By continuing to use the site, you agree to our use of cookies and to abide by our Terms and Conditions. We in turn value your personal details in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Please log in or register. Registered visitors get fewer ads.
Winning corners and free kicks is part of the game. The more pressure you put on a team the more chances you create to score. Aimlessly passing in your own half does not create goals.
Dismissing a statistic because it can cover a multitude of scenarios is a bit silly. You only have to look at the goals he's played the key pass/cross for to see he was invaluable to us last season.
Too much credit is given to "Assists" in football on 10:55 - May 25 by Uxbridge
Dismissing a statistic because it can cover a multitude of scenarios is a bit silly. You only have to look at the goals he's played the key pass/cross for to see he was invaluable to us last season.
Again, kind of agree with this kind of don't. Taking Siggy as the easy example, how many times has he put Routledge one on one with a killer ball to a clever run, only for Routs to sidefoot at the keepers legs? No assist for that, no fault of his own and it takes a lot more skill than some of the assists players get credit for.
Also, the scenario when a player beats 3 opponents, sends a defence splitting pass and two players are through on the keeper. One passes to the other who taps into the empty net and the player who created the goal doesn't get the assist.
Another example of why I think stats are ok for proving very blunt points, but are way too one dimensional to form an opinion from.
0
Too much credit is given to "Assists" in football on 11:18 - May 25 with 583 views
I'm surprised nobody's mentioned David Vaughan's superb assist for Bale's goal against Scotland:
Stats are great, but they do require a bit of discernment. The problem really is that there aren't enough stats out there. Defensive mids in particular lose out - especially players like Leon. His stats for goals, assists and aerial duels won are obviously dire, and apart from pass completion and interceptions I doubt whether his stats are anything to write home about. And yet, as he proved yet again at the end of the season, he is absolutely instrumental to the way we play and our success.
How do you statistically differentiate a Leonesque beautifully weighted pass out of a tight spot that turns defence into attack in an instant? There isn't - and at best will be measured as a completed pass - no different to an overhit pass behind the recipient that kills any momentum to an attacking move stone dead.
Stats I would like to see being recorded that might begin to illustrate Leon's qualities would be:
Goal initiation - the player delivering the first pass in a move that led to a goal. I'm sure that Leon would be up there for this stat Goal involvement - any player delivering a pass or passes in a sequence of passes that lead to a goal Next pass completion - a measure of the percentage of passes that are completed by the recipient of a pass. Top quality passes (such as those delivered by Leon) would have a much higher chance of being passed on successfully than poor quality passes. This stat would amplify the contribution of the pass masters in a team.
There must be an intern out there that could be set to work on this over retrospectively for the season just gone, over the summer hols. There must be a way of proving, statistically, what we all know, that Leon is God.
1
Too much credit is given to "Assists" in football on 11:24 - May 25 with 575 views