Chelsea’s season is over, and now we can look at the stats of the campaign and see who did well and who didn’t in a dire 12 month for pretty much everyone, both on and off the pitch.
WhoScored’s ratings system gives everyone a rating out of 10 each game, and our highest rated player of a disaster season in the end was Reece James, who averaged a rating of 7.07 in the games he played.
He scored one goal and got one assist in those appearances, but that doesn’t really reflect his constant threat down the right.
The problem with James, as has been clear throughout his time in the first team, isn’t what he does when he’s on the pitch, which is always exceptional. It’s simply a matter of how much time he spends on it.
This season he managed 14 starts in the Premier League, following a season with even fewer last time out.
Until he is able to play 25 games every season for us and can be relied on week in week out, his great performances will remain just as frustrating as they do match-winning.
He ended this season with yet another setback, and while until now we’ve kept the hope that these are all legacy issues related to his serious knee problem from a year ago, we’re increasingly convinced that he’s got a serious chronic problem that may stop him fulfilling his potential as the best right back in the world.
