Town's top performers by FOTMOB categories

Only 7 games into the season, but I thought I'd take a look at the 'data'. No great surprises I'd say.
The 'xG per 90' is pretty awful - as quite a lot of Fishy posters have said.

Top Scorer Abo Eisa 7th

Assists Tobias Mullarkey 16th

Goals + Assists Abo Eisa 11th

FotMob Rating Mullarkey 15th, Maher 18th, Holohan 25th

Goals per 90 Abo Eisa 22nd   (Bogle 5th)

Expected goals (xG) Harry Clifton 37th, Danny Rose 47th  (Orsi 6th)

xG per 90 Harry Clifton 71st, Danny Rose 93rd (Orsi 17th)

Expected goals on target (xGOT) Abo Eisa 34th

Shots on target per 90 Abo Eisa 60th   (Bogle 1st)

Shots per 90 Abo Eisa 72nd   (Bogle 1st)

Accurate passes per 90 Niall Maher 50th, Kamil Conteh 85th

Big chances created Tobias Mullarkey 10th

Chances created Arthur Gnahoua 35th

Accurate long balls per 90 Niall Maher 4th, Danny Amos 32nd, Kamil Conteh 34th

Expected assists (xA) Tobias Mullarkey 39th

xA per 90 Tobias Mullarkey 87th

xG + xA per 90 Harry Clifton 114th

Successful dribbles per 90 Tobias Mullarkey 37th

Big chances missed Danny Rose 25th, Harry Clifton 31st    (Orsi 7th)

Successful tackles per 90 Kamil Conteh 10th

Interceptions per 90 Danny Amos 13th, Harvey Rodgers 20th

Clearances per 90 Niall Maher 32nd

Blocks per 90 Harvey Rodgers 34th

Possession won final 3rd per 90 Alex Hunt 5th

Clean sheets Jake Eastwood 4th

Save percentage Jake Eastwood 4th

Saves per 90 Jake Eastwood 12th

Goals prevented Jake Eastwood 4th

Goals conceded per 90 Jake Eastwood 22nd

Fouls committed per 90 Harry Clifton 19th, Kamil Conteh 56th

Source: https://www.fotmob.com/leagues/109/stats/league-two/players

Any chance you could translate into Russian to make it even harder to understand 🤔
😄

Quoted from moosey_club

Any chance you could translate into Russian to make it even harder to understand 🤔
😄

Probably best if you follow the link.
FotMob rates every L2 player in each of the categories shown, and I've given the top-ranked Town player(s) in each category.

I treat these ratings as imperfect but indicative.


UTM

Tobias Mullarkey, eh? You learn something every day.

Quoted from 137

Only 7 games into the season, but I thought I'd take a look at the 'data'. No great surprises I'd say.
The 'xG per 90' is pretty awful - as quite a lot of Fishy posters have said.

Top Scorer Abo Eisa 7th

Assists Tobias Mullarkey 16th

Goals + Assists Abo Eisa 11th

FotMob Rating Mullarkey 15th, Maher 18th, Holohan 25th

Goals per 90 Abo Eisa 22nd   (Bogle 5th)

Expected goals (xG) Harry Clifton 37th, Danny Rose 47th  (Orsi 6th)

xG per 90 Harry Clifton 71st, Danny Rose 93rd (Orsi 17th)

Expected goals on target (xGOT) Abo Eisa 34th

Shots on target per 90 Abo Eisa 60th   (Bogle 1st)

Shots per 90 Abo Eisa 72nd   (Bogle 1st)

Accurate passes per 90 Niall Maher 50th, Kamil Conteh 85th

Big chances created Tobias Mullarkey 10th

Chances created Arthur Gnahoua 35th

Accurate long balls per 90 Niall Maher 4th, Danny Amos 32nd, Kamil Conteh 34th⁸

Expected assists (xA) Tobias Mullarkey 39th

xA per 90 Tobias Mullarkey 87th

xG + xA per 90 Harry Clifton 114th

Successful dribbles per 90 Tobias Mullarkey 37th

Big chances missed Danny Rose 25th, Harry Clifton 31st    (Orsi 7th)

Successful tackles per 90 Kamil Conteh 10th

Interceptions per 90 Danny Amos 13th, Harvey Rodgers 20th

Clearances per 90 Niall Maher 32nd

Blocks per 90 Harvey Rodgers 34th

Possession won final 3rd per 90 Alex Hunt 5th

Clean sheets Jake Eastwood 4th

Save percentage Jake Eastwood 4th

Saves per 90 Jake Eastwood 12th

Goals prevented Jake Eastwood 4th

Goals conceded per 90 Jake Eastwood 22nd

Fouls committed per 90 Harry Clifton 19th, Kamil Conteh 56th

Source: https://www.fotmob.com/leagues/109/stats/league-two/players

[b] x G + A per 90 (b)

Is that the instructions they give subs from the i pad when coming on?

No wonder they don't make any impression.

I preferred " go on son, get us a goal"

It's beyond parody.

Really interesting that Hunt is 5th overall for winning possession in the final third.  

Yes, it's only over 2 games (and a small cameo appearance) but he's averaged far more than any of the more midfielder playing further forward.  Surprised me a bit as in the AFC Wimbledon and Notts County game I felt he was sitting far too deep, almost on the toes of Conteh.

High press is clearly a big part of our approach this season, with turnover of play in the final third obviously a desired output.  

Quoted from diehardmariner

Really interesting that Hunt is 5th overall for winning possession in the final third.  

Yes, it's only over 2 games (and a small cameo appearance) but he's averaged far more than any of the more midfielder playing further forward.  Surprised me a bit as in the AFC Wimbledon and Notts County game I felt he was sitting far too deep, almost on the toes of Conteh.

High press is clearly a big part of our approach this season, with turnover of play in the final third obviously a desired output.  

Haven't you underlined how ridiculous it all is? 5th in a small part of the game after 2 and a bit games? What happened after he won it? Did he just then give it away? How good was the player he won it off? What was the situation of the game at the time?

Y'see I'm not massively keen on stats like this.  I think they're a compliment to the game but too often they're held in as high esteem as the important things like goals, clean sheets and points.  But I think to badge them as ridiculous is too far.  They're not definitive, they're an additional insight.

I don't know what happened after he won it.  Do you?  The point is he won it and has done more than his peers.   If the intent is to recover possession from teams in front of their own goal then he was doing it very well.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Y'see I'm not massively keen on stats like this.  I think they're a compliment to the game but too often they're held in as high esteem as the important things like goals, clean sheets and points.  But I think to badge them as ridiculous is too far.  They're not definitive, they're an additional insight.

I don't know what happened after he won it.  Do you?  The point is he won it and has done more than his peers.   If the intent is to recover possession from teams in front of their own goal then he was doing it very well.

Isn't it vitally important to know what he did with it? Otherwise we may as well get the fastest athlete we can find to chase people down only for him to have to keep doing that because he loses it every time?

I don't think it is doing the players any favours either. Every stat is fraught with difficulties and they could be trying to do the right thing for the team and still come bottom of the pile.

Quoted from diehardmariner

If the intent is to recover possession from teams in front of their own goal then he was doing it very well.

I'd guess that most of that was against Notts County who play the ball out from the back a lot more than most other teams in the division. You could infer from that stat that his best attribute is not particularly useful if you are playing a team who play a less intricate more direct style of play.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

[b] x G + A per 90 (b)

Is that the instructions they give subs from the i pad when coming on?

No wonder they don't make any impression.

I preferred " go on son, get us a goal"

It's beyond parody.

The only thing that's beyond parody here is you stomping into a stats thread to yet again proclaim your gleeful ignorance of advanced football statistics like a boring broken record.

Does having a high or low xG per 90 have a direct 1 to 1 correlation with your league position? No (but clubs with high xG will typically be near the top of the league and those with low xG will be down the bottom - see for yourself).

Does using xG and some of the other stats here help coaches with highlighting aspects of team and individual performance and give them insights as to what is working well and what could be going better with their tactics? Yes, which is why clubs, including Town, pay about £3k a month for access to platforms like Wyscout (https://www.hudl.com/en_gb/products/wyscout) which are jammed full of analysis on opponents / potential signings and includes reams of stats of this nature.

They're useful and have a place in modern football, get over it.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Isn't it vitally important to know what he did with it? Otherwise we may as well get the fastest athlete we can find to chase people down only for him to have to keep doing that because he loses it every time?

I don't think it is doing the players any favours either. Every stat is fraught with difficulties and they could be trying to do the right thing for the team and still come bottom of the pile.

But you would get that from another stat or combination of stats.

Not sure why you think it is not doing the players any favours, stats help them develop by highlighting key strengths and weaknesses. You then build a strawman argument to try and defend your dislike of stats. Come bottom of the pile of what stat?

Quoted from Chrisblor

The only thing that's beyond parody here is you stomping into a stats thread to yet again proclaim your gleeful ignorance of advanced football statistics like a boring broken record.

Does having a high or low xG per 90 have a direct 1 to 1 correlation with your league position? No (but clubs with high xG will typically be near the top of the league and those with low xG will be down the bottom - see for yourself).

Does using xG and some of the other stats here help coaches with highlighting aspects of team and individual performance and give them insights as to what is working well and what could be going better with their tactics? Yes, which is why clubs, including Town, pay about £3k a month for access to platforms like Wyscout (https://www.hudl.com/en_gb/products/wyscout) which are jammed full of analysis on opponents / potential signings and includes reams of stats of this nature.

They're useful and have a place in modern football, get over it.

Ooh we've got a high xg so we are near the top, probably.

What an insight, I wonder how we managed without it before.

It's a load of old balderdash.

I'd imagine the issue with the 'possession won final third' stat is how this is defined. If an opponent shanks a clearance from a corner and the ball drops to a player standing 5 yards outside the box, does it count as 'possession won'? Whenever possession is won by somebody, it is inevitably lost by somebody else, but crunching tackles are a bit different to having the ball dropping at your feet or a hopelessly misplaced pass.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Ooh we've got a high xg so we are near the top, probably.

What an insight, I wonder how we managed without it before.

It's a load of old balderdash.

Nope, you just don't understand it.

Pretty much the whole of professional football disagrees with you.

Quoted from Maringer

I'd imagine the issue with the 'possession won final third' stat is how this is defined. If an opponent shanks a clearance from a corner and the ball drops to a player standing 5 yards outside the box, does it count as 'possession won'? Whenever possession is won by somebody, it is inevitably lost by somebody else, but crunching tackles are a bit different to having the ball dropping at your feet or a hopelessly misplaced pass.

'Possession won’ implies the total sum of tackles, aerial duels won, interceptions, blocked crosses or shield outs (shielding the ball from an opponent and letting it run out of play).

A shanked clearance would go down as a Ball Recovery.

‘Ball recoveries’ stands for recovering the ball in a situation where neither team has possession or where the ball has been played directly to a player by an opponent. So, while possession won means a conscious effort in order to win the ball (through duels and/or interceptions), ball recoveries are picking up the ball when it belongs to no one.

‘Possession lost’ is broader — it sums up all events where possession is lost for a team — meaning incomplete passes, clearances, bad touches, miss-controls, incomplete crosses, or even being offside!

Due to such definitions, there is actually more possessions lost than possessions won in a single football match, because simply playing a pass into touch will grant player a ‘possession lost’ while nobody will get ‘possession won’ or a ‘ball recovery’.

Quoted from MarinerMal

'Possession won’ implies the total sum of tackles, aerial duels won, interceptions, blocked crosses or shield outs (shielding the ball from an opponent and letting it run out of play).

A shanked clearance would go down as a Ball Recovery.

‘Ball recoveries’ stands for recovering the ball in a situation where neither team has possession or where the ball has been played directly to a player by an opponent. So, while possession won means a conscious effort in order to win the ball (through duels and/or interceptions), ball recoveries are picking up the ball when it belongs to no one.

‘Possession lost’ is broader — it sums up all events where possession is lost for a team — meaning incomplete passes, clearances, bad touches, miss-controls, incomplete crosses, or even being offside!

Due to such definitions, there is actually more possessions lost than possessions won in a single football match, because simply playing a pass into touch will grant player a ‘possession lost’ while nobody will get ‘possession won’ or a ‘ball recovery’.

Thanks. The question then lies as to what counts as an interception. A crap pass kicked straight at you would be enough, I'd imagine, providing you manage to control it. If not, where does the line between good positioning and anticipation and sheer good fortune lie?

I think there is clearly something in xG, though it's not the be all and end all, but I'm not convinced by many of these other stats which don't really mean a huge amount without external context.

Now, if they wanted to look back through games from the halcyon days of the Buckley Mk. I era, they could do some good numbers for 'crunching tackles by a midfielder', 'sliding tackles by a midfielder' and 'backheels by mustachioed Welsh strikers'...

Quoted from Maringer

Thanks. The question then lies as to what counts as an interception. A crap pass kicked straight at you would be enough, I'd imagine, providing you manage to control it. If not, where does the line between good positioning and anticipation and sheer good fortune lie?

I think there is clearly something in xG, though it's not the be all and end all, but I'm not convinced by many of these other stats which don't really mean a huge amount without external context.

Now, if they wanted to look back through games from the halcyon days of the Buckley Mk. I era, they could do some good numbers for 'crunching tackles by a midfielder', 'sliding tackles by a midfielder' and 'backheels by mustachioed Welsh strikers'...

An interception is where a player reads an opponent’s pass and intercepts the ball by moving into the line of the intended pass. A crap pass kicked straight at you would be would go down as an incomplete pass.

What aren't you convinced about with football stats?

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Isn't it vitally important to know what he did with it? Otherwise we may as well get the fastest athlete we can find to chase people down only for him to have to keep doing that because he loses it every time?

I don't think it is doing the players any favours either. Every stat is fraught with difficulties and they could be trying to do the right thing for the team and still come bottom of the pile.

But that proves how the stats would be a valuable additional insight. If he's trying really hard to do what was being asked but not doing it effectively then you'd surely look to replace said player.

Because, as with refereeing decisions, a lot of it is in the eye of a beholder - i.e. the person collating the statistics.

If a player is under pressure, they are more likely to make a bad pass. At what point does a bad pass under pressure from one opponent become an interception because another opponent is closing down the space as the two put on a press together?

Very subjective. At least the xG is based on shooting opportunities within certain measurable bounds. It might be a nonsense for some opportunities but, on average, will probably have something in it given all the aspects are measurable.

A lot of the best defenders don't need to be seen lunging in and making the tackles because it is their positioning which stops their opponent being much of a threat - using their bodies to block runs, ease the ball out of play and so forth. Back in the good old days, Futcher barely seemed to do anything some games but much younger and quicker players couldn't get past him. It was marvellous to see, but I do wonder how much the modern statistical methods would have credited him for shutting opponents out of the game.

I don't mind accepting xG as potentially being useful, but personally don't think that many of these other new statistics have very much in them. Especially when it comes to the claim that Hunt, a player we know isn't great at tackling or getting involved in games, is a player that the stats reckon wins possession a lot.

P.S. Thanks for engaging with me, even though you'll probably not be able to persuade me to think any differently in this regard.

Quoted from MarinerMal

Nope, you just don't understand it.

Pretty much the whole of professional football disagrees with you.

I don't care if the whole universe agrees with it I think its a load of old cobblers.

Far too many nuances in the game to have any meaningful stats as is being discussed above.

Xg indeed - look at what you could have won as they used to say on Bullseye.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

I don't care if the whole universe agrees with it I think its a load of old cobblers.

Far too many nuances in the game to have any meaningful stats as is being discussed above.

Xg indeed - look at what you could have won as they used to say on Bullseye.

I think we can conclude from your posts that you are happy to be a luddite in this regard.

My take on it is that if the management think it is important enough to take notice of, then who are we to pour cold water on the whole area of statistical analysis? It's their job to make us as good as they can with the resources at our disposal.

To not take stats seriously is to be an outlier as a football club, because everyone else takes notice of these stats, so there has to be something in it, even if it is just to be on a level playing field with everyone else.

Lots of little gains make up a larger gain I would have thought.

Nobody is suggesting that data without analysis or context or understanding means anything or could be used as a basis for decision making. You'd have to be a simpleton to take data from one or two games and make a decision on a player and their strengths and weaknesses but nobody is actually suggesting that are they? Strikes me as a straw man argument for those who have just made up their mind and have no interest in listening or trying to understand it more. Go and tell the recruitment teams at Brighton and Brentford that data in football is a load of balderdash.

Lawrie Shankly didn't need stats vests to tell him who was underperforming when the lads ran up the terraces or on the beach.

Quoted from ginnywings

I think we can conclude from your posts that you are happy to be a luddite in this regard.

My take on it is that if the management think it is important enough to take notice of, then who are we to pour cold water on the whole area of statistical analysis? It's their job to make us as good as they can with the resources at our disposal.

To not take stats seriously is to be an outlier as a football club, because everyone else takes notice of these stats, so there has to be something in it, even if it is just to be on a level playing field with everyone else.

Lots of little gains make up a larger gain I would have thought.

Little 'ol me having an opinion on it obviously has no affect on the club or how seriously they take it and if they feel it helps then fair enough and I also appreciate they have to go with the flow so to speak.

I wonder how many times PH has looked at a player recommend by his stats and thought after 10 mins, nah not for me? Conversely he could see something in a player with terrible stats as my opinion without context stats are near enough useless. No doubt clubs will try to get as much context as possible but even then it is a minefield.

My main gripe is with some fans who seem determined to look at the team through the prism of stats, who want to think being in the top 3 of this or the other stat is important. It's just someone's interpretation of various on field events each of which has fast moving scenarios attached to them, much as Maringer alluded to above.

My first brush with how people misinterpret things was in junior football when tall physically robust players were scoring for fun and their dad and sometimes even their manager thought they would go on to play for England, but in reality it was obvious they couldn't trap a bag of the proverbial cement. Their stats were fantastic but if it lacks context it means nothing.

Admittedly things are totally different at pro level but it is so easy to take things on face value and make wrong adjustments. I bet most managers trust their instincts more than stats any day of the week.

Quoted from lew chaterleys lover

Admittedly things are totally different at pro level but it is so easy to take things on face value and make wrong adjustments. I bet most managers trust their instincts more than stats any day of the week.

This is exactly why you'd use data though. So you don't take things at face value. If your instinct is someone looks like the player you need why would you not check your instincts with available data. Or use data to find options for a specific quality you need and then see what your instincts are about those options. I don't think Brighton will be signing the tall 11 year old from your local youth side because he scored 7 goals last Sunday by the way.

Oh well done Tobias !! Excellent play old boy …

It is quite clear that stats are not the answer to everything, but any team that does not use this analysis is putting themselves at a clear disadvantage. The incremental small gains approach is well proven and as they say if you don’t measure it it doesn’t get done. Many things can be done by gut feel but supplementing this with data for me has to be a great thing. That said I work with numbers all day time iand so my opinion is biased
Utm

Quoted from Rodley Mariner

This is exactly why you'd use data though. So you don't take things at face value. If your instinct is someone looks like the player you need why would you not check your instincts with available data. Or use data to find options for a specific quality you need and then see what your instincts are about those options. I don't think Brighton will be signing the tall 11 year old from your local youth side because he scored 7 goals last Sunday by the way.

There’s a very good article in the Times today about Tony Bloom that really sums up the importance of how they use data to help recruit players and perhaps more importantly managers. He doesn’t claim it’s foolproof or solely rely on it but without it Brighton would not have reached the level they have over the last few seasons.