Otamendi: A statistician's dream, but a logistical nightmare
If you assess Nicolas Otamendi's game in quantitative terms, Manchester City possesses one of the Premier League's finest defenders.
According to statistics from WhoScored.com, overall he's the best player that can play in any defensive position and has played more than a handful of matches. Out of centre-halves, he's attempted more tackles than anyone else, and wins a greater percentage of them than the player who leads with successful challenges: Chelsea's Cesar Azpilicueta.
In the air, Otamendi wins more headers per 90 minutes than anyone regularly deployed in a Premier League backline, and is the fifth best at snuffing out opposition attacks with interceptions (52 in total).
On paper, it all looks rather encouraging.
So why is the Argentinian detrimental to the development of John Stones alongside him, and not as intimidating to rivals as the statistics and his 'ard-man embellishments would suggest?
A lack of awareness and concentration
The benchmark for Stones is Leonardo Bonucci, Juventus' wonderfully cultured centre-back who pairs the ability to dispatch pinpoint, raking balls to start attacks with impeccable decision-making. He only tackles when required, is expert in the back three system Pep Guardiola has been flirting with, and was dubbed by the Spanish tactician as one of his "favourite ever players," despite having never worked with him.
Stones is ahead of Bonucci in his development. At the Yorkshire lad's age, Bonucci was acclimatising to top-flight football with mid-table Bari after progressing at the rather modest settings of Treviso and Pisa. He represented both of those teams in the 2008-09 campaign, and both were relegated from Serie B.
It was at Bari that Bonucci emerged as a true calciatore. Partnered by Andrea Ranocchia, a player who hasn't progressed the way many expected, Bonucci was somewhat liberated. He defended stoutly - Bari's expectations didn't suffice attacking teams in great number - but he was able to exert some influence on forward forays due to the trust he had in Ranocchia.
A quick look at Everton's opener in last Sunday's catastrophic 4-0 defeat shows why Stones' development is taking a hit alongside Otamendi - a player whose failings are simultaneously hurting his team and his defensive partner.
There were mistakes that prefaced the assist - Stones sauntering too far up the field while his teammates were under pressure, Gael Clichy surrendering possession with a panicky pass - but Otamendi's actions weren't suited to a man entrusted with being the brawn and no-nonsense operator in defence. His glances over to the encroaching Romelu Lukaku were minimal, and his body shape had him facing his goal, which would only allow him to sufficiently address a slid delivery across the six-yard box. Instead, Kevin Mirallas correctly picked out the pass behind Otamendi, meeting Lukaku's approach before he beat the hapless City No. 1 Claudio Bravo.
Otamendi almost jumped when he turned to see Lukaku firing home; he seemed completely unaware of how much space he had eked out for Everton's most dangerous player.
In a backs-to-the-wall scenario, Otamendi rarely pulls through.
Studs up
While concentration and awareness are impossible to discern from heat maps, action zones, and other statistical aesthetics, Otamendi's most condemning trait (and one that shouldn't be skulking in the game of an Argentina international approaching his 29th birthday) is his tendency to throw himself into challenges with studs showing.
After scoring goals, a popular second-favourite footballing aspect for young children is slide tackles, and Otamendi launches himself into them in the uncouth manner of a pre-pubescent park player.
The quantifiable regularity that Otamendi commits himself to tackles gives some evidence of his love for a full-bloodied challenge, and so does the damning statistic that no centre-half has been dribbled past more times than him (13) this season. Collectively, West Ham United's Angelo Ogbonna, Sunderland's Lamine Kone, and Crystal Palace's Scott Dann have still been dribbled past on two less occasions.
Otamendi's work at the back is rushed and frantic, when what Stones needs and Guardiola has preferred over his managerial career is someone who is more decisive, tactically astute, and uses his strength sensibly. Someone like Vincent Kompany.
If Kompany's latest comeback attempt is unsuccessful (recent history suggests that will be the case), and the rumoured approach for Southampton's Virgil van Dijk doesn't materialise until the summer, a few more months of Otamendi will not only risk a negative affect on Stones' confidence, but it could also prevent inclusion in next season's Champions League group stage for this ambitious yet under-performing outfit.