday teatimes in my youth.
i see you both have had plenty of dialogue this morning, i wonder if charey has managed to convert Red to Slayerism??? 🙂
Hello TommyS – have you seen Tomas Rosickys playlist for his pre match music ?
All stuff we’d like – they compared it to Jack W’s – his was all wimpy”soul” crap and the dreaded Michael Jackson, bleeuurrgghhh.
Slayer is an acquired taste TommyS – you can get their tunes arranged for a string quartet off youtube though.
Weirdly enough it seems more scarey when you compare the string quartet version (playing alongside Heironymous Bosch and Dante’s inferno poctures) to Slayer with marshall-amped up electric guitars.
Hi all
Congrats Rocky on coming up with a post, damned if I could have thought of anything further than whine whine whine we made 56 million profit why aren’t we spending it on more players, Wenger is such a Scrooge, yawn.
Anyway stats, stats, stats I hate them but they seem to be a necessary evil. The thing that struck me, reading above, is that they can all be turned on their head to reveal in my opinion how lucky we have been in the past with Fàbregas’ fitness and all that is happening now is that he is getting injured an average amount of times for the position he plays.
As for talk of selling him, wash your mouth out with soap; well, wash your key board with soap anyway lol
No not seen it Charey.
I can imagine him head bangin tho LOL
I’m reading that Liverpool are in danger of a 9 point deduction if Kop Holdings goes in to admin next week
I didn’t like Slayer though Charey, Priest were my favourites by a long shout.
Morning London
Did you ever see them live TommyS ?
Hi Tommy
Morning all (for me at least). Sorry about the Spain thing – I read a day or so ago that Cesc was called up, but obviously that has since changed, which is great.
However it doesn’t affect the overall premise.
And I’m sorry, but stats do count. In Cesc’s case they show that he has changed from a player robust enough to give us pretty much a full season year after year to one who now gives us only two thirds of a season. This year we’ll see whether that’s a bad blip or a real trend.
I think Smithy nailed it – he hasn’t had a break since 2008.
Raspers – is it worth editing the post to bring it up to date? (like the bar chart, by the way).
Afternoon all- firstly I’d like to apologise for my expletive yesterday. Shouldn’t have risen to the chav’s bait! Good article and an idea that hadn’t fully taken shape in my mind- worrying really! Does anyone else think it might be playing too many games too young? So many child stars (owen etc.) seem to burn out in their late twenties when they should be in their prime and are constantly hampered by injuries… Just a thought!
Rocky,
Stats can be very revealing. There can be no doubt of that.
I am surprised if anyone has denied the usefulness of stats, especially when allied to graphs, which give data/information in an easily grasped way.
The data can then be used for trend analysis and to point to areas that need “drill down” to discover underlying causes for those trends, if necessary.
There is a widely expressed view that stats are not to be trusted and “prove” nothing because the data streams can be easily manipulated. A somewhat nihilistic attitude, methinks. 🙂
Hi rocky,
Thanks for the post, sorry I haven’t been around – it has been updated 😛
Thanks Rasp.
What’s the similarity between the Commonwealth Games stadium and Shite Hart Lane when totnum are 4:1 down?
……. have you seen all the empty seats? I thought they had a population of over 1 billion – surely letting the locals in for free would be better than having a stadium only 10% full.
Also, sorry to stray away from the post, but how do people feel about having Jerusalem played for the England medal ceremony?
This will be an unpopular thing to say but I think the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics are a load of crock, Raspers.
I don’t know why we even bother holding them, what a waste of time, effort and money!
I kind of agree chary. India is an emerging economy that is forecast to take over from China in the next 20 years so no doubt they were keen to showcase themselves – unfortunately it’s backfired a bit. I doubt the revenue will make it a viable proposition in the future.
Let’s face it |Raspers, there’s only 2 worldwide sports worth bothering about, football and cricket.
All the rest of them are pure boll***s.
Its not even two for me Chary…..
How much Cricket is played outside of the UK and/or its former colonies..??
You just can’t compare it to football imho….
Afternoon all
Barca simply do not have the money to buy Cesc, and they have very few (if any?) viable options for player swaps.
Its far from being a done deal in my eyes….
Hi S Sure – if you take in the populations who follow cricket then it is a truly intercontinental sport(Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia, the Carribean) with a huge following and a sizeable population. Of course it is some way off that of football, but all the so called Olympics sports are played followed by a miniscule worldwide population. North America is a big blank spot for Cricket although football isn’t followed that much there either, MLS ranks a long way down the priority list for United States sports fans so no major differential between cricket and football there, however I concede there is for South America.
You could say football leads the way but not that far behind is cricket and then all the “minority” interest sports trail WAAAAY behind, e.g. golf, tennis, riding down an ice path on a tea tray, synchronised diving(with make-up), etc…
Speaking of stats to back up that Cesc is a vital part of this Arsenal team:-
2009/10 Season
27 League apps – 15 goals & 15 assists
1 Cup app – 1 assist
8 Champions League app – 4 goals & 3 assists
Thats 19 goals & 19 assists in 36 games. In other words Cesc makes or scores goals in most matches.
When Henry was in his pomp at Arsenal he was this influential player.
02/03 55 games – 32goals & 24 assists
03/04 51 games – 39goals & 14 assists
04/05 42 games – 30goals & 17 assists
05/06 45 games – 33goals & 9 assists
In summary, Cesc plays Arsenal are more clinical & create more genuine chances to score and not the PASS THE PARCEL/ HERE U TAKE IT NOW! like at Stamford Bridge last Sunday.
Hi Swifty87,
Thanks for the figures. It comes as no surprise to see how important Cesc has been to the team. I think we all had to come to terms with the idea of losing Cesc over last summer. I’m not sure about Barça’s finances, but we know for sure that Cesc wants to go there.
I definitely think the team focused too much on Henry in his last season and it wasn’t good. We will have to find ways to adapt to life without Cesc one day. I think Ramsey could well be a key player if he can overcome the psychological effect of his injury.
Fair do’s Chary good riposte..but for me you’re simply saying that Footie is No.1 then there’s no numbers 2 thru to 7 and Cricket comes in at no.8, then no 9 thru to 11 with the next best coming in at No.12
If they played a lot of cricket in China then maybe Cricket would get to no. 3 or 4 !!
True S Sure and you read my response exactly right – although did you know that a certain type of bowling was named after a West Indies bowler of Chinese extraction – Ellis Achong, he invented the bowling called the “China man” – Raspers will know what sort of bowling it is.
The most recent type of bowler who bowled chinamen I can think of is the south african chap, something Taylor I think he was.
Great point Swifty. Those figures really do show how effective Cesc is.
If he does leave (and I’m not convinced he will) you need to wonder who will be able to step in and fill the void.
Partly agred Rasp…I’ve got to say that I have seen a player create as man chaces per game as Cesc.
Lest we forget, those stats for assists rely quite heavily on the likes of AdeNuff finishing off those chances !!
*say that I have NEVER seen a player*
I’ll talk about the C’wealth Games a little since they are being held in my city.
Firstly as Rasp said they will be letting in locals for free albeit only school kids.
As for the effect on the economy, it really has been very expensive and the cost will not be near recovered. But that’s more due to corruption than anything else. However there’s talk of launching a bid for the Olympics so maybe there long term benefits. Or the bureaucrats/politicians are looking at another payday.
As for cricket, it’s a team sport and should not be judged against individual sports. However I think crickets potential audience is max’d out after 20/20, whereas Football’s popularity is still growing.
Finally Cesc, if he and RvP stay fir for a season we’d win a major trophy no questions about it. However I don’t think Cesc is a crock in the same sense as RvP. Robin just seems brittle, whereas Cesc apart from the injuries afflicted by his countrymen seems robust. His hamstring is becoming a problem. Hopefully him sitting out Chelsea will save our season.
Hi Sharkey
“Barca simply do not have the money to buy Cesc.”
This is a very interesting point of debate. Can you please give us a post on it.
Also, can you let me know that you have read this to avoid bugging you about the same thing.
Agreed on the saturation levels of market share on football and cricket Mayank, although I feel that there are far more downsides attached to the CWG for India not just the economic loss.
The vulnerability of the city to a Jihadist terror attack, just across the border those type of people(terrorist) are 10 a penny is a risk.
That would be too horrid to imagine.
Evening London.
Read and received.
I will try to rustle something up tomorrow afternoon/evening, prob won’t be much more than a loose ramble though.
But then again, I may male more of an effort, and try to look at their recent players sales and purchases.
Sharkey,
Some of us are waiting…tick tock
Watch out, or I may post some utter drivel!
New post ……