Squad by Numbers

[sexbelowsound]

So, based on a discussion in another thread i've actually looked at the statistics of our team from whoscored.com in comparison to the rest of the league.

The following stats include all players and positions in the Premier League. The number to the left is the overall ranking of the player in the league and the number to the right their average per game. All stats for the Premier League used here are from Opta so I assume they are worth looking at.

Underneath the top 5 are the players who round out the top 10.

Whoscored.com don't show players who fall below the average amount of appearances so some players are missing however if their stats are worth noting i've put them at the bottom of each section.

 

 

If you aren't interested in the stats here is a summary.

Gana is by far our best defensive midfielder. He is 3rd and 5th respectively in interceptions and tackles however is also top of the Premier League for fouls conceded.

Amavi continues his high interception and tackles per game stats sitting at 5th and 6th respectively however just like Gana he gives away quite a few fouls.

Bacuna and Hutton aren't too dissimilar defensively. 

As a team we are poor at clearing the ball and putting our bodies in the way of shots.

 

 

 

Interceptions:

3. Gana (3.8)  5. Jordan Amavi (3.7)  19. Micah Richards (2.7)  22. Joleon Lescott (2.7)  51. Leandro Bacuna (2.1)

Alan Hutton, Carlos Sanchez, Ashley Westwood, Jack Grealish & Rudy Gestede.

 

Tackles:

5. Gana (4.1)  6. Jordan Amavi (4)  19. Carlos Sanchez (3.4)   49. Alan Hutton (2.4)  80-86. Micah Richards/Ashley Westwood/Leandro Bacuna (1.9)

Joleon Lescott, Scott Sinclair & Gabby Agbonlahor/Rudy Gestede

 

Fouls:

1. Gana (2.9)  13. Jordan Amavi (2)  20. Gabby Agbonlahor (1.8)   40. Ashley Westwood (1.3)  81. Carlos Sanchez (1)

Leandro Bacuna, Rudy Gestede, Micah Richards, Joleon Lescott & Jack Grealish

 

Clearances:

12. Micah Richards (7)  21. Joleon Lescott (5.7)  44. Jordan Amavi (3.4)   67. Alan Hutton (2.1)  84. Leandro Bacuna (1.7)

Carlos Sanchez, Rudy Gestede, Ashley Westwood, Gana & Gabby Agbonlahor

*Ciaran Clark falls outside of the average number of Premier League appearances however with just one more, and provided his numbers didn't shift drastically he would have the 3rd most in the league.

 

Blocks:

15. Joleon Lescott (1)  18. Micah Richards (1)  52. Ashley Westwood (0.4)   81. Jordan Amavi (0.3)  118. Gabby Agbonlahor (0.2)

Alan Hutton, Carlos Sanchez, Leandro Bacuna and Gana.

 

 

 

[a m ole]

Amavi makes the odd mistake but how on earth he was dropped I will never know. It's not as though Richardson didn't also make glaring errors.

Interesting with Gana, I thought he was doing better but didn't realise he was having such an impact. A lot of fouls, but I guess that is down to his harrassing style of play, closing down and stopping their midfield.

[sexbelowsound]

Amavi makes the odd mistake but how on earth he was dropped I will never know. It's not as though Richardson didn't also make glaring errors.

Interesting with Gana, I thought he was doing better but didn't realise he was having such an impact. A lot of fouls, but I guess that is down to his harrassing style of play, closing down and stopping their midfield.

Yeah I agree with all of that.

What stats like this don't show you is how many errors have been made and how costly they've been.

Both Amavi and Richards for example have both given away free kicks this season that have led directly to goals.

[sexbelowsound]

I found the Ciaran Clark stat interesting.  3rd highest in the league for clearances if he had played 1 more game and didn't have a dramatic drop off.