As to handling: yeah, thanks for the link. Look, I may be blind or crazy, but it looks to me like he's doing everything he can NOT to handle. But it bounces into his arm, which he's just moved out of the way. And I don't think it hitting his arm gave him an advantage. Anyway, to me it's a flat out wrong call. And the interesting thing is that almost all the neutral fans said the ref had it right. I'm genuinely mystified.
As to stats: football is a game in which everything is done by a team, so individual stats are more reflective of team play, and less of individual skill than in a game like baseball or cricket, where the essential action is one against one. Still, the fact that 1-2 in the Prem are Silva and Adebayor shows me, at least, that it's a stat that generally reflects what it seems to, namely who is good at creating goals for other people. Ade is up there for a number of reasons: 1. The team passes well, moves quickly, and creates dangerous situations. As the main striker, Ade often has a good chance at either scoring or setting someone else up. 2. Ade works hard, so he's often the player leading the way. 3. He seems to be completely unselfish--I've always seen him pass when another player has a better chance, which they often do, as the natural tendency is to concentrate on the immediate threat, especially when he's a big, fast striker. 4. He passes well and accurately.
So I think while the most important single factor is the result of the team, the other three are mainly the player. I also think he's added to the team tremendously, and would be very difficult to replace. While I understand we may not be able to afford him, I'd be very eager to do everything possible to keep him. Any conceivable replacement would probably be a big step down.
As to him coasting as the season goes on: yes, I do seem him not hustling quite as much. But he still hustles pretty hard. And considering the number of injuries Spurs have had, and how hard he is to replace, I'd probably advise him to try to conserve a little more energy and try not to get hurt at this point. So I don't blame him if that's what he's doing.