Neither Mark Hughes nor Harry Redknapp can quite decide who is his best midfield four. With the likes of Samba Diakite, Stephane Mbia, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Junior Hoilett, Adel Taarabt, Esteban Granero, Park Ji Sung, Alejandro Faurlin and Shaun Derry all competing for a starting place, you would think competition could only be good news. For QPR though, this is a nightmare.
There are some big names in that midfield that should really be playing week in week out, but instead have fallen victim to the mysterious forces of underperformance that lurk behind the walls of Loftus Road. Shaun Wright-Phillips, for one, has not scored once in the league for the Hoops and instead, has collected numerous other achievements such as hitting the woodwork and having his one screamer disallowed. Adel Taarabt, the Moroccan magician, finds himself as frustrating as he is gifted, taking on six players with relative ease only to scuff his shot into the hands of the waiting keeper.
What QPR need more than anything is consistency. With a leaky defence as well as limited forward options due to unfortunate injuries to both Zamora and Andy Johnson, the answer to solving QPR’s poor run has got to lie in the midfield where Redknapp has more than sufficient options. The very centre of the park is the gateway to both attacking and defending, and with the perfect central midfielder, QPR might just be able to claw their way out of the disaster that lies ahead.
Both Faurlin and Granero encompass somewhat similar playing styles. Their constant passing and movement help QPR retain possession a little longer, which may just stop opponents from getting hold of the ball and tearing apart the nervous defence. One thing is for certain though: the two come from very different backgrounds.
Then QPR manager Mark Hughes congratulating summer signing Esteban Granero after Manchester City game. Credit: qpr.co.uk
Alejandro Faurlin is largely seen to be the club’s championship hero, one of the key players that helped the R’s win the league in their title winning promotion. Loved by many for his discipline and ball distribution, the Argentinean was at the heart of Warnock’s 4-2-3-1 formation that gave Taarabt licence to create.
Esteban Granero, on the other hand, is one of the many new faces at the club, brought in by Mark Hughes in his bid to turn the club’s fortunes around. The Spaniard probably couldn’t hail from a bigger club, crossing the pond from Real Madrid for a bigger challenge he has definitely found in QPR.
Passing
Comparing both their performances this season, their efforts have been matched in terms of passing. Granero, however, edges Faurlin in the final third, a zone that Faurlin does not venture much into as compared to his Spanish teammate.
Passing aside, the two players highlight very different strengths and weaknesses.
Possession
Ale Faurlin trumps El Pirata when it comes to possession. Faurlin gives the ball away a lot less than his teammate, and also wins the ball off opponents more often than him. Increasing possession should be a concern for Redknapp’s men with more wasteful teammates like Taarabt, who can be a defensive liability.
Defensive Abilities
Faurlin also performs better defensively when compared to Granero. He wins more ground and aerial 50-50s, while also picking up less yellow cards than his Spanish teammate. Considering that QPR have the worst goal difference in the league, Faurlin could be a decent choice in solidifying the leaky defence behind him.
Attacking Abilities
Giving due consideration to the fact that Granero has played almost twice as many minutes as Faurlin this season, Granero still outperforms Faurlin when it comes to attacking. Faurlin is almost non-existent in offensive attempts, creating very few chances. However, one should also note that Granero has poor conversion rates, putting in 80 crosses this season with only 19 of them being accurate. Although Granero may be more active in attacking, he is also extremely wasteful, which could be a problem when you consider the fact that QPR also have another wasteful teammate in Adel Taarabt. Faurlin is clearly the safer option to play, while Granero could be impressive if he works on his form.
These statistics will not exactly lighten Redknapp’s headache. There is no clear- cut answer as to who should play in the centre of the park for QPR. Perhaps the answer for the London club is not to find the best four to play week in, week out but rather, to find the four that suits the game at hand. Over to you, ‘Arry.
All of the stats from this article have been taken from the Opta Stats Centre at EPLIndex.com – Subscribe Now (Includes author privileges!) Check out our new Top Stats feature on the Stats Centre which allows you to compare all players in the league & read about new additions to the stats centre.
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Categories: EPL Index Featured Article, EPL Index Statistical Comparisons, QPR
Tags: EPL, epl opta stats, EPL Stats, Faurlin, Faurlin Opta Stats, Granero, Granero Opta Stats, Midfield, opta, Opta Stats, premier league, Premier League Stats, QPR, QPR Stats, queens park rangers
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Bit unfair to directly compare the two as for much of the season Granero has been playing higher up the pitch than Faurlin. So Faurlin’s final third passing will be worse, as he’s generally playing long balls into that region, whereas Granero would expect to be dispossessed more often as he’s surrounded by more defenders around the opposition box.
Fair shout, W. It’s hard to really accurately compare any two midfielders (especially for QPR). So many times this season we’ve seen them tested in new positions or simply played out of position due to injuries/suspensions. Our stats doesn’t quite describe the area where the players are dispossessed, but from what I remember of Granero, I seem to see him getting dispossessed somewhere around the halfway line (my own hunch though!). I personally think it would be interesting to see Granero and Faurlin back in the midfield trio, with Mbia as defensive cover under Harry. That Derry/Mbia/Diakite combination surely can’t be a long-term solution because it isolates Taarabt/SWP/Cisse/Mackie when we start to attack. I think I saw on another statistical site that both Taarabt and Granero have one of the highest levels of ‘creating chances’ in the league, which you could see as both encouraging and worrying, since it doesn’t translate to goals! Thanks for your comment anyway
Good piece. I am baffled by the continued exclusion of Faurlin who for me is our best all round player. You are correct that we do have almost too many options and combinations in the midfield area. I think the midfield was very fluid and dominated possession in the Chelsea and Spurs games and that was whenFaurlin played with Granero in the middle. Redknapp has come in and gone with both Mbia and Diakite in the middle with Derry at Wigan which as you correctly state left us lacking in the creativity stats. I would like to see Mbia moved to CB alongside Nelsen and a midfield trio of Diakite Faurlin Granero.
I have a technical question about the article. Hopefully you can help me with this, Maria.
Under the ‘Defensive Abilities’ category, the ‘Ground 50-50′s Won’ confuses me. Is it possible to break down from where this statistic is derived? I went through the Opta definitions and last time I checked there was no specific Ground 50-50′s definition. Aerials are present, but not Ground, so I assume the data must be derived or compiled from another source.
Thanks
Hey Sinhaug,
It was actually taken from Opta stats. I found it under the ‘defending’ category, under statistical comparisons between players. I can’t quite find the exact definition, but I would be guessing it would be the same definition as the Aerials but for ground balls instead. Hope that helps at least!
Sure. Makes sense.
Thanks.