Striker Stats … Where does Eduardo rank?
I wrote a post earlier regarding our strikers and how they measure up against each other in different categories. The one main statistic that matters the most has to be the Goals per 90 minutes.
Goals per 90 minutes is a more accurate measure than overall goals or goals per game. It is a better measurement of how much impact a player has for every 90 minutes he is on the field. Our main man in this category is Eduardo. He had a 0.78 goals per 90 minute average up until the Everton game. Following the West Ham game, his ratio increased because he scored a goal in the 63 minutes he lasted. I decided to see how his new average ranks in comparison to the other top scorers in the league. This measure is for all games played by the team, which includes any domestic or European cups.
Here are the results -
Ronaldo is having his best season to date. He has been banging in goals at every opportunity. He is also having more shots per game than any other player from this list.
Torres has been proving his worth more with every game. He may have scored less goals than Adebayor in the league, but you have to put in mind Benitez’s rotation policy which limited his minutes. Although Liverpool have played more games than Manchester, he has 200 minutes less than Ronaldo and 100 less than Adebayor. Add to that the fact that he is in his first season in England, where players usually need a season to adjust.
Our recent goal scoring machine comes in 3rd with his 10 goals in all competitions.
The rest of the stats tell us that Berbatov isn’t as great as many people make him to be. Keane scored 2 goals against Anorthis Famagusta and 1 against Hapoel Tel Aviv in the eufa cup. Getting the opportunity to play against pub teams like those can boost anyone’s average.
Tim Cahill is much better than most people make him to be. He did not play in August or September but has still managed to score 9 goals, and the goals per 90 mins shows how good he is, especially as a midfielder.
Anelka seems like he’s very overrated, but you have to remember that his team is really shit, so being able to get those goals without much support should be something to consider.
Rooney comes second after Ronaldo in shots per 90 minutes, but his goals per 90 mins average is almost half that of Ronaldo’s.
As I said in the earlier post, just like most stats, there are many variables that affect this average, so it is only an indication of how good these players are. Although looking at the top three, you realize the quality!
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I am surprised by Torres, I really didn’t think he would have an impact in the premier league.
His most productive season in La Liga he had 19 Goals from 35 games which is almost identical to his ratio at Liverpool.
Meanwhile Eduardo has dropped way down from is Dynamo days
Michael, I wasn’t so sure about him either, especially after seeing people like Morientes and Luque shoot blanks after successes in Spain.
I wasn’t doubting his ability, just being able to adapt to the English game.
I thought and still think of him as an excellent buy for any club, not just for the football and goals he brings, but also his marketability. This player is young, talented, has the European flair, and most important, is good looking.
Look what Beckham did for Manchester in terms of shirt and ticket sales worldwide, Torres could be that for a club like Liverpool with such a wide Asian fan base.
The fact that the rest of the team look like cartoon characters in Crouch, Kuyt, Gerrard and so on makes him more of a marketable player.
Eduardo is really very clinical with his finishes… Hopefully, he is going to be up there in the Premership goal scoring chats. Cahill is actually second top scorer in his team that’s if he isn’t the joint top scorer with Yakubu. Cahill is really impressive. Torres is just a machine a goal scoring machine to top that, he scores most of them with his individual brilliance …
Nice stuff man!!
Great effort!
Keep it coming, good site.
Good analysis. Do you get the Actim stats? Check the Telegraph.co.uk after Premiership games and there is useful analysis on passes, assists, attempted assists, % successful passes, balls won, etc.
Would help your site if you included these or some of the key stats.
Hello webmaster Good and nice Liverpool Arsenal articles
[…] Arsenal Way, while having not hit the heights of fame (yet), came onto the scene with some surprisingly in-depth statistical analysis of the then-man of the moment, Eduardo da Silva. Since then, the blog has come along in a modest […]
These stats are wrong. Here’s why: You can only compare in individual competitions. If you didn’t your analysis would be biased against teams not in Europe, and biased for teams who’re playing more competitions. It’s easier to score 6 goals in the Carling cup than it is in the Premier League. Ronaldo might have faced a weaker Champions League group than Torres. So you’re comparing apples and oranges, to further abuse that tired cliché.
If you did a competition by competition analysis, you’d find that Adebayor has long been the best in the Premier League and Eduardo has not done quite as well.
You cannot judge a player by just his goals, but by his contribution to the team! Ronaldo is simply the best player in the EPL. He contibutes with goals, and assists. Ade is the top striker in the EPL. He contributes much more than our clinical finisher Edu.
Who can Arsenal live without at the moment…(or since 1st of Jan 2008): Edu or Adebayor?? I think you know the answer. Last game: Ade - 2 goals and one assist. Assist was for Edu.
I think that is how you judge a player. He does more than just scoring.
Wenger’s words:
And, when you consider that Robin van Persie has been out for much of 2007 while Eduardo and Nicklas Bendtner have been undergoing a process of adaptation for much of the current campaign, it is easy to see why Wenger heaped praise on the 24-year-old at his pre-match press conference ahead of the Manchester City game.
“Adebayor is the best striker in the Premier League at the moment,” said the Frenchman. “He’s mobile, he’s quick, he’s not scared and he’s brave. For me that’s a fantastic quality, especially in England.
“He doesn’t get enough credit for his touch. He has good feet, quick feet, and is a complete striker. He can still improve the timing of his runs as he sometimes gets caught offside, and, just with that, he can score 10 more goals each season.
“He’s a strong character in the dressing room and a winner. He’s a guy who made mistakes at the start of his career, and has realised here that there’s another life rather than being easy.
“He smells that he can win, and is a winner. When he realised that he could live in the big world of top-class football players it changed him, and today he’s a different animal, mainly mentally. He realised he wasted some time and it was time for him to be serious…