I read a very interesting article by Ben Pugsley which looked at the scoring percentage and shooting efficiency of the top ten strikers in the Premier League this season. I thought I’d use the shot placement data from EPLIndex to see if it could explain a couple of points in the article, as well as digging into the improved goal [...]

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 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 [...]

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 [...]

It’s been well documented that Swansea City have basically been playing the game as well as possible for a side that haven’t been blessed with the advantages of huge wealth or stature. From getting the fans financially invested in the club (literally, as shareholders) to having a clear vision of a style of playing that [...]

The Premier League table seems to take form after around ten games and not have many major changes throughout the season however the form guide is an interesting table to analyse every six games or so because of the radical changes that can occur. This season Manchester United have maintained the position of first or [...]

Another excellent week of Premier League football has come and gone! We’re going to look at some of the top performers of the week – see how all the top players compared. We first look at  goal scorers. There were four players that bagged a brace at the weekend: Beneteke, Kebe, Fellaini and Sissoko. Jimmy [...]

Dribbling is a much-admired skill in football. The best in the game are fixed into the history of the sport: players like Stanley Matthews, George Best and Diego Maradona are remembered for their almost superhuman ability to leave defenders trailing in their wake. Beating defenders one-on-one excites a crowd in a way only shots and [...]

In this article, I will be moving on from the 2008/09 season (Part 1) to look for some similarities or trends. In the 2009/10 season there is a similar curve in the line of best fit, and teams that are relegated could be accused of being inefficient. However, there is the beginning of a change in [...]

In this article I am looking at the late goals in the EPL as historically more goals are scored 76-FT then any other time range. Currently there have been 124 goals scored 76-FT making up 20.8% of total goals and 2011 this was 22.3% and 2010 it was 23.2% and 2009 it was 23.6% and [...]