Thetownend.com

Don’t know if many are interested, but there is a whole host of stats available nowadays so I thought I’d post a few here.

Ben Garner’s @Official_STFC boast the highest average possession (57.9%) in @SkyBetLeagueTwo as well as the best pass completion rate (80.9%).

Meanwhile, the Robins have won the fewest aerial duels per game (15) in the fourth tier #STFC

Entrances into opponent's box (LG2: 2021/22) 📥⤵️

85 - Mansfield
78 - Salford
77 - Bradford
71 - Forest Green
69 - Rochdale
57 - Carlisle
56 - Port Vale
56 - Walsall
53 - Swindon
53 - Barrow

Here’s a surprising one

League Two 2021/22 Passes Completed:

1. Dion Conroy - 257
2. Jason Lowe - 249
3. Aaron Morley - 226
4. Stephen McLaughlin - 217
5. Matty Lund - 212

Statto, Statto, Statto.....

I don't like that Mansfield stat  >:(
Then again they have played Bristol 'wooden spoon' Rovers already.

Had a bit of bants with a gas head at the depot yesterday. I told him that Barton should stop hitting his missus and get their forwards hitting the net instead otherwise they’ll be National League next season. He did say they were in for a torrid time but was confident they’d finish above the drop but below half way. On current form they’re going down but I think he’s right. I also told how we laughed at their walk fest over the PPP and TBF he said that was a fair summary of how he saw it but thought there were better options for them to get in but didn’t elaborate who. In any case I didn’t have that much time to gas with the gas so left it there, he is a decent level headed young chap though and nowhere near a thug.

Be interesting to see the breakdown of how Mansfield enter the opposition box - particular as we’ve won the fewest aerial duals.

If they are pumping it in high - either centrally or from outwide they could cause us problems.

However, I’m guessing the ‘aerial duals’ stat is a number rather than a percentage? So potentially we aren’t winning aerial duals because we are having so much possession.

Infact - just because we’ve won the fewest aerial duals in total doesn’t even mean we have a poor percentage of winning those aerial duals...

Just spotted a name change  :girlgiggle:

The Conroy stat isn't really so surprising Aud, when Town tend to play the ball out from the back regularly.

Just from that it hints toward the player/s is/are playing to some form of coherent instruction or for better words "game plan"; unlike last season when Johnny Alcoholic took the reins.

Town's CBs should have a high pass completion rate (if good at passing) compared to teams that play hoofball obviously. It also might nod towards the Town defence allowing teams to create more chances though. Thankfully at present those attacks are not resulting in many goals conceded - so by design, Conroy and any other defenders are having more opportunities to pass the ball.

It would be interesting to know Towns number of goal kicks to date too. It should correlate fairly nicely with the Conroy passing stat.

Entrances into opponent's box  :girlgiggle: :girlgiggle:

Reminds me of the Brian Moore commentary classic "and Seaman's dribbling out of the box"   :girlgiggle:

I like the old cricket classic, the bowlers Holding the batsmans Willey.

.

https://youtu.be/9VCJVZ2I9zY

Top of the tippy tappy table!

10+ pass sequences from open play (LG2: 2021/22) 🔥

45 - Swindon
37 - Tranmere
36 - Forest Green
35 - Stevenage
33 - Salford
31 - Rochdale
24 - Leyton Orient
21 - Mansfield
20 - Walsall
19 - Colchester
17 - Oldham
17 - Bristol R

Dion Conroy stays top of the completed passes table, too.

This can be used to passing and possession equally.

(https://www.azquotes.com/picture-quotes/quote-possession-means-nothing-when-the-opponent-takes-its-chances-franz-beckenbauer-70-54-21.jpg)

Luckily in L2 they don't have the finishing quality of the players in L1 or it could be a different story as they tend to punish mistakes far more often, long may it continue.

Ain’t that the truth. Wonder how we’d get on in L1 playing as we do.

TBH I think every team we have played so far in L2 barring Scunthorpe who were dreadful, should probably have scored at least 2 goals witht he chances created.

We seem to be putting away most of the clear cut chances we have created so though, last season we created a similar number of chances per game but almost every time the opposition had a shot it went in or every mistake we made was capitalized upon too.

I think thats THE main difference between teams in L1 and L2, which is why a team with a good 20+ goal scorer in their team will almost always be challenging near the top of L2, not that every team who finish top or near the top will have one of those players but fringe sides who do have one will have a good season (Cambridge with Mullins last year, Tranmere with Norwood before that etc) you could also argue that we wouldnt have won the league without Doyles goals.

However, we did have an experienced right back.
 (RIP Reg)

Strange how stats don’t tell anywhere near the right story

Alternative data sources don't really agree - https://twitter.com/xG_data/status/1431891875062030337

I'm generally more positive on xG than most on here, but I suspect at L2 level the data gathering is... not as comprehensive as it might be in the top tiers.

Here’s another one

Most carries* per 90 (LG2: 2021/22) 🤤⤵️

19 - Liam Feeney
18 - Alex Newby
18 - Harry McKirdy
18 - Charles Vernam
18 - Jack Payne
18 - Abraham Odoh
16 - Dylan Bahamboula
15 - Callum McManaman
15 - Kaine Kesler

(data @OptaAnalyst)

Interesting stuff; although football stats are a little more subjective than, say, cricket stats. And as some have said; they don't always tell the whole story. e.g. shots 'on' and 'target'; speculative soft shot easily gathered by keeper = Shot On target. Screamer hits the post with keeper well beaten = Shot Off Target. Also, who collates all this stuff? Assume someone somewhere must have the job of watching on video every minute of every game with a list of all the players?

The only stats that matter are the ones that appear in the league table.

We seem to be most dangerous when we turn over possession and do short sharp passing moves to get into dangerous positions which make the passing stats a bit of red herring. All these passes from Conroy and 10 plus passing moves are invariably sideways and backwards inside our own half until invariably we end up boxed in and effectively have to just get rid. I get why we do it to try and get control of the game but in an attacking sense it’s achieving very little and a lot of the passing just seems to be passing for the sake of it and taking unnecessary risks at the back.

is Callum McManaman son of/related to Steve?

Distant but apparently not even met.

Distant relative

Nope, not close.

ah ok

Interesting to see the stats on a monthly basis as the season goes on, per match doesn't tell a story but I'm sure over a month we may see some sort of pattern emerging

Chances created (LG2: 2021/22) 🪄⤵️

42 - Rochdale
41 - Bradford
37 - Leyton Orient
35 - Salford
34 - Mansfield
33 - Swindon
33 - Harrogate
32 - Forest Green
32 - Northampton
30 - Bristol Rovers
27 - Oldham
26 - Exeter

Most chances created (LG2: 2021/22) 🧙‍♂️👇

12 - Stephen McLaughlin
10 - Callum Cooke
9 - Aaron Morley
9 - Andy Cook
9 - Theo Archibald
9 - Jack Payne
8 - Sam Hoskins
8 - George Thomson
8 - Josh Morris
7 - Charles Vernam

As somebody else mentioned already, 'chance' is ambiguous.

It might mean having only the keeper to beat in the box or a speculative shot from distance. Seeing how many 'chances' other teams have against us may also add some perspective.

Don't get me wrong, I think we need more urgency, but I don't think stats tell the whole story.

The complete, and I mean complete, stats for the Stevenage game. What a resource.


https://eflanalysis.com/analysis/the-efl-stats-gallery-league-two-stevenage-vs-swindon-town

I am a sucker for stats. Thanks for this!

Thanks - this is great

Theres been alot moaning about Gladwin which I thought was harsh as he's a unique type of player.  The stats clearly highlight what he is good at, particularly in terms of passes into the box and chances created.   He takes risks and messes up occasionally but need to balance that against the successes.

Amazing information thanks for sharing

there are lies damned lies and statistics

That's an insane amount of info. Fascinating stuff though. Anyone care to translate 'Expected Threat' and 'Smart Passes'? Is there a chart for how many times the 'Get in FORWAAAARD' guy shouts 'Get it FORWAAAARD' per game. xGiF?

Here lies the problem

Entrances into the opponent's box (LG2: 2021/22) 📥

134 - Mansfield
125 - Rochdale
108 - Salford
107 - Bradford
100- Exeter
100 - Port Vale
99 - Forest Green
99 - Carlisle
95 - Leyton Orient
94 - Tranmere
93 - Swindon
93 - Barrow

Manchester Road...300 per night!

Jesus Christ, JJ! That’d be for a month, shirley!

League Two Accurate Short Passes:

1⃣ D. Conroy - 578
2⃣ R. Crichlow - 479
3⃣ L. Reed - 467
4⃣ J. Lowe - 424
5⃣ A. Morley - 404
6⃣ E. O'Connell - 400
7⃣ A. Odimayo - 389
8⃣ J. Falkingham - 352

I see 4 names on that list that we will be making an offer for in January....

Do they have a heat map to complement this showing where these passes were made or where teams enjoy the majority of their possession? That would tell the real story.

We know where they are made. Between the edge of our box and the D of the centre circle & between each other!

Don’t need a heat map for that. Just eyes.

You know that, I know that but the club pedals it like we’re prime Barcelona.

and for balance you pedal it like it's not working

Well it doesn't at home does it....  Teams are happy to let us pass around at the back at our place where there's no pressure on them to be on the front foot and we achieve very little from it.  Away from home it works as we aren't expected to be on the front foot and it frustrates the opposition who want to be on the front foot.

Peddle. It's peddle.

☄ Most accurate long balls in 2021/22 (top 4 tiers; OUTFIELD players):

7⃣7⃣: 🎯@louissreed (73%*)🎯
7⃣2⃣: Oliver Norwood (71%)
7⃣1⃣: Ricardo Santos (53%)
6⃣9⃣: Jack Whatmough (48%)
6⃣7⃣: Dion Conroy (60%)
6⃣5⃣: Jack Powell (46%)

* long pass completion %

But where are Mansfield, Rochdale & Salford in the league!

That was from a month ago. Things change - and they certainly have for STFC. It’s been noticeable that when going forward there are more players taking up forward positions instead of just Simpson and a couple hanging around on the periphery.

It was difficult to see at the time how the team would evolve - or if it could. Me, and a few others, look like we were wrong.

Looks like a big crowd in terms of home fans today, let’s hope today is the day we finally turn up for a home match.

I think fans especially at home crave that bt of excitement, that little spark of genius thats been missing a lot so far at home, McKirdy can suupply that based on current form and could become a real cult hero if it comes off.

Dabre would also get the crowd going if he came off the bench for the last 10 mins but probably without as much direct impact as harry, he would though pick the ball up and run at players and get the crowd behind the team with that bit of excitement.

The addition of Harry McKirdy to the team has given us exactly what we were lacking.

It's a shame he got injured when he did.

Most chances created (LG2: 2021/22) 😎⤵️

78 - Forest Green
74 - Rochdale
69 - Bradford
68 - Swindon
67 - Salford
66 - Sutton
64 - Leyton Orient
64 - Exeter
64 - Northampton
61 - Harrogate
58 - Port Vale
54 - Mansfield

These though are the stats that really count.

Chances converted.
23 - Harrogate
22 - FGR
19 - Port Vale
19 - Orient
18 - Exeter
17 - Sutton
16 - Bradford
16 - Barrow
16 - Swindon
15 - Newport

These tie in very much closer to league position too in the main, with just Tranmere and Northampton in the top 10 teams not represented.

Interestingly enough, with the amount to effort, technology, staff and probably cash, Garner and his management team have at their disposal, they will be acutely aware of all this. What they do about it and when is going to be the key.

May be wrong here, but the 2-2 on Saturday. I don’t remember either keeper making a save.

I do. The stats say your memory is failing.

McKirdy's one on one being a prime example.

And their free header from a corner that went straight at Ward. Among others.

Audrey's having a nightmare, statistically.

I missed the McKirdy one and a header straight at the keeper isn’t a save surely. It’s a catch!

I was thinking the FGR type saves.

Some are a high degree of certainty saves, but we've had enough dodgy keepers in the past three years or so to never count your chickens.

For those of us who regularly shout ‘Just hit the fucking thing’ as we appear to want to walk the ball into the net, here’s an interesting stat

Trouble is that the stats are skewed by the fact that we hit it from distance or lose it when trying to walk it in.

The stats are skewed by the facts?

Football is becoming submerged into technical bollocks.
Load of old shite ........
Makes me laugh - Possession stats 65% v 35% and yet the team with 35% wins the game.
You finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd and you win promotion as simple as that.

The same with all this modern fitness data telling you how far players run etc. Look back at games in the 70's & 80's when teams played with wingers on muddy pitches and tell me they weren't fit!

(https://c.tenor.com/74lPb8mSRQMAAAAC/abe-simpson-abe-simpson-cloud.gif)

Most of them were half pissed and full of fish ‘n chips before they trotted out

But they were still able to play for 90 minutes and didn't roll around like the modern player 

That’s because they didn’t have to run. Nobody ran. Every player was within kicking distance.

The wingers did the running and the big lumps up front scored the goals😀

There’s a reason George Graham was called Stroller

Kammy used to run a lot!

TBF Macari was our first ever manager who made a big point about fitness, he MADE every player run.

That's why I would argue those players would be as fit if not fitter than today's players

I would suggest that in the Championship winning season under Macari we had the fittest players outside of the top division, possibly the fittest players we have ever had even with the latest fitness technology.

But in the main, most players back then were nowhere near as fit as they are now probably.

I agree as years ago centre halfs & centre forwards were mainly big lumps

Different types of fitness though - Macari built stamina.  Today they have more powerful speed - the game is a lot quicker in short spurts constantly.

That was something Dennis Wise focusesd on during his short time here.

‘Short time’  :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick: :Ride On Fatbury's Lovestick:

 :clap: :clap:

Probably so but the amount of games we won by being basically fitter with far more stamina than the opposition is what won us the league.

In comparison to the other clubs none of them could match our fitness levels late in games, we scored a lot of goals form the 70th minute onwards when the opposition were struggling.

Also only having 1 sub named and used probably highlighted our fitness too as teams couldnt bring on subs for 3 or more struggling players later in games as they can now.

My joint favourite player of all time.

Peorstmouth

We weren’t high scorers that season but I don’t remember many moaning about racking up the 1-0s

Keeping the to the 80% bollocks on here today  :D

Can't beat them join them  :pint:

I can remember being in the pub with Sid Sellers and friends after the Sunderland play off final in 1990 and Kammy walked in. The place erupted!

Depends what the facts are though. Classic example of a stat not really telling us much, relative to the point made (implication that we don’t shoot when maybe we should).

All we get from that stat is that on average, our shots are taken further away than other teams. What we’d really want to see is how many shots we take relative to everyone else and the distribution of those shots by distance. My hunch would be that although our average distance is higher, the volume of shots is about the same/lower than most teams, meaning that a higher proportion of shots are taken from distance than closer to goal /in the “danger zone” where statistically you’re more likely to score.

Obviously it’s not hampered us too much so far with the likes of Gladwin,Williams and Reed capable from distance.

That stat in isolation doesn’t prove that we are any more or less shoot on sight than any other team though.

Sorry to get boring on everyone for a moment.

Funny enough I was speaking to Sid only last week about Town stuff, hes a good lad.

He's a really nice guy JJ isnhe still Roofing

Yes mate he is, worked with him back in 82, seems a whole lifetime ago now. at 16 he was the first (mostly) Pompey fan I ever met!

He's doing well to sustain Roofing at our age! Dukey knows him as well😀

All excellent points, type, location and game state also massively important. For example, counter attacking finishes 1v1 against the ‘keeper are frequently better chance than closer in shots through a host of bodies. Headers also. A six-yard header is a decent chance but 10, 12? You might as well give up. Similarly was it a desperation effort when a team is 3-0 down in the 90th minute? Was it central or from the corner flag? Did a couple of 30 yarders distort the data? Could easily happen.

It is good to see that most people are being careful with this kind of aggregate data but you are right to remind people of its limitations as well as its uses.

Boring cunt

 :clap: :clap:

Cracking lad.
Gave up playing Pool a few years back :(

League Two Passing Accuracy (Minimum Ten Starts):

one L. Reed - 86.8%
two D. Conroy - 86.6%
three R. Hunt - 85.6%
four A. Odimayo - 85.6%
five N. Featherstone - 85%

Very interesting statistics, given how much flak Odimayo in particular, but all our players get during matches for inaccurate passing!@

I suspect the stats are heavily skewed by passing short distance s across the back to each other when under no pressure. I think they are likely a good reflection on our style of play.

Mayos short passing has been excellent, his long passing far less so, when it works its brilliant but its still very hit and miss for distances, similar with Conroy too who often tries a few more of the "Hollywood passes" which if you count just those long passes then the figures will be massively different.

I see that Louis Reed has completed 1,101 passes which is 131 passes more than the next player in the L2 list.

Wow! Would never have thought that.

Thats amazing Aud! Although I've just checked, and make it 199, so they are including PO games maybe? (or my maths is shite) Being yo yo and in POs must have helped, and the 29 wins in 2011/12 was a good start to that particular period that they've chosen. Either way, should cheer us all up. We've seen more wins than pretty much anyone in last 10 years (exclude the obvious PL glory boys and we're one of only 4 proper clubs in the list!)

👶 Youngest players to reach 10+ goal involvements in England's top four-tiers this season:

🥇 Tyreece Simpson (19yrs)
🥈 Bukayo Saka (20)
🥉 Brennan Johnson (20)