Researched these myself, so they could be wrong but hope they are correct. I know we all believe our defence is weak without Fonte and Lovren playing together, and it certainly is: Hooiveld + Fox playing together in the PL: Games: 12 Wins: 1 Draws: 4 Defeats: 7 Points: 7 out of 36 Clean Sheets: 1 (vs Swansea away) Goals Conceded: 26 Win %: 8.3% Loss %: 58.3% Avg goals conceded per game: 2.17 Lovren + Fonte playing together: Games: 13 Wins: 6 Draws: 5 Defeats: 2 Points: 23 out of 39 Clean Sheets: 6 Goals Conceded: 9 Win %: 46.2% Loss %: 15.4% Avg goals conceded per game: 0.69 When they aren't playing together: Games: 4 Wins: 0 Draws: 1 Defeats: 3 Points: 1 out of 12 Clean Sheets: 0 Goals Conceded: 9 Win %: 0 Loss%: 75% Avg goals conceded per game: 2.25 Interesting seeing the actual stats compared I thought.
Interesting isn't the word I'd use! I similarly a while ago had a little dig to see if there was any real disparity between our results with Fox or Shaw playing, and I've just done the same again to update to present, and from my quick count in games in which they played more than 60 minutes with Fox we've lost 10 of 15 and with Luke we've lost 5 of 33, all in the PL of course. It really hammers home how vital Shaw is to us at present when you see those figures in black and white in front of you. Obviously that's not to say we lost all 10 of those games because of Fox and won or drew all of those 28 games because of Luke but the difference is clear I think.
While the difference is obvious, and backed up by those statistics. I'm sure their stats wouldn't be quite so bad had they had all other first team members around them, DMs, GK etc.
Most of the Hooiveld and Fox ones must be from last season though, so it's not necessarily a fair comparison, though it is difficult to really argue with those stats. I'd like to see similar stats with and without Wanyama. He's like having an extra centre-back in the pitch and I think some of Fonte and Lovren's apparent effectiveness is down to him.
Certainly, but that's not to detract from Fonte and Lovren who just don't ever seem to get anything wrong. And they do complement each other very well. The difference in quality between 2nd and 3rd choice centre-back is unusually large.
With Victor: Games: 13 Wins: 6 Draws: 4 Losses 3 Points: 22 out of 39 Clean Sheets: 6 Goals Conceded: 10 Win %: 46.1% Loss %: 23% Avg goals conceded per game: 0.77 Without Victor: Games: 4 Wins: 0 Draws: 2 Losses: 2 Points: 2 out of 12 Clean Sheets: 0 Goals Conceded: 8 Win %: 0 Loss %: 50% Avg goals conceded per game: 2
I suspect that's slightly skewed as the games without Vic have coincided with the games without Jose/Luke/Nathaniel - but still.........
Cool, thanks. Most of these are the same games as Fonte/Lovren of course, so I suppose all these stats really tell us is we're much stronger with all our first team on the field!
That's pretty much right. We have had so many injuries in key areas defensively all at the same time.
Which is exactly why I have no real concerns, even if we don't sign anyone in January. The fact is, this is a freak incidence. Had three injuries been Nathanial, Vic and J-Rod we could have coped. Dani, Morgan and Artur, it still would have been better. This is a nightmare scenario right now, and will get a whole lot better very soon.
I agree and this is why I started the Wanyama thread as I think he has been sorely missed. People have focused on his passing and getting caught with the ball, but I believe his presence cannot be overlooked.
Please do not include words like without or injured in the same sentence as Lovren. I do have a heart problem you know!
I Would like to see 2 more top class defenders and a playmaker in Jan, Fontes probably not keep up as he gets older, same with Lambert Im not a Wanyama basher, but the stats without him also include our weakened defence, I personally still rate Cork highly, be interesting if we ever see a 3 in midfield of Cork, Wany and Schneiderlin, maybe a 4-3-1-2