Five Biggest Premier League Disappointments this Season
Yesterday, we looked at the five most improved players in
the Premiership this season. Conversely, while many players have excelled this
season and put in standout performances, there are a number of players that
have failed to reach the heights that they showed last season.
As a fair comparison, we will use the same criteria as the
most improved article. So, using the player rating data from the excellent WhoScored, we can take a look at which players have reduced their
rating by the greatest amount from last season. As a small number of
appearances can unfairly skew the data, we will only include players that
played a part in at least 65% of matches last season and 65% of matches this
season. This works out at 25 matches last season and 18 matches this season.
Again, it is important to remember that this is not a list
of the worst players in the Premiership, rather those that have shown the biggest
drop in performance from last season. We have a number of honourable mentions,
or should that be dishonourable, for five players that just missed out on the
list – Matthew Etherington (6.6 to 6.31), Joleon Lescott (6.88 to 6.58), Ali
Al-Habsi (6.58 to 6.27), Danny Welbeck (7.1 to 6.77) and Wayne Rooney (7.8 to
7.42).
Two players also just missed out on the list by having
played one too few matches this season. These players were Emmanuel Adebayor,
Junior Hoilett.
5. Sergio Aguero
Last Season’s
Rating: 7.46
This Season’s
Rating: 7.04
Rating Increase:
-0.42
It was a stunning debut season for Sergio Aguero. He scored
twenty-three goals in thirty-four appearances for Manchester City, most notable
that injury time winner against QPR that sealed the title. Added to this, there
were also eight assists, meaning that he was directly involved in 33% of
Manchester City’s goals. In a team with so many creative players and scorers,
this is a very impressive tally.
However, he has struggled to match those stellar feats in
the current campaign. Twenty-three appearances have yielded nine goals, an
average of 0.39 goals per game, significantly down from the 0.68 of last
season. He has also created just two goals for teammates. Interesting, this
does mean that he has still been involved in almost 50% of City’s goals this
season, perhaps indicative of why they are virtually out of the title race.
Last season, he was rated as the 7th best player
in the league, while this season, he has slipped to 63rd. Clearly,
he has not necessarily had a bad season, but it has been far from the
achievements of last year. One explanation for the lack of goals could be the
fact that he is shooting less regularly. Last season, he averaged 3.8 shots per
game, putting him fifth overall in the division. This time around, he is
averaging just 3.1 shots per game, slipping down to thirteenth overall. While
this may seem a relatively small decrease, over the 23 matches that he has
played this season, it works out at 16 shots fewer. This season, he has
averaged a goal every 12.5 shots, so it would work out at at least one or two
extra goals come the end of the season.
He is also making fewer key passes as well. Last season, he
averaged 1.7 key passes per match, placing him 31st overall in the
division. This season, this has dropped to just 1.3, falling twenty places to
51st. Interestingly, he is passing the ball less and running with
the ball more. His dribbles have increased from 1.6 to 2.0 per match, although
this has come with an associated increase in the number of times that he is
dispossessed each match, rising from 2.8 to 3.3.
Clearly the injuries that he has picked on and off through
the season have not helped, but he does seem to be struggling to match the
wonderful performances of last season. Whether defenders have begun to work out
how to stop him remains to be seen, but his drop in form is one of the key
factors in Manchester City’s struggles to retain their title.
4. Antonio Valencia
Last Season’s
Rating: 7.40
This Season’s
Rating: 6.95
Rating Increase:
-0.45
Antonio Valencia was one of the unexpected standout players
of last season. His magnificent performances on the right wing created numerous
chances for his strikers, as demonstrated by the thirteen assists that he
picked up in just 27 appearances. Indeed, only David Silva created more assists
for his teammates. He was also able to chip in four goals for his team.
However, this season has been a real comedown for the
Ecuadorian. Twenty-one appearances have harvested just four assists and no
goals, with only one of those assists coming since the start of November.
One of the key reasons for this drop in productiveness is
the decline in the number of key passes that he has played this season. Last
year, he averaged an impressive 2.4 key passes per match, putting him sixth in
the Premiership. However, this season has seen just 1.4 key passes per match –
a figure that registers just 44th in the division, just behind the
likes of Barry Bannan and Mark Noble.
This decrease is closely associated with a fall in the
quality and quantity of his crossing. As one of the best out-and-out wingers in
the division, Valencia relies on his crossing to provide a number of chances
for his teammates. Last season, he was delivering around 1.7 successful crosses
per match at around a 25% success rate. However, this season, it has dropped to
just 1.2 successful crosses per match at around a 20% success rate. Not only is
he delivering less crosses in total, the success rate of those that he puts in
has fallen as well.
This could be related to a change in the style of play that
United have adopted this season. Sir Alex Ferguson has much preferred to play
the likes of Welbeck and Rooney in deeper and wider positions, reducing the
demand for a true winger in the style of Valencia. Therefore, he has generally
played much of his football in a deeper position, seeing far less of the ball.
He is averaging over ten passes fewer per match than last season, suggesting
that he is far less of an important part of the team in the current campaign.
3. Joe Allen
Last Season’s
Rating: 7.11
This Season’s
Rating: 6.61
Rating Increase:
-0.50
Joe Allen was one of the revelations of last season. In his
first season in the Premiership, he was the key cog in the Swansea team that
impressed everyone with their attractive passing football. His performances
were such that Brendan Rodgers was willing to spend £15m to take him with him
to Liverpool. However, his performances have struggled to match those of last
season.
Last season, there were just nine midfielders that averaged
more passes per match than Joe Allen, and of those, only his Swansea teammate Leon
Britton had a higher pass completion rate. Allen’s 60.5 passes per match at a
91.2% completion rate were an exceptional set of statistics. However, one might
argue that with just two assists, many of his passes failed to come in a
dangerous area of the field, with his 1.3 key passes per match putting him just
59th in the division.
However, this season, these statistics have dropped. Just
54.4 passes per game sees him drop down to 18th in the league and
while his 90.1% pass completion rate is still impressive, it sees him drop to 9th
amongst midfielders in the division. In addition, his key passes have dropped
further to just 0.8 per match, suggesting that he is not providing a great deal
of threat to the opposition goal.
While he was never a regular threat on goal at Swansea with
just 1.1 shots per game on average and four goals during the season, this has
also dropped further this season. He is
averaging just 0.4 shots per game and is yet to score in the current campaign.
Whether the fact that Joe Allen is no longer the standout
midfielder in the team as he was at Swansea is making a difference is yet to be
seen. With the likes of Steven Gerrard, Stewart Downing and Lucas Leiva
alongside him, it seems as though he is content merely to allow them to run the
midfield.
Either way, he is not showing the attacking or creative threat
that he showed last season, seemingly content to play safer and less
threatening passes, perhaps believing in the hype that he received. Liverpool
will be hoping that he will grow into the role, otherwise they could be looking
at another expensive failure.
2. Charlie Adam
Last Season’s
Rating: 7.00
This Season’s
Rating: 6.45
Rating Increase:
-0.55
After a relatively difficult season at Anfield, Charlie Adam
would have been hopeful of rediscovering the form that he showed at Blackpool.
Twelve goals and eight assists in the 2010/11 season shot him to prominence and
won him a move to Liverpool. However, two goals and six assists in 28
appearances did not do him justice and he was moved on to Stoke this summer.
However, he has struggled to make an impact at the Britannia
Stadium. For such a creative player, the fact that he has no created a single
assist this season really sums up what a miserable campaign he has had. Last
season, he averaged 49.0 passes per match. This figure put him at 37th
in the Premiership and was top of all the Liverpool midfielders. However, this
season, he has averaged just 30.8 passes per match, a huge 18.2 passes fewer
each game. As one might expect, this has come with a similar fall in the number
of key passes, down from 1.9 to 1.1 per match.
The crosses that he has put into the box show a similar
decline. While he is certainly not a winger, his technical ability means that
he is capable of delivering some high quality balls into the area. He averaged
1.3 successful crosses per match at an average success rate of 21.8% during his
year at Anfield. At Stoke, he has delivered just 0.6 successful crosses per
match at a success rate of just 14.4%. Given that Stoke have some big strikers
that are dangerous in the air, you would expect this to have increased this
season, rather than the alarming drop that we have seen.
There has also been a disturbing increase in the number of
times that Adam turns the ball over per match. At Liverpool, he kept possession
very efficiently, with just 0.4 turnovers per match. At Stoke, this has trebled
to 1.2 per match.
The style of football that Stoke play could certainly have
played a big role in Adam’s decline. They prefer to play the ball long to the
strikers, bypassing the midfield. This directly negated Adam’s strengths in
bringing the ball down and playing incisive passes for players to run onto.
Interestingly, he is actually playing fewer long balls and fewer successful
long balls at Stoke. However, this could likely be explained by the fact that,
at Liverpool, he was playing searching balls out to the wingers, or over the
top for Suarez to run on to. At Stoke, he does not have the strikers to run
onto through balls, as shown by the fact that he has not made a single
successful through ball this season.
If Charlie Adam wants to rediscover the form that clinched
his move to Anfield, it seems likely that he needs to find a team that will
utilise his strengths more effectively. At Stoke, his style of play clashes
with that of the team as a whole, and it is no surprise that amongst
midfielders that have started at least fifteen matches, he is ranked third from
bottom.
1. Samir Nasri
Last Season’s
Rating: 7.23
This Season’s
Rating: 6.66
Rating Increase:
-0.57
Samir Nasri was another player that enjoyed an excellent
first season at Manchester City, helping them to clinch the title on the final
day. His five goals and nine assists in thirty matches certainly came as a
positive for the side and, on his day, he can destroy defences.
However, he has struggled to show that ability in the
current campaign. Just one goal and three assists in nineteen appearances are
poor for a player of his standard. Even more so when you consider that he
scored and created an assist on the opening day in a 3-2 win against
Southampton. That means that he has created just two goals in eighteen
appearances since then.
One of the obvious areas where he has fallen down this
season is his passing and overall involvement in the matches. Last season, he
was a key creative threat for Manchester City, as demonstrated by the 52.9
passes he averaged per match at an astonishing 91.1% completion rate. That puts
him in the top 25 for total passes and the top 5 for completion rate. This
season though, he is making just 39.5 passes per match, although interestingly
his pass completion is identical at 91.1%. However, the total passes per match
figure sees him drop to 91st in the league for this season.
The total key passes have also dropped from 2.5 last season
to 1.8 this season. Combining all this, it would seem that he is seeing less of
the ball, and he is playing safer and less creative passes when he does receive
it. While this could be due to the fact that defences are playing deeper
against City, forcing them to play simple passes in front of the defenders, it
does show that they have lost a great deal of his creative threat.
This is backed up by the fact that he is dribbling the ball
no more often this season. Had this been higher, we could have surmised that he
was keeping the ball to himself more often, rather than passing, but it would
just seem that he is no longer the player that City look to give the ball to
when they are looking to create something.
He is also far less of a goal threat this season. His shots
per match have dropped from 1.9 to 0.9 this season, which could certainly help
to explain why he has failed to chip in with more goals in the current campaign.
Whether his decline is due to the fact that he is receiving
the ball less often, or whether he is being given the ball less often because
he is struggling to do anything when he receives it, is difficult to determine.
Either way though, it is clear that Nasri is no longer the threat that he was
last season, and this drop in creative talent could explain why City have often
failed to break teams down this season.
Thanks to www.whoscored.com for all ratings and statistics
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