Teams that can hit you on the counter attack at any moment are incredibly hard to defend against, especially when speed merchants such as Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott are running at your defence. So which teams have impressed in the counter attack and how have they been so successful? We can start to answer [...]
Ashley Cole has dominated the England left-back spot for many years, first breaking into the team against Albania in 2001, back when Sven was in charge. Wayne Bridge provided a little competition from 2002 until his last appearance in 2009. Since then we’ve seen Leighton Baines come into his own at Everton, being linked with [...]
Manchester United are well-known for making a comeback and Arsenal have scored more goals in the last 10 minutes of matches than any other team this season, but which teams out of the top 7 have actually been the best at coming from behind this season? We have taken a look at how well the [...]
As I get older I am finding that I am becoming less interested in the players at clubs and much more interested in the managers. What do they do? Are they worth the money? Are they actually needed at all? Once the team is picked and the tactics discussed, is there anything that a manager [...]
Research has been conducted looking into whether referee’s are biased towards certain teams or individuals. Manchester United tend to have a reputation from rival supporters for ‘Fergie time’, gaining more penalties than other teams at home, especially with Howard Webb. Marouane Fellaini even stated that referee’s were biased towards English players following his head butt [...]
With a quarter of the season remaining the title race looks to be sewn up. Manchester United will need to throw away a lot of points to not regain their Premier League crown and City look comfortable in second. Finishing 3rd or 4th then and qualification for the Champion’s League will perhaps offer the most [...]
This week Martin Lewis has a scouting report on Everton. This will not only be interesting for Everton supporters but also Manchester City supporters before the big game tomorrow. In fact supporters of any club that are yet to play Everton this season will find this in-depth tactical and statistical analysis interesting. Initial information: Very [...]
With the Premier League now entering the last 10 games of the season it is the perfect time to use statistics to draw conclusions about why your team produced success/failure. Last week my focus was on chance conversion rate. This week the focus is on crossing accuracy. The table directly below portrays the total crosses performed [...]
One of the common signs of a new Liverpool arrival “settling in” on Merseyside is the creation of a song for him by the Anfield faithful. Such classics as “Steve Gerrard Gerrard,” “We All Dream of a Team of Carraghers,” the Xabi Alonso song, and (my personal favorite, though I don’t hear it much anymore) [...]
Of course, I don’t need to tell you that the more chances a team creates the more likely they are of scoring. But do the teams creating the most chances score the most goals? The stats below show the chance conversion rate for each individual team. Not surprisingly, top of the league Manchester United also [...]