Some stats from the season here. I'm afraid it makes Kenny's team selection look worse. But relieves some pressure off Downing. Here is the top five: 1. Maxi Rodriguez - 90.6 per cent from 394 passes 2. Craig Bellamy - 88.6 per cent from 586 passes 3. Jay Spearing - 86 per cent from 828 passes 4. Lucas Leiva - 85.6 per cent from 687 passes 5. Stewart Downing - 85.4 per cent from 1,245 passes Interestingly its not Gerrard or Adam considering the roles they play.
Presumably these stats include short passes, back passes etc.? For me, Downing's problem was that he wasn't taking people on and beating them, surely that's the more important thing for a winger? He's supposed to take risks and go at his full back, not take the safe option.
Of course that's just an opinion you can't back up with any hard evidence. Laugh that one off. I'm sick of people with no stats whatsoever saying they tell you nothing. They don't tell you everything but no statistician worth her salt would take one stat and make conclusive correlations. But I used stats to show Lucas was better than those who only "watch the game" claimed he was and that he was improving year on year. Who was right? 100% me. A backwards pass might mean nothing or it might have been from winning possession back, which is a useful pass. Lucas's pass stats are more illuminating when matched with his successful tackle stats. He was top five in the league for both when statless fans were slagging him off for backwards passes. Why would you want to throw a tool out of your toolbox? It doesn't make you a better tradesman, Jonny No Chisel.
The problems of last season were not really poor passing though! We largely dominated in a lot of the games but poor finishing, bad luck, panic and taking the wrong option were the real problems. Whilst some stats are quite revealing this one in the context of the season gone is largely irrelevant, at least in my opinion!
I don't like the luck phrase, I could see it if it were some of the games, but when have in a majority of the games hit the post and the only thing we can say is a wee bit of luck, it wasn't good enough for me at least. It is just not finishing the chances, either being too cheeky, missing PK's (!!), simple tap in and not concentrating, more of that for me.
I disagree, whilst I can see your point(and usually I would agree with you) last season was just incredible, I also include in that bad luck the fact that so many keepers played absolute blinders against us. I have honestly never seen so much bad luck for any team in one full season, and to put it in context I also support Halifax Town We had as much bad luck as Chelsea had good luck in their recent champs league games, to say luck(and at the level we experienced it) does not play a part is both unfair and unrealistic!
Some keepers did come and play well but we didn't help our situation out by placing most of the shots right at them or where they could reach. I think it was more to do with every single game " just a wee bit of luck", " luck wasn't with us today", " the luck will come around soon". You make your own luck by the work you put in and at this level should have been able to turn it around I would have thought. Not saying we didn't have some bad luck, we did at times, but when it became the normal excuse, I stopped believing in it.
