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Gaël Clichy: (20 league games) 7/10
Another season, another solid output from our French leftback. Clichy is one of those guys who is never spectacular, but also never a liability. And this year was pretty much more of the same.
This season saw Clichy's playing time cut down significantly in comparison to the last two seasons thanks to the surprising rebirth of Aleksandar Kolarov. Nonetheless, Clichy still did well with the minutes he saw. His 2.9 tackles per match ranked tied for second on the team with Fernandinho behind Zabaleta, and his .4 fouls committed per match was insanely low for a defender. He also averaged the 5th most passes per match on the team, which I found to be surprising. I suppose he was more involved than we might give him credit for.
In fact, Gaël flies so far under the radar that it's hard to even think of matches in which he stood out in. The away fixture at Old Trafford is the only one that really comes to memory at all. At no point in the season did Clichy start more than 4 consecutive fixtures across all competitions, but to be honest, the rotation between he and Kolarov was a bright spot from this season for me. Rarely have we seen two players that play the same position both contribute solidly through a whole season for City in the last few years. Neither was really ever out of form, and the varying attributes and skills they brought to the position allowed Pellegrini to make a useful change whenever we needed it. Clichy was always there to provide better defensive cover; Kolarov was there to provide more attacking impetus. We never really had any concerns at LB this season.
With no rumors involving the 28 year old circulating around for this summer, it looks like we will have another year of Clichy next year. And if the last 3 years are any indication, another year of consistency as well. He quietly does his job well and perhaps deserves more recognition for his efforts and commitment.
(All stats from WhoScored.com)
