Match Day Thread Newcastle vs Man Yoo

Aye but if you think any football manager ignores such stats you're talking out ya behind so is worthy of contributing with other things in forming a final opinion. Shelvey is a midfielder with a pass success rate of under or around 70 percent most matches, that is not meaningless. By comparison Merino's is generally 80 or over

 

****ing great win lads. I hope you all enjoyed it. I'm ****ing sure Rafa did. Good luck for the rest of the season, bar against us

 

Shelvey isn't playing for his percentage of sort safe passes though is he? He's picked by mangers for the fact that that 1 ball in 50 will create a goal. If he had all the other stats in order he'd be at a better club in fairness.

 

He does in fairness though, regularly ends up placing himself between defence and midfield and does short passes. I agree the long forward passes will account for a large portion, but Merino also makes his own forward passes that are deemed risky. I dont think Shelvey's talentless, but I do think Merino's outperformed him the majority of the season

 

Certain players are “Opta” stat players. That’s why statistics are only ever a part of any assessment of a player and, for me, not a large part. Playing short 2 yard passes under little pressure may give you good “stats” but demonstrate very little in determining whether that player is any good.

One of the reasons I like Shelvey is that invariably he is looking first and foremost to pass the ball forward and not square or back. This will affect his stats but he is more likely to get you a goal in contrast to the likes of Hayden et al. Beardsley was more likely to get dispossessed whilst dribbling than Batty but i know who i preferred watching and he didn’t come from Yorkshire.

I’ve always had a preference, probably like most people, for attacking, flair type players and will give them more latitude than other players but that’s only fair as whilst there is skill in defending there is a lot more skill required for one person to break down a well drilled team of defenders plus it’s just plain more enjoyable to watch.