Is Erin Cuthbert the number 6 that Chelsea supporters never knew they needed?
A look at how Emma Hayes might plan to use Erin Cuthbert this season
Pre-season is good for two things, one is fitness, and the other is understanding how formations and tactics a team intends on using for the upcoming season.
Throughout the summer, Chelsea supporters have been calling for a midfielder in the mould of Lena Oberdorf or Keira Walsh. A midfielder that will control the tempo on the pitch and dictate the play.
But, the midfielders Chelsea have signed, or appear to be close to signing are all more naturally what you would describe as an 8, box to box, good defensively and going forward.
Players better suited to the quick transitional style that Chelsea have tended to adopt in recent seasons. So it appears that Chelsea will look to continue this style, with Erin Cuthbert playing as their ‘6’.
Defensively, Cuthbert is a perfect midfielder, she has the stamina to run all game, can cover vast areas of the pitch, knows how to tackle and can also read the game, so knows when to make a tactical foul as well, as we saw in the 2-2 draw with Lyon.
Cuthbert also has the technical quality to pick a pass and can play the longer passes that Hayes prefers to break through defensive lines, as we saw with her assist for Sam Kerr.
This is a move that has been worked on in training, another indictor of how Hayes intends to use the 23-year-old.
When Lyon lose possession in the final third, their whole team drops into shape, some teams will try and press to win the ball back within 5-10 seconds, for a club like FC Barcelona, it’s part of their DNA following Pep Guardiola’s transformation of the club.
However, as the ball is played into Cuthbert, Lyon try and push up to condense the size of the pitch, they want to restrict the areas that the likes of Lauren James, Pernille Harder and Guro Reiten have to play in.
For Kerr, she needs to be able to recognise this is happening and begin to make a run in the opposite direct, Cuthbert then has to see the run and make the pass, which she does, and Kerr does the rest with a fantastic chip over Endler in the Lyon goal.
The whole move happens in just seven seconds, and is a perfect example of the style of football that Hayes wants her team to play, ultra fast, back to front as quick as possible.
Tap Tap Boom, as we like to call it.
This is why Cuthbert makes sense as an Emma Hayes’ 6. Chelsea can press high, and in this game had the front four, plus Jessie Fleming able to join, because they had the legs of Cuthbert behind them.
Then when the time comes, Cuthbert can also make a pass.
Versus Lyon, Cuthbert played the entire game and had 1 assist. 2 shots, both on target. 45 of 54 passes completed (83%), 4 of 6 long passes successful (67%), won 15 of 28 duels (54%).
Penalty aside, it was a really positive performance.
She might not be the Oberdorf or Walsh type, but she doesn’t need to be, she needs to be a Cuthbert, because that is the playing style. Hayes does not want every attack to go through her midfield, because often enough it’s not the quickest way to get forward.
Speaking after the game, Hayes made it clear what she has planned for the season, "You saw what we’ve got planned for Erin,' She told Chelsea's official club website.
"She’s sitting in the deep-lying position because in and out of possession she offers the team a lot. Jessie Fleming is being given the opportunities to play more minutes and she grew into the game as well.
"She (Fleming) cramped up and had to come out but I thought the midfield was fluid and in possession we created overloads in the way that we wanted to so generally I'm pleased with the way the midfield played."
Chelsea score goals by breaking defensive lines by playing balls fast forward, by winning possession high up the pitch and as Hayes said, creating overloads.
There is of a course, a question mark over whether or not this style of play can win European football’s biggest prize, but Lyon won last years crown with just 39% possession against Barcelona, as they basically ran through the 2021 winners.
For Chelsea, and Hayes in particular, their summer recruitment is geared towards having a squad that can win both domestically and in Europe, and the fact that Hayes has steered away from the type of midfielder that supporters have been calling for is telling.
Of course, we are just one game into pre-season, so it’s still unclear what formation Chelsea will line up in against West Ham on the opening game of the season, but what is clear, is that Cuthbert will be the 6 that Chelsea supporters never knew they needed.
Good analysis (as always). The first 60 minutes or so was the best I've seen Chelsea play against an elite team with the possible exception of the 2021 FA Cup final - too bad it's pre-season and not a UWCL semi-final! The Cuthbert-Fleming combo was excellent and allowed Chelsea to control the tempo of the game. Fleming's defensive nous is highly underrated - when she came off, OL was able to overrun the midfield ... and the rest is history!
Why is no one saying that James is overweight. In the game against Lyon, she was terrible. She is heavy, slow and does not participate in the selection of the ball and pressing. She's only on the team because of her brother, who they want to renew the contract with.