Showing posts with label Wanyama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wanyama. Show all posts

Monday, July 7, 2014

Jordan Henderson, the would-be King

Jordan Henderson has come a long way since his Sunderland days.  When Dalglish bought him in June of 2011 for a staggering £16m, I was more than a bit skeptical.  Paying that much for a relatively unproven soon-to-be 21-year-old, was quite the risk.  Henderson displayed flashes of brilliance here and there, but was wholly inconsistent, not uncommon for a player his age.  Fortunately he has proven to be a skilled, versatile midfielder, who can and is willing to do what is ever needed to make Liverpool a better side.

year2009-102010-112011-122012-132013-14
age2021222324
app (sub)23(10)3731(6)16(14)35
mins21873210265815353129
p9024.335.729.517.134.8
goals13254
assists54147
chances2845403362
npg900.040.080.070.290.11
gcp900.250.200.100.290.32
ccp901.151.261.361.901.78
ap900.210.110.030.230.20
ccv18.38.72.212.111.2
pass %68.481.283.984.587.1
bp %---43.441.2
sacc %0.250.290.350.330.15
shot %0.030.070.050.150.12
TTI9015.911.111.111.59.7

His progression over the past five years has been impressive to say the least, especially his passing.  What's most impressive though, is how valuable he has become on defence.  Last season, he became our most valuable midfielder when it comes to preventing goals.  His goals on pitch per 90 average was 1.18, considerably better than Gerrard (1.37), Lucas (1.28), or Allen (1.31).

To see how truly far Henderson has come I wanted to compare his stats from last season with his contemporaries, players who are of similar age (23-25) and play a similar position.  I went through each squad and found all the players that fit the criteria, they are Joe Allen, Nemanja Matic, Morgan Schneiderlin, Ashley Westwood, Fabian Delph, Sandro, Steven N'Zonzi, Ki Sung-Yeong, Victor Wanyama, Jake Livermore, and Vurnon Anita.  The stat comparison table is below.

The top 5 overall ranking:
1. Jordan Henderson                 4.73
2. Morgan Schneiderlin              5.00
3. Nemanja Matic                     5.33
4. Ashley Westwood                 5.67
5. Fabian Delph                        5.87

Not only was he top overall, Henderson was in the top five in eleven of the fifteen categories.  Among his peers, he is already king and if he continues his current progression, who knows how good he could become.


HendersonMaticSchneiderlinWestwoodDelphSandro
age242524242425
app(sub)3515(2)31(2)3533(1)10(7)
mins31291365276530773004828
p9034.815.230.734.233.49.2
goals402331
assists741220
chances62233063287
npg900.1100.070.120.090.11
gcp900.320.260.10.150.150.11
ccp901.781.510.981.840.830.76
ap900.200.260.030.060.060
ccv11.217.23.13.27.20
pass %87.184.889.382.983.784.4
bp %41.23135.628.338.329.6
sacc %32.715.325.8252523.5
shot %8.206.510.78.35.9
TTI909.712.59.39.610.510.8
intp90122.21.41.73.3
clrp90241.50.91.52.4
tp902.43.73.71.632.6
ts%42.841.547.847.649.442.6
gap900.860.461.141.641.621.63

N'ZonziSung-YeongWanyamaLivermoreAnitaAllen
age252523242524
app (sub)34(2)25(2)19(4)34(2)28(6)15(9)
mins304121961659305424571443
p9033.824.418.433.927.316
goals230311
assists110410
chances32287343818
npg900.060.0800.090.040.06
gcp900.090.1600.210.070.06
ccp900.951.150.3811.391.13
ap900.030.0400.120.040
ccv3.23.6011.82.90
pass %87.290.784.38383.886.7
bp %36.842.138.938.930.738
sacc %19.43512.517.91942.1
shot %6.57.507.74.85.3
TTI9010.77.212.611.710.29.8
intp9010.91.81.51.61.6
clrp900.80.92.80.811.3
tp901.81.73.521.84.2
ts%47.655.648.245.84556
gap901.331.720.761.361.651.31

Thursday, July 3, 2014

Forget Lovren, we've got Kevin Stewart now

It is baffling that the signing of Kevin Stewart is deemed 'news'.  What is more pathetic though is when a blog sensationalizes and exaggerates to trick people into visiting their site by calling Stewart a 'Prem' defender.  He is 20-years-old and has played a grand total of zero Prem minutes.  Unless Rodgers thinks he'll be some sort of late bloomer, what's the point?  Is Ilori and/or Coates, as long as the latter is here, going to get a chance?  We need a player who is going to challenge for a starting spot and Stewart isn't that.

Dejan Lovren, on the other hand, could. The 25-year-old Southampton and Serbian international anchored a very solid Saints defense last season.  In fact, in my overall defense ranking table, the South Coast side finished third, only a point from being tied top with Chelsea and Crystal Palace.  As I have said, I don't think individual defensive stats hold much water, but I do think in the very least, you can find fault and strength. Here are Lovren's stats from last season along with those of Sakho, Skrtel, Agger, and Old Man Toure.

LovrenSakhoSkrtelAggerToure
age2524292934
app(subs)3118(1)3616(4)15(5)
mins27871478322114211443
goals21720
assist10112
chances42727
npgp900.070.060.20.130
gcp900.10.060.220.190.13
ccp900.130.120.20.130.44
ap900.0300.030.060.13
ccv0.2300.150.460.3
pass%8292.590.889.186.4
bp%21.522.623.718.720.5
sacc%15.21053.342.814.3
shot%91046.728.60
tp9021.61.41.72.1
tack %57.871.45055.665.1
intp902.71.61.71.30.9
clrp907.78.311.57.29.2
dribpp900.50.30.40.30.4
bsp900.30.41.10.50.8
adwp903.32.93.62.82.7
adwon%61.25670.165.250.6
TTI9010.45.65.255.8

So what does Lovren do well? Interceptions and aerial duels certainly stand out.  Though it's kind of disconcerting that he's easily taken off the dribble more than the other four, especially Toure.  It questions his pace and quickness.  He also turns over the ball significantly more and he had less touches than Skrtel, so the 'Suarez' factor does not come into play.

Is he worth the reported £20m that it may cost to bring him in? Absolutely not.  If he alone was the reason the Saints defense was so good, yes, but they have/had Schneiderlin, Wanyama, Fonte, Clyne, and Shaw.  None of those five, save Shaw, is worth that much, and that's only because Shaw is 19.  I'd rather us just try and sigh Steven Caulker. 

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