Five Star Strikers: Suarez & Carroll compared to rivals!

Last updated 11th May 2011

So our second and brief update will include stats from the matches from this weekend involving Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City. We’ve analysed our season accumulation in the stats centre and the stats table has been updated as shown below. We’ve also updated the Anfield Index points table below too!

Not much change at all apart from Suarez really increase his shot count and improving his minutes per goal ratio. We were very pleased to see him score that goal because I knew immediately he’d improve these stats (I know, we’re mental in that way – am totally obsessed with his stats).

So Luis Suarez still dominates the points system against his fellow strikers that were transferred in the January transfer window. We wonder how he’d match up against Tevez, Rooney, Berbatov and Hernandez? Maybe that’s our next article?

Just a quick update today just to give you the stats!

 

Last Updated 2nd May 2011

This article is a follow up post to our first Striker Comparison: “Strikers: Value for Money? (Suarez, Bent & Torres)” and will be updated every week (if possible) with the latest stats on the five strikers bought in the January transfer window. So we’ve updated the stats after a two week break (was away on vacation) and there are some changes as both Edin Dzeko and Fernando Torres opened their accounts with their first Premiership goals for their respective clubs.

If you’re not familiar with the Anfield Index points system this is what we set it to in the earlier post:

We’re going to be going through the following statistical categories: Pass Frequency, Shot Accuracy, Minutes per shot, Chances created, Minutes per created chance etc. The points will be allocated as follows:

• 1st place gets 5 points
• 2nd place gets 4 points
• 3rd place gets 3 points
• 4th place gets 2 points
• 5th place gets 1 point

 

Pass Frequency

Luis Suarez leads this category again. He’s averaging a pass every 2.1 minutes whilst the others are averaging as follows:

1. Suarez: Pass every 2.2 minutes (5 points)
2. Carroll: Pass every 2.9 minutes (4 points)
3. Dzeko: Pass every 2.6 minutes (3 points)
4. Torres: Pass every 3.6 minutes (2 points)
5. Bent: Pass every 4.6 minutes (1 point)

Suarez was the only player to improve his statistics out of the five star strikers. All of the others didn’t improve their stats although Torres, Dzeko and Carroll haven’t played much football since then. Torres and Dzeko have either been subbed or been a substitute and Carroll was injured for the last game Vs Birmingham.

 

Minutes per Shot

The minutes per shot statistic will provide some context to see how often these “Five-Star” strikers are actually taking shots and this will be complimented with the minutes per shot on target statistic. Edin Dzeko, despite not playing regularly recently, has improved his figures as he’s had a few shots as a substitute and these have driven up his statistics. He not sits in joint second place with Andy Carroll. The full breakdown is below:

1. Luis Suarez: 23 minutes (5 points)
2. Andy Carroll: 40 minutes (4 points)
3. Edin Dzeko: 40 minutes (4 points)
4. Fernando Torres: 43 minutes (3 points)
5. Darren Bent: 54 minutes (2 points)

Luis Suarez is still the most active striker out of the five with a shot every 23 minutes. All of the other strikers are averaging just short of twice of that and Darren Bent more than twice of that. This was a Liverpool side that wasn’t creating many chances and found it difficult in the Hodgson era to really get going. With the new owners ringing the changes at management level and with the Torres out Suarez/Carroll in deal everything seems to be going in the right direction at Liverpool. In January a lot of people looked at Liverpool and thought that the loss of Torres would mean that they would finish mid-table. Little did they know that Suarez would turn out to be Tevez-like and help Liverpool soar up the table to fifth place.

 

Minutes per Shot on Target

The minutes per shot on target show a different story that will tell which player is working the opposition goalkeepers or scoring goals most often throughout each match:

1. Luis Suarez: 44 minutes (5 points)
2. Andy Carroll: 60 minutes (4 points)
3. Darren Bent: 75 minutes (3 points)
4. Edin Dzeko: 86 minutes (2 points)
5. Fernando Torres: 111 minutes (1 point)

Luis Suarez keeps top spot and the only change is between the bottom two. Fernando Torres now bottom despite breaking his scoring duck!

Torres moves up the list to 3rd spot as he’s created a few chances over the last few weeks (I’ve been away so not watched but this is what the stats are indicating). Darren Bent is still at the bottom of this list proving he’s very one dimensional and is only in the team as a striker and nothing else. We’d definitely take Suarez over Bent. Suarez has played less and scored three and created three goals which doesn’t even include the amount of work he does on the pitch for Liverpool FC.

 

Summary

As the table shows below, Luis Suarez still leads the way with Fernando Torres dropping to the bottom of the list despite scoring his first goal for Chelsea. The one problem at the moment is that Torres & Dzeko are not getting enough game time which means they can’t really improve their statistics but overall all of the averages are calculated by what they’ve done on the pitch versus their game time.

Andy Carroll is still in second place despite not playing for a few games so it doesn’t seem to have affected his statistics. Funny that Torres is in a side fighting for the Premier League title whilst being bottom of this index! Darren Bent is in 3rd scoring goals as he’s expected to do but as an all round forward Luis Suarez is really leading the way.

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This is a follow up post to our first Striker Comparison: “Strikers: Value for Money? (Suarez, Bent & Torres)”

Due to popular demand we’re back with this article but this time, as requested, we’ve added Manchester City’s Edin Dzeko and Liverpool’s Andy Carroll to the mix. The results haven’t really changed that much from the earlier articles but there are some fascinating stats on the newcomers so sit back, relax and get ready to take in some Five Star Striker statistics!

In a record breaking transfer window we witnessed a whole host of strikers being transferred. Two of the strikers were highly coveted from Europe in Edin Dzeko and Luis Suarez (famous for his handball Vs Ghana in the World Cup). Here’s a list in order of highest cost* to their respective clubs:

1. Fernando Torres – £50m – British Record Transfer Fee
2. Andy Carroll – £35m – Record Transfer Fee for English Player
3. Edin Dzeko – £27m – from Wolfsburg
4. Darren Bent – £24m – including add-ons
5. Luis Suarez – £23.5m – including add-ons (source: LFC.TV)

(*Fees taken from various sources on the internet – apologies if inaccurate)

The Five Star Strikers combined are worth a staggering £159.5m! Let’s see how they’ve done since joining their new clubs in the January Transfer Window. If you’ve not read any of our other articles when comparing strikers we’ll be concentrating on the shots on target, off target, how many minutes per shot the strikers averaged etc. We will also looking at their passing and creativity.

From the statistics displayed above you can see that the Liverpool strikers, Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll, are holding their own whilst Fernando Torres and Edin Dzeko are really struggling to make an impact at their new clubs. Edin Dzeko has at least made two goals in his first nine games for Manchester City. Fernando Torres has also struggled to create any goal and has found it difficult to create chances also although Darren Bent created the least.

Darren Bent has scored the most goals with six since joining Aston Villa from Sunderland, whilst Carroll and Suarez are both on two goals each. The shot accuracy stat is led by Darren Bent with 7o% of his shots on target and Andy Carroll is in second place with 60%.  Suarez has a percentage of 54% which is third placed in this competition.

What we’re going to do is introduce is an Anfield Index points system. We’re going to be going through the following statistical categories: Pass Frequency, Shot Accuracy, Minutes per shot, Chances created, Minutes per created chance etc. The points will be allocated as follows:

• 1st place gets 5 points
• 2nd place gets 4 points
• 3rd place gets 3 points
• 4th place gets 2 points
• 5th place gets 1 point

Pass Frequency

Luis Suarez leads the passing stakes. He’s averaging a pass every two minutes (just over) or around 41 per game whilst the others averaging as follows:

1. Suarez: Pass every 2.2 minutes (5 points)
2. Carroll: Pass every 2.8 minutes (4 points)
3. Dzeko: Pass every 2.7 minutes (3 points)
4. Torres: Pass every 3.8 minutes (2 points)
5. Bent: Pass every 4.4 minutes (1 point)

To add some context to these stats; they clearly display that Suarez and Carroll are more involved in the games than their counterparts. Shocking that Darrent Bent only passes the ball every 4.4 minutes? Not very involved in the game at all. A problem holding the ball up maybe?

Shots

Suarez has become Liverpool’s version of Carlos Tevez. His work rate, passion and skill are there for all to see. He will attempt to shoot from anywhere. He’ll make room for himself with a dummy or by skinning a defender and that’s not all. He also has a very mean set piece with his free kicks being very accurate (one of which resulted in Dirk Kuyt’s hat trick goal).

Darren Bent is also impressive although has played almost 300 minutes more than Suarez but we’ll go into that a little more with the next statistical category. It would be unfair to give points on the total shots as some players have played more than others which is why the minutes per shot is a fairer comparison.

Minutes per Shot

The minutes per shot statistic will provide some context to see how often these “Five-Star” strikers are actually taking shots and this will be complimented with the minutes per shot on target statistic. The Liverpool boys have the best numbers in these statistics with Luis Suarez ahead on the minutes per shot statistic averaging, just, 23 minutes per attempt on goal. Impressive figures. Any Carroll is next with an average of 34 minutes per shot. The full breakdown is below:

1. Luis Suarez: 23 minutes (5 points)
2. Andy Carroll: 34 minutes (4 points)
3. Fernando Torres: 38 minutes (3 points)
4. Edin Dzeko: 48 minutes (2 points)
5. Darren Bent: 48 minutes (2 points)

After analysing those figures it’s quite staggering that Luis Suarez is averaging twice as many shots as Darren Bent. Torres’ figures are encouraging with 38 minutes per shot but still no where near his best. We would expect him to match Luis Suarez. Aston Villa have been struggling and this can be reflected in Darren Bent’s statistics with the amount of shots. The fact that he’s scored 6 so far is a very good return.

Minutes per Shot On Target

The minutes per shot on target show a different story that will tell which player is working the opposition goalkeepers or scoring goals most often throughout each match:

1. Luis Suarez: 44 minutes (5 points)
2. Andy Carroll: 57 minutes (4 points)
3. Darren Bent: 68 minutes (3 points)
4. Fernando Torres: 114 minutes (2 points)
5. Edin Dzeko: 143 minutes (1 point)

Fernando Torres and Edin Dzeko’s performance is very poor. They are playing for, arguably, two out of the top four teams in the league so their teams should be creating plenty of chances but these two players seem to be lacking confidence. We’re sure a goal off of the shin or any other body part will start the flow of goals for either player.

Shooting Accuracy

As you can see from the stats above, the shot accuracy stat is led by a Darrent Bent who is averaging a 70% shots on target. Andy Carroll has an impressive rate of 60% shots on target. Not bad for the five appearances he’s had so far. The two goals against Manchester City have really improved Andy’s statistics.

Fernando improved his stats from the last game as he had three shots on target which has pushed his shooting accuracy to 33% whereas it was languishing in at the 8 or 9% mark a few weeks ago. Amazing what a couple of shots on target can do for your statistics! Any which way you look at these stats they are not pleasant reading for Torres or Dzeko fans.

Shot Accuracy breakdown

1. Darren Bent – 70% (5 points)
2. Andy Carroll – 60% (4 points)
3. Luis Suarez – 54% (3 points)
4. Fernando Torres – 33% (2 points)
5. Edin Dzeko – 33% (2 points)

 

Goals

What are strikers measured by? Nope, not their attempts on goal or their passing. They are measured by their goals. The disappointing thing for the Premier League is that since January two out of the “Five-Star” strikers still have not netted a goal for their new club. As has been well publicised these two players are Fernando Torres and Edin Dzeko. Neither has looked the potent force that they were at their previous clubs. Fernando Torres looks a shadow of his former self (as the case has been for the last 18 months) and we can’t really comment on Edin Dzeko as we didn’t see much of him in the Bundesliga.

Top Goalscorers:

1. Darren Bent: 6 (5 points)
2. Luis Suarez: 2 (4 points)
3. Andy Carroll: 2 (4 points)
4. Fernando Torres: 0 (3 points)
5. Edin Dzeko: 0 (3 points)

Darren Bent again leads the way here with six goals to his name with Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll tied in second place on two goals each. They could have a little competition at Anfield now with either player trying to score more goals than the other. It can only prove to be a good thing for Liverpool FC.

Minutes per Goal:

1. Darren Bent: 158 minutes (5 points)
2. Andy Carroll: 170 minutes (4 points)
3. Luis Suarez: 328 minutes (3 points)
4. Fernando Torres: 0 minutes (2 points)
5. Edin Dzeko: 0 minutes (2 points)

Andy Carroll’s two goals against Manchester City propelled him to the top of this list in midweek however Darren Bent’s goal on the weekend now see’s him top with a goal every 158 minutes. Andy Carroll is averaging a goal every 1.9 games but this misleading as he’s only netted in one game for Liverpool but just happened to bag a brace in that game. Luis Suarez is averaging a goal every 3.6 games, although he has been unlucky with shots hitting the woodwork and some great saves from keepers. He could easily be leading this group of players. Let’s hope Suarez and Carroll can improve their ratios in the remaining games this season. The other two players are yet to score so unfortunately we don’t have any further stats in this category for them.

Goal Assists

Finally Edin Dzeko reaches the top of the AI points system, for a statistical category, but only just. He’s joint top of the list with Luis Suarez. Both have two assists to their name, according to Opta Stats, however there are a few other Liverpool goals that could have arguably been given to Luis Suarez as an assist (e.g. free kick that led to Kuyt’s hat trick goal etc). Darren Bent comes into second place with one assist this season whilst Torres and Carroll are yet to get off the mark for their new clubs in this category. Points show below:

1. Luis Suarez: 2 assists (5 points)
2. Edin Dzeko: 2 assists (5 points)
3. Darren Bent: 1 assist (4 points)
4. Fernando Torres: 0 assists (3 points)
5. Andy Carroll: 0 assists (3 points)

 

Minutes per Chance Created

The new Liverpool strike duo are again dominating this category averaging a very respectable 41 (Suarez) and 42 (Carroll) minutes per chance created. Edin Dzeko comes in 3rd place with, the Manchester City forward averaging a creation of a chance just over every hour. Torres not far behind either on 65 minutes whilst Darren Bent, who’s not known for his creative side, is languishing at the bottom of this category creating an opportunity for Aston Villa every 136 minutes. The points are as follows:

1. Luis Suarez: 41 mins (5 points)
2. Andy Carrol: 42 mins (4 points)
3. Edin Dzeko: 63 mins (3 points)
4. Fernando Torres: 65 mins (2 points)
5. Darren Bent: 136 mins (1 point)

 

Summary

As expected Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll have had the most impact as signings for their club. They’ve definitely improved Liverpool’s potence in attack and have really provided the much needed cutting edge that Liverpool have missed all season (due to Torres’ loss of form). Fernando Torres’ loss of form is reflected in the AI Points System with him coming bottom of the list. Edin Dzeko gets the penultimate spot with his assists saving him from getting the bottom spot which he also deserves. Darren Bent comes in with the 3rd place as he’s netted some very important goals for Aston Villa and has been very accurate with his shooting. His creativity needs improving which would push him much higher up the list.

Going back to Suarez and Carroll, their strike-partnership has included a little bit of everything. Goals are there, assists and chances are being created and they seem to be passing to each other well (check Neal Cross’s article on the Anfield Index Forum for further details – free registration to all so please do register!)

If you take statistics as gospel, and you support Liverpool FC, you’ll be pleased to know that the statistics state that Liverpool have done the best business over the January Transfer Window when it comes to buying strikers. Aston Villa also got themselves a good deal as Bent is delivering what he was bought to provide; goals!

Edin Dzeko and Fernando Torres are proving to be failures at this point in time (note I said at the moment). It would be crazy to write them off straight away. Both have the class and skill to take the Premiership by storm and as we’ve mentioned earlier, we believe a goal for either of them will really get them flying.

For the moment though, Liverpool fans should be content with the fact that they have obtained the top two performing strikers out of the five strikers bought in January.

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