Continuing from where we left off in the first post, we analyze the midfield of Liverpool, United and Spurs in this following post. It would be followed by the analysis of the top 3 midfield in the different aspect of play such as Attacking, Passing and Defending. So here we go:
Liverpool:
Possession -52.5; Yellow Cards -10; Red Cards- 0; Shots per
goal- 20.67.
Games
|
Goals
|
Shots
|
A
|
KP
|
T
|
Interc
|
PA
|
ATB
|
AC
|
ALB
|
|
Gerrard
|
10
|
2
|
18
|
2
|
25
|
27
|
13
|
86.7
|
3
|
21
|
74
|
Lucas
|
8
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
42
|
24
|
89.5
|
0
|
19
|
0
|
Henderson
|
10
|
0
|
16
|
0
|
12
|
29
|
8
|
86.7
|
0
|
3
|
39
|
Coutinho
|
5
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
8
|
10
|
2
|
77.4
|
4
|
3
|
4
|
Moses
|
6
|
1
|
8
|
0
|
6
|
6
|
5
|
85.9
|
1
|
2
|
10
|
Sterling
|
7
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
6
|
11
|
1
|
83.5
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
Allen
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
66.7
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Aspas
|
6
|
0
|
2
|
1
|
7
|
4
|
2
|
76.6
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
Alberto
|
5
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
84.7
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Total
|
59
|
3
|
62
|
3
|
67
|
130
|
56
|
81.96
|
9
|
49
|
132
|
(A;Assists; KP:Key Passes; T: Tackles; Interc: Interception;
PA: Pass Accuracy; ATB: Accurate Through balls; AC: Accurate Crosses; ALB:
Accurate Long Balls).
Liverpool Midfield, has played 59 matches altogether as a
unit. With only 9 players it is the top 6 midfield which has least number of personnel.
The amount of games played by the
Liverpool midfield highlights the reliance on the 3-5-2 formation .Gerrard and
Henderson lead Liverpool stats, in the amounts of games played with each
playing 10 games. Gerrard also leads the
stats for Goals, Shots taken, Assists, Key Passes, Accurate Crosses and
Accurate Long Balls. This signifies that even at his age he is still the go-to
man at Liverpool. Lucas leads in the defensive side of Liverpool with 42
tackles and 24 interceptions. He also leads in the Passing Accuracy stats for
the team. In the through ball department no one has threaded a pass through
opposition defense more than Coutinho.
As a Unit the Liverpool midfield has scored 3 goals and
taken 62 shots to achieve that. It highlights the wastefulness of the midfield.
The midfield has played 67 key passes and has accumulated 3 assists. The
defensive nature of the midfield is pretty impressive averaging 13 tackles a
match along with 5.6 interceptions a match. The passing Accuracy as a whole for
the midfield is mere 81.96% which explains their possession stats of 52.5%. The
unit has played 9 through balls along with 49 accurate crosses and 132 accurate
long balls. Inspite of making over 130
tackles the midfield has committed lesser amount of fouls as they have only accumulated
10 yellow cards in the league so far. This stats shows that how much
dependent Liverpool are upon their SAS strike partnership to get them goals.
With a meager return of 3 goals and 3 Assists it is fair to say that Gerrard
&co have a lot of room to improve as an unit. As was revealed in the Arsenal
match that if the SAS are kept quiet then the midfield has very little to offer.
Manchester United:
Possession-56.5%; Yellow cards-15; Red Card-0; Shots per
Goal-8.4
Games
|
Goals
|
Shots
|
A
|
KP
|
T
|
Interc
|
PA
|
ATB
|
AC
|
ALB
|
|
Carrick
|
9
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
12
|
16
|
39
|
86.9
|
0
|
1
|
64
|
Cleverly
|
7
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
6
|
17
|
7
|
89.6
|
0
|
1
|
34
|
Valencia
|
8
|
1
|
2
|
1
|
6
|
15
|
14
|
85.9
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
Young
|
4
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
2
|
80.8
|
0
|
1
|
7
|
Nani
|
5
|
0
|
12
|
0
|
10
|
8
|
1
|
77.2
|
0
|
5
|
4
|
Rooney
|
9
|
5
|
28
|
3
|
16
|
5
|
5
|
78.5
|
2
|
6
|
42
|
Kagawa
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
3
|
7
|
4
|
88.2
|
0
|
0
|
7
|
Fellaini
|
5
|
0
|
8
|
0
|
1
|
5
|
8
|
89.5
|
0
|
0
|
12
|
Janujaz
|
6
|
2
|
14
|
1
|
4
|
6
|
7
|
81
|
2
|
0
|
10
|
Welbeck
|
6
|
2
|
9
|
0
|
1
|
5
|
7
|
85.6
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
Total
|
62
|
10
|
84
|
5
|
63
|
88
|
94
|
84.32
|
6
|
17
|
186
|
(A;Assists;KP:Key Passes; T: Tackles; Interc:
Interception;PA: Pass Accuracy; ATB: Accurate Through balls; AC: Accurate
Crosses; ALB: Accurate Long Balls)
It has been a dreadful opening for United in the EPL so
far. Their key players look out of
form and they have a 2 man midfield which needs external help( e.g. dubious
penalty, red cards, Fergie time) to maintain their challenge at the top. But after
Ferguson’s retirement, the favor that were extended to them in the past has been relatively less (e.g. Young diving for penalty).
In the 10 matches so far, they have employed 10 personnel in
their midfield. They have played 62 matches amongst them. This shows that the
midfield has seen a fair bit of rotation. This could lead down to the fact that
barring Rooney everyone else has underperformed. It is no surprise that Rooney leads the United
midfield in the amount of Games played, Goals, Shots, Assists, Key Passes,
Through balls & Crosses. Carrick chips in with most Interceptions made and
played the most Accurate Long balls. Januzaj and Valencia together with Rooney
have put most accurate through balls. Cleverly has made the most amounts of
tackles for United.
As an unit the United has scored 10 goals and made 5 assists.
They played 63 key passes while taking 84 shots. They have made a relatively less amounts of tackles
with 88. They have hugely relied on intercepting the opposition passes in order
to gain possession of the ball. The Passing Accuracy is a respectable 84.32%
which explains their possession stats. They have also accumulated 15 yellow
cards. The Amount of crosses was
negligible from the midfield as it relied more on long balls to spread the
play. The amount of through balls played in is a decent amount of 6. The 2 man
midfield has to change because cleverly is not yet world class, Fellaini has
underperformed so far and Carrick is aging. The midfield needs to utilize players
such as Kagawa and Januzaj more than employing players such as young and
Valencia. Similar to Liverpool, the midfield has very little to offer in terms
of creativity if you take Rooney out of the equation. They have to invest in a more creative
forward and abandon the primitive system of playing 2 midfield players with 2
wingers.
Tottenham:
Possession -58.7; Yellow Card -10; Red Card -0; Shots per
Goal -24.
Games
|
Goals
|
Shots
|
A
|
KP
|
T
|
Interc
|
PA
|
ATB
|
AC
|
ALB
|
|
Paulinho
|
10
|
1
|
31
|
2
|
13
|
26
|
31
|
86.3
|
1
|
1
|
23
|
Sandro
|
6
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
6
|
4
|
81.1
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
Dembele
|
10
|
0
|
6
|
0
|
13
|
22
|
8
|
91.5
|
1
|
0
|
34
|
Siggurdson
|
8
|
3
|
18
|
0
|
8
|
7
|
6
|
84.2
|
0
|
5
|
6
|
Holtby
|
7
|
0
|
6
|
0
|
7
|
10
|
8
|
80.8
|
1
|
6
|
9
|
Eriksen
|
6
|
0
|
6
|
1
|
9
|
4
|
4
|
84
|
0
|
5
|
6
|
Townsend
|
9
|
1
|
40
|
0
|
17
|
12
|
4
|
85.4
|
1
|
9
|
6
|
Lennon
|
4
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
5
|
2
|
0
|
89.8
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
Chadili
|
4
|
0
|
9
|
0
|
10
|
7
|
2
|
86
|
0
|
4
|
3
|
Lamela
|
4
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
79.5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Capoue
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
9
|
12
|
89.7
|
0
|
0
|
15
|
Total
|
71
|
5
|
120
|
4
|
86
|
107
|
81
|
85.3
|
4
|
33
|
109
|
(A; Assists; KP: Key Passes; T: Tackles; Interc:
Interception; PA: Pass Accuracy; ATB: Accurate Through balls; AC: Accurate
Crosses; ALB: Accurate Long Balls)
In the 10 matches so far we have learnt that spuds have proven
that if you don’t have class it doesn’t
matter how much you spend you will still be in forever our shadow.
No more comments is needed to explain their dire situation as the stats are like Spurs gameplay i.e.. ….BORING!!!!!!
Comparitive Analysis:
Attacking Analysis:
Games
|
Goals
|
Shots/Goal
|
Assists
|
Key Passes
|
Was Fouled
|
|
1st Best
|
Tottenham
|
Arsenal
|
Arsenal
|
Arsenal
|
Chelsea
|
United
|
2nd Best
|
Chelsea
|
Chelsea
|
City
|
City
|
Arsenal
|
Chelsea
|
3rd Best
|
City & United
|
City
|
United
|
Chelsea
|
City
|
Arsenal
|
If we analyze the attacking nature of the top 6 midfields
then we find that Arsenal, Chelsea and City have the most influential midfield.
The have scored more goals and have recorded more assists than other 3
teams. The only way United can find a
way in this analysis is by being the most fouled midfield. Maybe all the other
teams are venting out the frustration about the unfair advantage they had been receiving
till last season. The analysis shows
that Arsenal are the best attacking midfield yet in the EPL.
Passing Analysis:
Games
|
Passing Accuracy
|
Accurate Through Balls
|
Accurate Crosses
|
Accurate Long Balls
|
Possession
|
|
1st Best
|
Tottenham
|
City
|
City & Arsenal
|
Chelsea
|
United
|
City
|
2nd Best
|
Chelsea
|
Arsenal
|
Liverpool
|
Liverpool
|
City
|
Tottenham
|
3rd Best
|
City & United
|
Tottenham
|
United
|
City
|
Arsenal
|
United
|
In the Passing Analysis, Arsenal and City are a league above
others in playing accurate passes and through balls. Chelsea and Liverpool are
better crosser of the ball whereas United are better at playing Long
balls. The Possession stats for all the
midfield also show that City again lead all other teams in keeping the ball. The
above table shows that City has the best midfield passers yet in the EPL.
Defending Analysis:
Games
|
Tackles
|
Interceptions
|
Yellow Cards
|
Fouls
|
|
1st Best
|
Tottenham
|
Liverpool
|
United
|
Chelsea
|
Tottenham
|
2nd Best
|
Chelsea
|
Arsenal
|
Tottenham
|
City
|
City
|
3rd Best
|
City & United
|
Chelsea
|
Liverpool
|
Tottenham & Liverpool
|
Liverpool
|
Liverpool are the best tacklers followed by Arsenal and
Chelsea. Whereas United are better at intercepting Passes , followed by Spurs
and Liverpool yet again. Interesting fact is that Chelsea having made 3rd
most tackles yet in the EPL but have recieved the least amount of Yellow cards,
followed by City, Spurs & Liverpool. Spurs leads also in the amount of
fouls made by the midfield. City and Liverpool follow Spurs closely in the
department of making Fouls. It can be said from the table above that that Liverpool
has a better defensive midfield than the rest.
