While I'm not surprise to see the likes of Zhirkov, Kalou and Bosingwa on that list, I simply can not grasp the reason why Florent Malouda (or "Flo") should be included there. From reading fans' blogs, I notice that Malouda doesn't get much love from the fans for his performance last season. This baffles me because in my book, Malouda had a good season in 2010-2011 and if it weren't for Petr Cech, the French man could have been the player of the season for The Blues.  

 

He is the club's top goal scorer with 13 goals. He has 5 assists, which is only second to Drogba's 13. In the league, he played every single game of the season, starting 33 and coming on as a sub on the other 5 occasions. He played a total of 2,809 minutes in the league which is the longest game time by an attacking player in the club; Cech (3,420), Cole (3,387), Terry (2,962) and Ivanovic (2,829) played more minutes than Malouda but they are all in defense (although Ashley Cole can sometimes be counted as an attacking winger).

Chelsea's number 15 was also the club's most dangerous player of the season in offense with a Shot On Goal percentage of 46.3. He took 82 shots, 38 of which were on target. Drogba is a close second with a SOG percentage of 40.3 (139 shots and 56 on target).
 

In the league Top Scorers Table, Malouda is tied for top midfield goal scorers with Dirk Kuyt and Rafael van der Vaart at 13 goals. But unlike the Chelsea midfielder, Kuyt and van der Vaart both scored penalty goals, 5 goals and 4 goals respectively.

Perhaps, it will not be easy to make the argument that Malouda was the best midfielder in the Premiere League in 2010-2011, but the fact that the winner of the PFA Player of the Year Award, Gareth Bale, has played fewer games (30), fewer minutes (2451), scored fewer goals (7) and provided fewer assists (1), than Malouda tells us that the Chelsea man's contributions in this past season are not going to be recognized by the mainstream footballing community.

However, it is not surprising to see Malouda being ranked No. 1 on the EA SPORTS Index Top 100 Ranking in 2010-2011. The EA Sports Index considers important contributions a player has made on the game by considering key factors such as Winning Performance, Player's Performance Per Match, Appearances, Goals Scored, Assists, and Clean Sheets. Of course, it is always hard to measure the REAL contribution of a player but these measures are better than most. In this ranking, the closest midfield competition comes from Kuyt (at 3rd in the ranking and 98 points behind Malouda). Meanwhile, Gareth Bale comes in at 29th (239 points behind Malouda). Perhaps, people are quick to give accolades to footballers based on a few dashing performances but maybe that shouldn't be the case because the statistics tell a different story. More surprising is the fact that Malouda didn't even make it to the PFA Team of the Year despite outscoring all of the Midfielders on the list (Nani's 9, Bale's 7, Nasri's 10, Wilshere's 1)!!!

In this past season, Malouda has also shown under-appreciated qualities, the kind that draws scrutiny only in lacking. I'm talking about versatility, fitness, willingness to defend and conduct during the game. Malouda played mainly as the attacking left winger but he also marshaled the left side of midfield during Frank Lampard's absence. He has had no major injuries in this past season and has never been an injury-prone player. He is willing to do his share of defending and tracking back. This is especially important because Ashley Cole is such an attack-minded defender. Finally, Malouda doesn't get carded often; he has one yellow card in the league last season. This means that he is always available for the club (no need to fear suspensions) and that he is not a liability to the team (no need to fear of being red carded).

It is very telling that fans and the media are suggesting Malouda leave the club only after a trophy-less season. Virtually no one was calling for Malouda to be sold off after the double winning season in 2009-2010. Why? Did his performance drastically go down in the 10-11 season compare to the 09-10 season? If that were the case, it would make sense to consider trading him in for a better option. That, however, is not the case.

 

As you can clearly see from the chart above, Malouda's attacking contribution stayed almost the same over the two season while those of Lampard, Drogba and Anelka dropped off significantly. So why do fans and media think that he should be gone after this season and not the previous one?

One of the criticism of the French man's performance last season is the lack of consistency. I think it is a fair assessment. He started the season scoring goals left and right (7 goals in the first 10 league games). There was a goal drought in the middle of the season (2 goals in the following 20 league games). He finished in decent form (4 goals in the last 8 games). However, he is not the only player in the club that lacked consistency. In fact, most players in the league, aside from Carlo Tevez, did not perform consistently last season.       

All things considered, Florent Malouda had a GOOD season if not a great season. What bothers me the most about those who are calling for Malouda to be traded off is that they are so hung up on what they call his "poor performance" last season that they are blind to other factors that might help make their argument. For example, Malouda is 31 years old and his age, in my opinion, can be considered a good reason to exchange him with younger and fresher legs. Regardless, I might still argue that his good fitness level should earn him at least two more years, which practically runs out his contract.  

Recently, the French man has come out and said that he wants to stay at the club for at least 3 more years and that he has a good relationship with the new manager Andre Villas-Boas. If the Group One sees that Malouda is a hard working team player, I bet the Chelsea number 15 is going to stick around with us for awhile. The impression he makes on the manager during the pre-season training is going to be very important for Malouda. And I, for one, am rooting for him and his ever changing hairstyles.