I’ve posted these on TiFF, but it’s worth noting that Danny Murphy has 29 tackles so far this year. John Paintsil has 28 and Zoltan Gera 17. An argument could be made that while it’s admirable that Murphy’s making such an effort, perhaps 29 tackles isn’t enough.
Taking some teams at random:
Villa – Petrov has 39, Reo-Coker 31
Everton – Osman 27, Jagielka 26
Chelsea – Bosingwa 29, Mikel 21
Bolton – Muamba and McCann 30 each
Hull – Dawson 30, Marney 24
Boro – O’Neil 27, Shawkey 24
Sunderland – Malbranque 33!, Richardson 29
What on earth does it all mean? Stilian Petrov and Steed Malbranque the most tackling players in my mini-sample? Perhaps it’s suggestive that I shouldn’t be using these numbers to evaluate tackling but, if nothing else, it perhaps lets us know who’s up to what in the middle of the pitch.
Interesting note: Paintsil 28 tackles and 10 ‘interceptions’. Konchesky 8/5. Are teams victimising our right flank?
UPDATED – I’ve nicked some more stats from the Guardian Fantasy Football page. Legend at bottom of table. This is really all the average man in the street can come by. I can filter by team and by position, so we can see what’s happening if we really want to.
