Stat's not good enough

In American sports a player’s performance comes down to one thing, statistics. Stats are the story, they define a player’s game, and ultimately his career. In the NFL a single moment of game winning creativity can be overshadowed by the Quarterback rating; a complex formula where the number of attempted passes, completed passed, total yards gained, amount of touchdowns, and intercepted passes are multiplied and added together, divided by 6 and then multiplied by 100. Now please do not take this as me insulting American sport, I love NFL and have admiration for the attention of detail put into their statistics; but using only quantitative data to analyse a performance does not always give you an accurate portrayal.

Now on the flip side in our version of football, statistics are in relative infancy. We collect information on the distance a player runs in 90 minutes, how many shots he has on/off target, his goal per game ratio – these make for an interesting read and great ammunition when discussing which player is better, but what do we really learn from it?

I know that Lionel Messi has scored 228 goals in 311 games for Barcelona giving him an impressive ration of a goal every 1.36 games, I also know that Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 247 club goals in 449 club games giving him a fantastic record of a goal every 1.81 games. Impressive as these statistics may be and as wonderful as they are to know, how can they be used to help someone improve their game?

As a coach it is important to understand the game, it is vital to know the action areas, where goals are scored from, it is helpful to know the average breakdown of goals scored by position, and what percentage of goals are scored in open play or from set pieces.  Knowing this information can give you an edge, it helps in planning sessions and creating realistic situations.

For example, conducting my own research of Europe’s top leagues and the Champions League I know that 85% of goals are scored from inside the penalty area, and that over 70% of all goals are scored with a 1 touch finish. This information tells me that the majority of shooting practices should take place inside the penalty area and encourage high tempo, quick reactions, shooting early, and finishing in congested areas.

Trivial statistics have their place in football, they are interesting and create conversation; but as a coach it is important to look a little bit deeper and as with American sports, use the correct stats to give you the developmental and winning edge.