Tweet
I was asked yesterday the following question:
So I decided to take a look at the data and give a detailed explanation to every player in the first 11 I'd have. To do this, you have to identify the style of play and what we need based on that.
The key for me is to have pacy full backs who can get up and down the pitch quickly to support the wingers and centre backs. We don't want them to be carried by our centre backs. Alongside this, having centre backs who can move the ball forward quickly and calmly is also very important. Finally, Having the right defensive midfield duo is vital. The question is which combination of the 3 types of centre midfielders we go for: Aggressive, Energetic, Playmaking. Trying to get the right balance of these is key to ensuring that we get good football. The aim is to not bypass these two players. I've constantly supported the 4231 but I did consider a 352. The issue with that is that it would stifle our wingers and we don't have someone truly defensive who can play left wing other than Traore...
Goalkeeper: Alex Smithies - I love Greeno but Smithies was unfairly removed from the line up after the mistake Green made got him sent off. I look at Smithies and he seems more confident rushing out and dealing with his whole box rather than just the goalline itself. He seems more commanding and he is a good shotstopper by all accounts.
Right Back: James Perch - In truth, this is a choice between Ned and Perch and whether we want someone who is a decent attacker but surprisingly weak defender or whether we go with a below average attacker but does good work defensively. I went with the former because I feel that at this stage, having Perch out wide right means Ned can play centrally where I think he will develop more. The key to note about Perch is that he is surprisingly good in the air, winning 2.5 headers per game and losing only 0.7. This gives us a slight advantage in defending in the championship against the big men. While Onuoha is much faster, he doesn't have the passing that Perch has. For that reason, I feel Perch will be the better option until at least January.
Right Centre Back: Nedum Onuoha - Our highest rated defender statistically, I'm a big advocate for Ned. He brings solid reading of the game with plenty of pace. His passing could definitely improve but he wins a lot of headers and succeeds in 2.5 tackles per game, being beaten once every two games when attempting to make a tackle. Alongside this however, he makes an incredible 3.9 interceptions per game playing at centre back. He is prone to mistakes but he is definitely our best centre back by quite a distance and having Hall learn from him and Hill will be beneficial.
Left Centre Back: Clint Hill - What an incredible story this guy will have for his grand kids, written off almost every season and keeps coming back and being a monster in defence. This season was the most shocking write off given that he was dropped after a match where he got a goal and an assist from centre back against Cardiff. For him to then come back (note that this was a Ramsey decision and not a Warnock decision - who is yet to start his role) and perform the way he did against the championships in form team was amazing and a testament to his character. Watching that tackle on Modou Sougou showed how much of a master of the trade this guy was. That recovery for a 37 year old defender who was never renowned for their pace is remarkable. Statistically, he makes fewer interceptions per games than anyone else at 2 (Hall is next with 2.3) but he makes 1.7 successful tackles per game, getting beaten only 0.7 times. Where clint truly stands out is aerially. Anyone who saw the game against Wednesday will know how good he was against the giant Nuhiu but the stats are even more incredible. He attempts 10 aerial duels per game and manages to win 6 of those. That is remarkable given that only Curtis Davis and Shane Duffy win more at centre back.
Left Back: Jack Robinson - The choice here for me was between Yun and Robinson, the reason being that they are both better options than Konchesky. Beyond that, they both offer the right support to clint which means he won't have to lob it up all the time. The difficulty of having a lack of numbers for this season meant looking back at last season and while my initial thought was that Yun would be better offensively but worse defensively than Jack, it was quite strangely the case that for the most part, he was matched offensively by Robinson. Robinson managed two assists last season to yuns zero, while being significantly better defensively, making one full tackle per game on average as well as one interception per game more on average. Robinson also won more one more aerial duels per game and for these reasons, I'm going to put him in my team.
Right Defensive Midfielder: Sandro - This one is fairly straightforward. Sandro is our best ball winner and in the championship, this is vital. His aggression scares opposition more than ISIS and he generally does a fantastic job of getting the ball. The quality of his long shots also adds to him being an asset and he wins plenty of aerial battles. He is the beast and we are a better team with him in it. My main criticism is that he needs to look for the more simple pass sometimes as he tries to move the ball forward to quickly instead of looking to the side.
Left Defensive Midfielder: Massimo Luongo - This is probably the most difficult of all choices. Doughty, Faurlin, Toszer and Mass were the real choices but I've opted for Mass because he offers the forward running we need from this position while being defensively capable and good at passing. His dribbling and ball control is really good and helped by his low centre of gravity and yet despite his height, he wins an incredible 4 aerial duels per game playing in this deep position as he did earlier in the season, losing only 1.5. However, the big danger when using him is that he gets dispossessed a lot. Having Sandro next to him instead of Henry should help this. A special mention goes to Doughty who in one game managed to statistically outdo every single player in our squad defensively. The only thing letting him down was his embarrassing passing accuracy of 55%.
Right Winger: Matty Phillips - There aren't many options for this position anyway but it was never in doubt that Matty would be the right mid for this team. It could have gone to JET, but for this system, he doesn't have the consistency over 90 minutes to keep the pace going in the way needed to. I really rate this guy and think he just needs to take on more players because he is so good at that. He just seems scared to lose the ball and that limits him. I'm not gonna go too deep into his stats but he gets a good cross in every game and generally just needs to win more take ons than he does.
Central Attacking midfielder: Leroy Fer - I was very defensive of the substitution made by CR in bringing Leroy on for Jet on Saturday. He's got the right build to play anywhere in the middle, he's got surprising pace and incredible aerial presence. He's got a good enough habit of finishing and long shooting. As an attacking mid though, he is at his best and its easy to see why. He's the only attacking midfielder to even attempt a through ball successfully, he has had the most shots on target of any of our attacking mids and we know that he is a good dribbler.
Left Winger: Tjarron Chery - Possibly the most inconsistent individual in the squad but also the biggest game changer we have, he just scrapes past Mackie to claim this spot. He passes really well and although he doesn't attempt many dribbles deep in the opposition half, we've seen what his shooting is capable of. Surprised me with his set pieces as I expected a lot better from him after the Atalanta game where he hit the post with a great free kick, but that was it. Also a good final product player, 4 goals and 3 assists this early in his time with us is very very good. We're really lucky to have a player like him at the club, but he does need to improve his temperament.
Striker: Charlie Austin - Initially, this wasn't in doubt for me. But looking at the stats, JET has had a higher average rating in his 3 starts at striker than Charlie has in his 9. With that being said, one of those 3 starts was the bolton game which got him over 9.0 rating which suggests an inconsistency to his game (His ratings for his last 3 games were 9.61, 6.95, 6.48). That leads me to Charlie, who has had only 3 performances below a 7 in his 9 matches this season (Against Charlton, Huddersfield and Fulham). The rest have all amazingly been above 7.5, truly remarkable. I don't really need to explain much but he manages to have 3.2 shots a game, 1.5 of which are in the box. JET hasn't been able to guarantee a shot per game inside the box, preferring to play deeper and out wide when he starts. Charlie has also worked a lot on his play around the box, having more dribbles this season than last (1.2 attempted per game, 50% success rate) and generally playing more passes (26.3 per game this season compared to 21.5 last season). He's gradually developing into a more well rounded striker but lets not forget his incredible aerial ability inside the box, winning 3.6 headers per game all over the pitch but scoring quite a few goals with his head this season but also in his whole time here. I seem to recall him having more headed goals than anyone last season in the prem if I'm not mistaken.
So that's my ideal starting line up. The bench would consist of Green, Doughty, Faurlin, JET, Angella, Hall, Yun.
Nasser. Just out of interest, assuming all the squad are fit, using all the stats and other information you have collected,plus what you have watched with your own eyes what would your starting 11 be and how would you line the team up.
The key for me is to have pacy full backs who can get up and down the pitch quickly to support the wingers and centre backs. We don't want them to be carried by our centre backs. Alongside this, having centre backs who can move the ball forward quickly and calmly is also very important. Finally, Having the right defensive midfield duo is vital. The question is which combination of the 3 types of centre midfielders we go for: Aggressive, Energetic, Playmaking. Trying to get the right balance of these is key to ensuring that we get good football. The aim is to not bypass these two players. I've constantly supported the 4231 but I did consider a 352. The issue with that is that it would stifle our wingers and we don't have someone truly defensive who can play left wing other than Traore...
Goalkeeper: Alex Smithies - I love Greeno but Smithies was unfairly removed from the line up after the mistake Green made got him sent off. I look at Smithies and he seems more confident rushing out and dealing with his whole box rather than just the goalline itself. He seems more commanding and he is a good shotstopper by all accounts.
Right Back: James Perch - In truth, this is a choice between Ned and Perch and whether we want someone who is a decent attacker but surprisingly weak defender or whether we go with a below average attacker but does good work defensively. I went with the former because I feel that at this stage, having Perch out wide right means Ned can play centrally where I think he will develop more. The key to note about Perch is that he is surprisingly good in the air, winning 2.5 headers per game and losing only 0.7. This gives us a slight advantage in defending in the championship against the big men. While Onuoha is much faster, he doesn't have the passing that Perch has. For that reason, I feel Perch will be the better option until at least January.
Right Centre Back: Nedum Onuoha - Our highest rated defender statistically, I'm a big advocate for Ned. He brings solid reading of the game with plenty of pace. His passing could definitely improve but he wins a lot of headers and succeeds in 2.5 tackles per game, being beaten once every two games when attempting to make a tackle. Alongside this however, he makes an incredible 3.9 interceptions per game playing at centre back. He is prone to mistakes but he is definitely our best centre back by quite a distance and having Hall learn from him and Hill will be beneficial.
Left Centre Back: Clint Hill - What an incredible story this guy will have for his grand kids, written off almost every season and keeps coming back and being a monster in defence. This season was the most shocking write off given that he was dropped after a match where he got a goal and an assist from centre back against Cardiff. For him to then come back (note that this was a Ramsey decision and not a Warnock decision - who is yet to start his role) and perform the way he did against the championships in form team was amazing and a testament to his character. Watching that tackle on Modou Sougou showed how much of a master of the trade this guy was. That recovery for a 37 year old defender who was never renowned for their pace is remarkable. Statistically, he makes fewer interceptions per games than anyone else at 2 (Hall is next with 2.3) but he makes 1.7 successful tackles per game, getting beaten only 0.7 times. Where clint truly stands out is aerially. Anyone who saw the game against Wednesday will know how good he was against the giant Nuhiu but the stats are even more incredible. He attempts 10 aerial duels per game and manages to win 6 of those. That is remarkable given that only Curtis Davis and Shane Duffy win more at centre back.
Left Back: Jack Robinson - The choice here for me was between Yun and Robinson, the reason being that they are both better options than Konchesky. Beyond that, they both offer the right support to clint which means he won't have to lob it up all the time. The difficulty of having a lack of numbers for this season meant looking back at last season and while my initial thought was that Yun would be better offensively but worse defensively than Jack, it was quite strangely the case that for the most part, he was matched offensively by Robinson. Robinson managed two assists last season to yuns zero, while being significantly better defensively, making one full tackle per game on average as well as one interception per game more on average. Robinson also won more one more aerial duels per game and for these reasons, I'm going to put him in my team.
Right Defensive Midfielder: Sandro - This one is fairly straightforward. Sandro is our best ball winner and in the championship, this is vital. His aggression scares opposition more than ISIS and he generally does a fantastic job of getting the ball. The quality of his long shots also adds to him being an asset and he wins plenty of aerial battles. He is the beast and we are a better team with him in it. My main criticism is that he needs to look for the more simple pass sometimes as he tries to move the ball forward to quickly instead of looking to the side.
Left Defensive Midfielder: Massimo Luongo - This is probably the most difficult of all choices. Doughty, Faurlin, Toszer and Mass were the real choices but I've opted for Mass because he offers the forward running we need from this position while being defensively capable and good at passing. His dribbling and ball control is really good and helped by his low centre of gravity and yet despite his height, he wins an incredible 4 aerial duels per game playing in this deep position as he did earlier in the season, losing only 1.5. However, the big danger when using him is that he gets dispossessed a lot. Having Sandro next to him instead of Henry should help this. A special mention goes to Doughty who in one game managed to statistically outdo every single player in our squad defensively. The only thing letting him down was his embarrassing passing accuracy of 55%.
Right Winger: Matty Phillips - There aren't many options for this position anyway but it was never in doubt that Matty would be the right mid for this team. It could have gone to JET, but for this system, he doesn't have the consistency over 90 minutes to keep the pace going in the way needed to. I really rate this guy and think he just needs to take on more players because he is so good at that. He just seems scared to lose the ball and that limits him. I'm not gonna go too deep into his stats but he gets a good cross in every game and generally just needs to win more take ons than he does.
Central Attacking midfielder: Leroy Fer - I was very defensive of the substitution made by CR in bringing Leroy on for Jet on Saturday. He's got the right build to play anywhere in the middle, he's got surprising pace and incredible aerial presence. He's got a good enough habit of finishing and long shooting. As an attacking mid though, he is at his best and its easy to see why. He's the only attacking midfielder to even attempt a through ball successfully, he has had the most shots on target of any of our attacking mids and we know that he is a good dribbler.
Left Winger: Tjarron Chery - Possibly the most inconsistent individual in the squad but also the biggest game changer we have, he just scrapes past Mackie to claim this spot. He passes really well and although he doesn't attempt many dribbles deep in the opposition half, we've seen what his shooting is capable of. Surprised me with his set pieces as I expected a lot better from him after the Atalanta game where he hit the post with a great free kick, but that was it. Also a good final product player, 4 goals and 3 assists this early in his time with us is very very good. We're really lucky to have a player like him at the club, but he does need to improve his temperament.
Striker: Charlie Austin - Initially, this wasn't in doubt for me. But looking at the stats, JET has had a higher average rating in his 3 starts at striker than Charlie has in his 9. With that being said, one of those 3 starts was the bolton game which got him over 9.0 rating which suggests an inconsistency to his game (His ratings for his last 3 games were 9.61, 6.95, 6.48). That leads me to Charlie, who has had only 3 performances below a 7 in his 9 matches this season (Against Charlton, Huddersfield and Fulham). The rest have all amazingly been above 7.5, truly remarkable. I don't really need to explain much but he manages to have 3.2 shots a game, 1.5 of which are in the box. JET hasn't been able to guarantee a shot per game inside the box, preferring to play deeper and out wide when he starts. Charlie has also worked a lot on his play around the box, having more dribbles this season than last (1.2 attempted per game, 50% success rate) and generally playing more passes (26.3 per game this season compared to 21.5 last season). He's gradually developing into a more well rounded striker but lets not forget his incredible aerial ability inside the box, winning 3.6 headers per game all over the pitch but scoring quite a few goals with his head this season but also in his whole time here. I seem to recall him having more headed goals than anyone last season in the prem if I'm not mistaken.
So that's my ideal starting line up. The bench would consist of Green, Doughty, Faurlin, JET, Angella, Hall, Yun.
Comment