My first blog, an attempt to decipher some statistics in relation to Tottenham Hotspur, enjoy.
This
will feature some statistics which may seem to have no relevance to
Spurs however they are all in there because they show how we need to and
can improve.
Spurs - 205 corners 5 goals
Swansea - 3 goals. I do not have their corner overall but i do have some stats to give you some insight here.
Tottenhams corners for is 7.0(per game) and we are 2nd
in the league behind Liverpool(8.34). Swansea are just below mid table
on 5.17. This gives you a look at how many more corners we have compared
to Swansea this season yet have only scored 2 more goals.
Now for the vital part. In our average starting line up(Friedel, Walker,
Kaboul, King, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Parker, Modric, Bale, VdV,
Adebayor) we have 4 6'1 or taller players. You can also add in that
Walker is a good header of the ball with a great leap on him at 5'10.
Compare that to Swansea who only have Caulker(6'3) and Graham(6'1) with
Vorm and Williams only being 6'0. You can make of that what you will but
for me it completely negates what Harry was saying today.
Here is the site if you wish to see the stats properly and make sure what i am saying is correct
http://www.footstats.co.uk/index.cfm?task=Leagues
Now that is out of the way here are some other key stats that have and will effect our season.
Tackles
Going against what most Arsenal fans will tell you, Scott Parker
is in fact not a bad player or poor tackles who continually commits
fouls. In fact he is the top tackler in the premier league this season
with 95 tackles and a 69% success rate closely followed by Cabaye with 94 and 68%. Interestingly Naughton is 4th with 87 tackles and 69% success rate.
Fouls
Most fouls actually belong to Holt(70), Fellaini(62) and then Adam(55).
Assists
This is a key one for Spurs. Adebayor is second highest in the league on 11, only behind Silva on 12. Valencia is joint 2nd on 11.
Scorers
This is where we as Spurs are lacking, we do not have a player in the top 5. Adebayor is our highest on 11(8th in the table) with Defoe on 9 and Van der Vaart on 8. Compare that to City have 2 players in the top 6(Dzeko, 13, Aguero, 20). With Man Utd and Arsenal having Rooney on 20 and Van Persie on 26(Adebayor and Defoe put together only matches Rooney/Aguero)
Interestingly Dempsey(12), Yakubu(14) and Ba(16) all scored more than either of our 3 main strikers.
Passers
We all know Modric is a top passer but the stat that caught my eye here
was Arteta. Many, including myself felt that Fabregas leaving would be
huge to Arsenal but this shows just how good a job Arteta has done in
replacing him. Obviously he does not replace the assists and goals but
he clearly ha a strong influence on their play.
Arteta - 1892 passes (90% accuracy)
Williams - 1863 (84%)
Yaya Toure - 1848 (91%)
Modric - 1766 (88%)
Murphy - 1739(83%)
Along with showing the influence Arteta has it actually shows the style
of football Swansea play. It also has an insight on how Spurs play, we
are credited as being a passing team almost automatically because we are
an entertaining team and i would disagree here. I don't think we pass
like Arsenal or Swansea, we are far more 'swashbuckling' and 'gungho'
than those teams and a lot less patient(this is not to say we are not
entertaining).
I actually feel a slower more patient team game is where we lack at
times in particular in games at home to teams like Stoke and Wolves
where we need to keep the ball and wear them down, not just keep trying
for individual moments of brilliance.
Goalkeepers
This one will come as a surprise to many. Friedel has the 5th
most saves in the league(94 saves with 73% shots/saves percentage). You
say that makes him a good keeper, yes. The problem is the top 4 are
keeper from teams fighting relegation in Hennessey(149, 70%), Vorm(108, 77%), Ruddy(104, 71%) and Al-Habsi(97, 64%).
Obviously Swansea are doing well this season but their away from home
form has been poor and they have seen themselves get battered a fair few
times.
This highlights the negative point of our style of play, we negate
defensive solidity in favour of attacking. Thats fine when you can
score, but when the goals dry up all of a sudden you keep losing. Look
back at West Brom away, Fulham away, Newcastle away, Stoke away(1st
half) and you remember us our goal being pounded for periods at a time.
Add to that the fact that almost every single game this season we have
given the opposition at least 1 golden opportunity home or away. A few
examples would be Saha at the lane for Everton, Ba had about 3 or 4 at
the Lane, Fletcher for Wolves etc. We seem to nearly always give away a
golden chance to teams, not just a half chance, not a decent chance but a
full blown "how did he miss" moment.
Offsides
It's no surprise the player with most offsides is Adebayor with 46.
Another couple of interesting stats are that Van Persie is the top shooter in the league with 103 shots.
Also Victor Moses, a once target of Spurs is top of the dribble/runs table with 200.
Sebastien Larsson has the top crosses with 211.
Wigan have commited the most fouls as a team with 365.
And finally Chelsea have had taken the most shots in the league with 401
which is quite funny given their strikeforce and it's overall cost.
What does this mean?
Heres where my opinion comes in to it all(backed up by the stats i
feel). Many probably wont agree with this but it's 'what i'd do if i was
in charge'. I think we need to adjust our style entirely. We need to
play possesion more than we do, we are capable and we show it at times
but at others we seem lost. We seem to lack tactics completely, we don't
seem to have a clear gameplan or system.
We need players to play their roles. Honestly, what has gone on here?
Parker - Stay back and let Modric do the attacking, far to often i see
Modric playing in the middle and Parker playing on the edge of the
oppositions box. This regularly leads to us being susceptible to counter
attacks.
Bale - We all know this. LEFT WING. Switch with the right winger once in
a while, fine, drift up front once in a while, fine. However at least
80% of his game needs to be played wide left. Doubled up on or not, if
they double up on him then it's the teams responsibility to not force
the ball to him and take advantage of the space created by the 2 players
marking Bale.
Adebayor - Work rate, challenge for high balls, close down loose passes,
close down opposition players, if you make a mistake don't just give a
grin and wave your arms, chase it down and win it back. It's as if he
doesn't care about football anymore, hes here to have a laugh and a kick
about, no passion.
Instantly with those 3 doing their jobs properly you have more balance.
Van der Vaart and Modric don't get crowded out by Bale, in fact the
reverse happens and it creates more space for them both. Assou-Ekotto
isn't playing left wing leaving a huge gap at the back.
Personally, i am a fan of the "if we have the ball they can't score"
approach. I remember Gary Neville saying that Man Utd would
intentionally draw the opposition out by playing deep in their own half
then picking them off instead of just standing on the edge of their box
waiting for a break through past 9 defenders.
Resources
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/football/premier-league/top-goalscorers.html
http://www.footstats.co.uk/index.cfm?task=Leagues
http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11662_2705370,00.html
