Let's get rid of Marmite Man quickly

Player Assessment: Vlad Chiriches



Next up in the assessment series is a centre-back some people thought was sheer quality, the rest of us were at the other end of the scale, there didn't seem to be too many people in between. Marmite man Vlad Chiriches.

Vlad Chiriches

You rate him, you don't rate him, Spurs fans were totally mixed about Vlad Chiriches after seeing his flick over a players head when one-on-one at the back. I was firmly and adamantly in the camp, this is a disaster waiting to happen.

His faults were many. I watched him closely, turned off the sound and evaluated him myself. He was poor positionally, he was weak in the air and he has a weakness on his left hand side, he was simply easily beaten but it took until WBA this year for the experts in the media to notice and comment on it.

He was made Man of the Match at old Trafford when we played and beat them in his first season but that was a travesty. He was beaten on his left hand side at least 4 times by Manchester United substitute Javier Hernández who then fluffed glorious chances deep inside our box. It was a game we could easily have lost thanks to that defending.

He has not improved, he is a centre-back who only wins 45% of his tackles and 4 out of every 10 headers, that's crazy. His mental aberrations this season will still be fresh in your memories. In his last game, Stoke City, he was sent off for two bookable offences, the first because he couldn't even judge the bounce of a ball. Thank goodness we have overhauled the recruitment side of the club if this was the standard of signing we were getting.

I was one of the voices clamouring for him to be moved to right-back as his only hope and he duly was. There he proved to be on a par with Kyle Naughton, adequate, could do a job and less likely to be dangerous to the side, our side not theirs, as his 42% take on success testifies.

Premier League Games Only

Vlad Chiriches
Played: 10
Minutes: 707
Total Passes: 395
Pass Completion: 81.52%
Forward Passes: 75.70%
Key Passes: 3
Key Pass Time: 1 every 235.67 minutes
Chances Created: 3
Chance Creation Time: 1 every 235.67 minutes
Shots: 1
Shot Accuracy: 0%
Goals: 0
Assists: 0
Positive Attacking Action: 1 every 101 minutes
(Total Minutes divided by Shots, Goals, Assists, Key passes, Chances Created combined)
Tackles: 33
Tackles Won: 45.45%
Blocks: 3
Interceptions: 26
Clearances: 27
Take On Success: 42.86%
Heading Success: 40%
Defensive Action: 1 every 12.63 minutes
(Total Minutes divided by Blocks, Clearances, Interceptions)

I thank him for doing a job at right-back when required and request a swift exit to a less physical league. Italian clubs have been interested in him for the last two windows so hopefully he'll be on his way there this summer.