Player of the season contenders
Erin Cuthbert has always been known for her versatility, but she has cemented herself as a key part of Chelsea's midfield
It’s that time of year again when we start to wonder who will be Chelsea’s player of the season winner once all is said and done.
While of course think all the players have had an outstanding year, there are a select few who stand out from the rest and here I will break down exactly why they are the final nominations.
Next up is Erin Cuthbert.
You can read the player of the season contender articles on Sam Kerr here and Jess Carter here
It feels like Erin Cuthbert has been around forever, and at more than 150 appearances for the club, is one of Chelsea’s most experienced players, so it’s always some what surprising how young she actually is.
At just 23-years-old, Cuthbert could easily end her career as Chelsea FC W all time record appearance holder and after her performances this season, Emma Hayes has found the perfect fit for her midfield for years to come.
Cuthbert has always been known for being versatile, arriving at Chelsea as a forward player, but as her father Steve told us on Went To Mow Kingsmeadow last summer, Cuthbert had grown up playing as a defensive midfielder.
To me, Cuthbert was always the perfect fit for the type of midfield that Hayes employs, having the natural physical attributes to get up and down the pitch, not afraid to put a tackle in and also possessing the technical attributes to make a difference in the final third.
But with injuries and suspensions etc, Cuthbert has provided cover in a variety of positions. According to WyScout, the Scot has registered meaningful minutes in 10 different roles so far this season across all competitions.
They include right back, ring wing back, right wing forward, defensive midfield, right defensive midfield, left defensive midfield, right central midfield, left central midfield, right attacking midfield and left wing forward.
Cuthbert has shown this season that no matter the role, no matter the position, she can perform to an exceptional standard.
Which is why at 2300 minutes, Cuthbert has featured more often than any of her midfield rivals, with only Sophie Ingle (2262) playing more than 2000 minutes.
Attacking wise, Cuthbert’s 6 goals means she’s outperformed her xG by 1.85 and has attempted 49 shots on target whilst also providing 5 assists.
But it’s her defensive numbers that really stand out above her Chelsea team mates. With 620 duels, Cuthbert has made just 101 less than Sophie Ingle (229), Drew Spence (224) and Ji So-Yun (268) combined, and her 57.1% success rate is also the highest of all her fellow Chelsea midfielders.
And with 138 interceptions, Cuthbert is the only Chelsea midfielder to register more than 100, with the next highest being Ingle with 89.
Whilst versatility can be a blessing for managers, it can often be a curse for the player, with them being unable to hold down a position in the team, but with Cuthbert things have been slightly different.
We saw her at the start of the season at right-wing back as Hayes deployed her new 3-4-3 system and Cuthbert excelled, and people began to think this would be her position for the foreseeable future.
Then, later in the season, we’ve seen Cuthbert move into midfield due to a combination of illness, injuries and pregnancy (congrats Melly!). And it’s here that Cuthbert’s game has gone up another level.
I believe you could genuinely start to have a discussion after her producing world class level performances for Chelsea playing as one of the central midfielders.
In the most recent fixture vs. Tottenham, Cuthbert was awarded the player of the match award by the BBC and speaking to Chelsea TV after the game described her own performance as “Incredible. One of the best of my career".
Looking at her heat map from the game it’s hard to disagree with her, she was everywhere, quite literally.
Spurs played this game for 70+ minutes with a player advantage following the sending off of Ann-Katrin Berger, but, especially in the second half, you could hardly tell, because of the efforts of, not just Cuthbert, but the entire team.
As Fritz Freeman commented on the Chelsea Women Supporters Group Facebook page, Cuthbert is “like a little white tornado, buzzing all over the pitch, chasing people down, breaking up attacks. Wearing opposition players down, bringing the opposition players down (always fairly) and sometimes scoring wonderful goals herself.
“Erin really is a ‘bloody nuisance’ and a handful sometimes, but she’s our ‘bloody nuisance’ and we love her.”
I think that sums Cuthbert up rather nicely.
All stats in this article are correct up to 22/04/22