Ruben Pardo could be the next Gerrard

Ruben Pardo has also been called the next Xabi Alonso and rightfully so, the 21-year-ol Real Sociedad 'regista' is already a master passer, especially of the long ball.  Last season, he completed 155 of 215 long balls, a rate of 72.1%, those are Alonso (172/226, 76.1%) and Gerrard-esque (257/350, 73.4%) numbers.

Here's how Pardo and Gerrard compare from last season:

	Pardo	Gerrard
age	21	34
npg90	0.14	0.09
gcp90	0.53	0.81
ccp90	1.39	2.1
ap90	0.38	0.4
ccv	27.3	19.1
pass %	85.5	85.9
bp %	35.1	30.6
sacc %	45	51.7
shot %	15	27.1
TTI90	9.9	10.9
intp90	1.48	1.49
clrp90	0.39	2.83
drpp90	1.12	0.68
tp90	1.76	3
ts%	35.8	52.2
gap90	1.2	1.37
gsp90	2.01	2.67
gop90	0.81	1.3
tgop	0.18	1.32
gopd	0.63	-0.02

If you take away Gerrard's ten penalty goals, Pardo actually has a better goals created per 90, shot accuracy percentage, and shot percentage, but the Spaniard is a ways away from reaching Stevie-G's defensive prowess.  Pardo does have a lower turnover rate and probably the most impressive is his goals on pitch difference.  Where Gerrard is about even, Pardo makes his side 0.63 goals better per 90 minutes.

Pardo obviously has some work to do on defence, but the fact that he has such a great gopd, means he's got to be doing something right.  For a 21-year-old though, his attack stats are off the charts.  It is rare to find a young player with such composure on the ball, especially one who's pinpoint passing leads to a chance created value of 27.3.

If I were Rodgers, I would pay Sociedad his £24m release clause and loan him back if he's not ready to leave.  That may sound crazy, but there's no point in having him watch from the stands when he can develop in La Liga.

Karim 'Mercedes' Benzema is no Daniel 'La Ferrari' Sturridge

I have a mate who for years has been emphatically saying we should sign Benzema.  I just don't see it.  I don't think he's as good as advertised, but I've never crunched the numbers, so let's see how his stats from last season size-up with Sturridge.

	Benzema	Sturridge
npgp90	0.56	0.83
gcp90	0.85	1.1
ccp90	2.07	1.2
ap90	0.3	0.28
ccv	14.5	23.3
pass%	81.9	79.3
bp%	46.4	53.4
sacc%	45.1	42.4
shot%	16.7	21.2
TTI90	9.7	11
gap90	1.05	1.23
gsp90	2.75	2.7
gop90	1.7	1.47
tgop	1.74	1.32

Benzema's output isn't overwhelmingly impressive and definitely not worthy of £35-40m, which is his asking price.  Sturridge is the more prolific scorer and shows a higher football intelligence with his higher chance created value and shot percentage.  It's not that Benzema is wasteful in his pass and shot selection, he's just not as adept as our number 15.  Having superior pace than most forwards, Sturridge needs a set-up man with better pasing capabilities than Benzema, suprisingly we may already have that player in Rickie Lambert (18.6 ccv).

If we sign Markovic, I'm not sure we need any more attack-minded players.  We definitely don't need a player like Benzema, who does a lot of things well, but nothing in particular great.  The fact that he is surrounded by the caliber of player that he is at Madrid, his stats should at least show him to be more efficient.

Forget Benzema, forget trying to outscore our opponents every match, we need to go defensive.  One player we should try to buy is Real Sociedad's 21-year-old defensive midfielder Ruben Pardo.  He'll be the subject of my next post.

Not Bob Loblaw's Transfers Log Blog

Here are links to posts from the last month or so on various potential transfer targets and players we have already signed:

Wilfred Bony
Marco Reus
Ben Davies
Antoine Griezmann & Carlos Vela
DeAndre Yedlin
Memphis Depay
Dejan Lovren
Klaas-Jan Huntelaar
Ryan Bertrand
Toby Anderweireld
Lazar Markovic
Divock Origi
Marcelo
Jason Davidson
Daley Blind
Ricardo Rodriguez
Luke Shaw
Alexis Sanchez
Emre Can
Adam Lallana

Anyone else I should do a stat check & comparison on? Let me know in the comments or email me (go to contact page). Cheers.

Wilfried Bony: All is fair in love and transfers, Spurs

Wilfried Bony had a pretty impressive first year in England, more impressive than most who come over from the Eredivisie.  Suarez didn't have that kind of year, not even close, neither did Christian Eriksen, though he was relatively close.  The most impressive thing about Bony's season was how much he got better as the season progressed.  He scored 12 goals and set up 3 more in the final 19 Prem matches.  In fact, he scored 5 and had 1 assist in the final 4.

Latest reports are that we are trying to 'hijack' Spurs bid for Bony.  Well, if that's not tongue-in-cheek, Sigurdsson anyone? I am all for signing the 25-year-old Ivorian striker, but not for the reportedly £40m that Swansea is asking.  That truly is mental.  Anything more than £35m would be too much risk of funds.

So how does he compare to let's say Sturridge?

	Bony	Sturridge
app(subs)	27(7)	26(3)
mins	2470	2267
p90	27.4	25.2
goals	16	21
assist	4	7
chances	25	29
npgp90	0.44	0.83
gcp90	0.73	1.1
ccp90	0.91	1.2
ap90	0.15	0.28
ccv	16.5	23.3
pass%	74.1	79.3
bp%	49.6	53.4
sacc%	37	42.4
shot%	14.8	21.2
TTI90	15.3	11
gap90	1.5	1.23
gsp90	1.62	2.7
gop90	0.12	1.47
tgop	0	1.32

Stat definitions can be found here.

Sturridge takes nearly every category save back pass percentage, but Bony is not far off.  Not bad for a first year Prem player compared to a well seasoned one.  If history stays true to itself, Bony will have an even better second season now that he's adapted to the English game and way of lifestyle.  He'll post even more impressive numbers with teammates like Sturridge, Coutinho, Sterling, and Gerrard, a luxury he did not have in Swansea.

One thing he can forget about is taking pens.  He enjoyed the padding of his stats last season with four of them, for us he will be at least third in line behind Gerrard and Sturridge, with Coutinho probably getting the nod over him if the Brazilian is on the pitch.

Will his signing actually happen? I'm not holding my breathe, but if does, suck it Tottenham.

https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=0B0oQNIr-YdiyVWVyY2t3T2R3VVE

Alexis Sanchez & Arsenal: A match made in delusional heaven

Whether this Goal article has even an ounce of truth to it, it is still amusing.  In it, apparently Alexis Sanchez claims he chose Arsenal because 'With [Mesut] Ozil in the squad Arsenal were [close] to winning the league title. I hope I can make a contribution so we can win as many titles as possible.' Now that's comedy at it's finest.  He must not be aware that the Gooners finished fourth last season.

He also says about Wenger, 'I was told that he is a manager you can learn a lot with. He wants to achieve great things in football and that helped me make the decision to sign for Arsenal.' Wenger was great, 10 or so years ago, but he's well past it now.  Just ask Bendtner or Chamakh how great a teacher he is.

The sad thing is, Arsenal supporters think he will actually be able to improve their club.  If he's so great why did Barcelona want to off-load him? Do you think it may be because he was part of their epic down slide last season when they won not a single trophy for the first time in six seasons? In fact, in the three seasons he was with Barca, they won a total of six honours.  For most clubs, that would be impressive, but Barca averaged a full trophy more the three seasons before including winning two Champions Leagues and La Liga every season.  They won no Cl and only one La Liga title with Sanchez.

I guess that makes them a perfect fit.  On one hand you have a club that won it's first major trophy in nine years last season, almost finished third in the league, and have Mesut Ozil, and on the other you have a player who is okay with his team not performing up to par of their previous seasons' title and cup-winning standards.  If all goes as plans, the Gunners will finish fifth and make the League Cup final.

Is Marco Reus the 'dream signing'?

It seems some people believe that Marco Reus would be the 'dream signing' for us.  Well, other than the fact that he would cost at least £35m to sign him, yes, he would be a great pick up, but do we really need him? I don't think so, he is a better all-round attacking midfielder than Sterling and Coutinho, but he's also 6 years older than the former and 3 years senior the latter. Let's look at their outputs from last season:

	Marco Reus	Coutinho	Sterling
age	25	22	19
app(subs)	26(4)	28(5)	24(9)
mins	2208	2323	2220
p90	24.5	25.8	24.7
goals	16	5	9
assist	13	7	5
chances	90	64	51
npgp90	0.41	0.19	0.36
gcp90	1.18	0.47	0.57
ccp90	3.67	2.5	2.06
ap90	0.53	0.27	0.2
ccv	14.4	10.8	9.7
pass%	74.5	80.6	81.7
bp%	44.5	36.7	46.8
sacc%	43.6	28.7	48.9
shot%	14.5	7	20
TTI90	17.6	11	12.1
gap90	1.27	1.43	1.26
gsp90	2.41	3.02	2.8
gop90	1.14	1.59	1.54
tgop	1.24	1.32	1.32

Stats definitions can be found here.

Reus seriously dominates the individual p90s, his 3.67 chance created per 90 is impressive alone, but 14.4% of those are converted into goals, better than both his above counterparts.  His passing overall could improve and probably the most perplexing stat is his goals on pitch 90 being -0.10 less than his team's gop average. Also his true turnover rate is a dismal 17.6, mainly due to his errant passing and being easily dispossessed.

Do we really need to spend £35m on an attacking midfielder? Don't get me wrong, I understand we can play him 'in the hole' behind Sturridge, but we could also you those funds to buy better defenders and not have to try and outscore all of our opponents.  Plus I think we need to give Sterling, Coutinho, and even Jordan Henderson as much time on the pitch as possible to so they can become as good as Reus is now.

Ben Davies is the Welsh Jon Flanagan

Apparently plan C to sign a left back is Ben Davies, 21-year-old Welsh International who plays for the Swans.  His stats from last season are eerily similar to those of our Jon Flanagan.

	Davies	Flanagan
age	21	21
app(subs)	32(2)	23
mins	2874	1890
p90	31.9	21
goals	2	1
assist	1	1
chances	31	13
npgp90	0.06	0.05
gcp90	0.09	0.1
ccp90	0.97	0.62
ap90	0.03	0.05
ccv	3.1	8.1
pass%	84.3	83.7
bp%	35.9	42.6
sacc%	33.3	42.9
shot%	22.2	14.3
TTI90	9.7	9.2
gap90	1.47	1.81
gsp90	1.45	3
gop90	-0.02	1.19
tgop	0	1.32
tp90	2.38	3.8
tack %	42.1	45.7
intp90	1.97	1.9
clrp90	3.51	3.6
dribpp90	1.69	1.9
bsp90	0.34	0.2

Here are stats definitions, if so needed.

So why would we want to bring in Flanagan's statistical doppleganger? Well, Davies  does play for Swansea and though they are respectable, they did not finish second in the league.  Davies would probably benefit from having more skilled teammates and playing in a more attack-minded side.

I think it all comes down to cost.  He is only 21 and having both he and Flanagan cover the left back position for the next 8 or so years certainly is appealing.  They could even play together with one playing the wing and possibly interchanging during a match, but as I said prior, it's all about the quid.

Funny enough, Davies is valued at around £5m while Flanagan is only worth £1m.  Strange how the transfer market works, I guess it is believed that the Welshman has a bigger upside.  I can't see anybody paying more than £8m for Davies and even that is probably too much.  I don't know, I think I'd rather see us splash the cash for a sexier pick or just hold off until one falls into our hands.