If you were asked to name the fastest player in the Premier League this season you would probably think of Angel Di Maria, Alexis Sanchez, Eden Hazard or someone similar. We did the same, and we were oh so wrong... According to data collected by EA Sports, who track every single movement made by every single player, nobody has achieved a higher top speed than Everton's Phil Jagielka. Yep, that's right. Phil Jagielka. What is equally surprising, though, is that none of the players you would expect to challenge at the top even make the top ten. Ritchie de Laet, Joe Ledley, Steven N'Zonzi and Connor Wickham join Jagielka in the top five, with Mohamed Diame, Alan Hutton, Nathan Dyer, Craig Gardner and Joey O'Brien making up the remainder of the top ten. If this isn't conclusive proof that most football stats are pointless, I'm really not sure what is... please log in to view this image http://www.thesportbible.com/articl...the-premier-league-this-season-will-shock-you
Makes sense, look at 100m sprinters, do they look more like Diame or Di Maria? The agility and acceleration gives the impression that they are fastest, but they don't have the power or strength to reach top speeds.
Players like Angel Di Maria, Alexis Sanchez and Eden Hazard have terrific acceleration, but Diame's strength makes him a powerful runner. The size of these guys has to be taken into consideration as well, and Jagielka will have larger strides than Sanchez.
Jagielka always seems really slow to me. But I guess that's his lack of agility when getting turned rather than maximum sprint speed.
Or perhaps he doesn't read the game so well and that makes him look slow. I cite the second Suarez goal against England in evidence. Although that goal made Cahill look **** too.
There is but a half mph between the top 10. I suspect the players who are now under question aren't far behind. This article tells us nothing. Also have to take into acount why a footballer sprints that fast. Whether he has the ball, what is he trying to achieve etc. Most of the top 10 are defenders - makes sense, busting a gut to catch an attacker with the ball or Box to box midfielders - makes sense, busting a gut to get in the box. Surprised? No. Does it tell us how fast the players are? No
I would have expected Nathan Dyer out of those - he is fast. But the others? Was Alan Hutton's time based on the speed at which he crumples to the floor feigning injury like the fanny that he is?
