Luis Suárez

[kingfunk]

aye captain
Mid-table: Manchester United would be 12th in the Premier League table if you removed Robin Van Persie from their line-up

I'll think you will find that is why they bought a top class striker.

[G]

Following Liverpool's 2-1 defeat at White Hart Lane this week, Brendan Rodgers urged his team to be more clinical if they wish to turn their disappointing season around.
Liverpool have a dismal goals-to-shots ratio of 9.94 per cent*, the Premier League's fourth worst, meaning they only score one in every 10.06 shots they have on goal.
By comparison, Man United are enjoying a goals-to-shots ratio of 18.64 per cent*, the Premier League's best, converting one in every 5.36 shots they have on goal.
While Luis Suarez tops the Premier League goal scoring charts, not one of his team-mates has scored more than one goal in the league so far this season. By contrast, despite Robin Van Persie netting nine league strikes - one less than Suarez - Man United can boast six different players with two goals or more, including Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney.
The message is clear: for all Liverpool's good play, they are suffering badly because of their paucity of goal threat other than Suarez. While Man United have benefitted from Van Persie's goal scoring, they can also rely on others to chip in key goals.
On that basis, we went through all of Liverpool's Premier League results this season, looking at how many chances they had in each game and working out how many more (or less) goals Brendan Rodgers' team would have scored with a goals-to-shots ratio identical to Man United's for each game. Figures were always rounded down, so a total of 2.9 goals in one game based on chances created would have been rounded down to just two goals.
Below, you can see all of Liverpool's Premier League results this season, how many shots on goal they created in each game (in brackets) compared to opponents, and how these results would have changed if they'd enjoyed Man United's shots-to-goals ratio.


Liverpool's Premier League results and chances created 2012/13
West Brom (18 shots) 3-0 Liverpool (16 shots)
Liverpool (17) 2-2 Man City (11)
Liverpool (19) 0-2 Arsenal (11)
Sunderland (7) 1-1 Liverpool (23)
Liverpool (14) 1-2 Man United (8)
Norwich (16) 2-5 Liverpool (16)
Liverpool (18) 0-0 Stoke (6)
Liverpool (27) 1-0 Reading (10)
Everton (16) 2-2 Liverpool (13)
Liverpool (23) 1-1 Newcastle (11)
Chelsea (15) 1-1 Liverpool (9)
Liverpool (22) 3-0 Wigan (10)
Swansea (18) 0-0 Liverpool (21)
Spurs (16) 2-1 Liverpool (17)
Points total: 15


Liverpool's Premier League results with Man United's goals-to-shots ratio
West Brom 3-2 Liverpool
Liverpool 3-2 Man City
Liverpool 3-2 Arsenal
Sunderland 1-4 Liverpool
Liverpool 2-2 Man United
Norwich 2-2 Liverpool
Liverpool 3-0 Stoke
Liverpool 4-0 Reading
Everton 2-2 Liverpool
Liverpool 4-1 Newcastle
Chelsea 1-1 Liverpool
Liverpool 4-0 Wigan
Swansea 0-3 Liverpool
Spurs 2-3 Liverpool
Points total: 31


The results are astounding. If Liverpool could finish like Man United, they would have amassed an extra 16 points, to more than double their tally of 15. Man United would have dropped two of the three points picked up at Anfield, while Man City wouldn't have escaped with a draw, meaning all three teams would be neck-and-neck on 31 points in this revised league, with Liverpool leading the way on goal difference.
'But all teams would do better if they scored more often!' you may say, but not many teams create and squander as many chances as Liverpool. Aside from the opening day defeat against West Brom, whenever Liverpool have dropped points this season they have actually enjoyed more shots on goal than their opponents - often a significant amount more.
Man United have conceded the same number of goals as Liverpool, but they are so clinical in front of goal that they are a point above unbeaten Man City. Liverpool are a long way off top spot, but if they want to start climbing the table and challenge for a European place again, they simply must sign goal scorers in January.
*Statistics courtesy of Opta and correct up to and including matches played on 28 November 2012

http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/features/121129/if-liverpool-had-man-uniteds-goals-shots-ratio-league-table-would-look-186427

[BigChief]

And yet Brendo hasn't got any bricks and mortars going yet.

[Marina]

http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/...ld-look-186427

Wow. Just wow.

I suppose there's a silver lining though. If we had just one more good finisher like Van Persie or Hernandez, we would theoretically be top of the table. It's all totally meaningless but still, you have to wonder.

[barnes10]

Shooting practice...

[Muddled]

The Evolution of Luis Suárez - Stats Analysis

Luis Suárez has experienced a remarkable purple patch so far this season scoring 10 goals from a mere 12 games in the Premier League. Further, Suárez has scored 5 goals from his last 4 consecutive games, a streak surpassing his previous record of scoring in only two consecutive Premier League games (on three occasions). Thus, I’ve decided to use a number of simple attacking metrics to break down his form and discover why he’s on the best streak of his Liverpool career to date.

Conversion

Ever since joining Liverpool at the tail end of the January transfer window in 2011, Suárez has been continually scrutinised for his ability to convert chances. I, myself, have been guilty on numerous occasions for dubbing the player “profligate” for blowing increasingly simple clear cut chances and taking a large number of shots per goal. That has not been the case so far this season. The following graph plots the cumulative trend in Suárez’s conversion rates (goals/ total shots) over the past three seasons:



Evidently, there has been a consistent downwards trend in his conversion as the course of the season progresses and his goals-to-shots ratio averages out over the past two seasons (red and green lines). However, whereas Suárez began his first two seasons at Liverpool on goal scoring highs that slowly descended, this season has seen a new, more upward and positive trend (purple line). Take his conversion rates from 2010/11 and 2011/12 and his current goal scoring efficiency from 12 games this season:



His current conversion rate of 13.9% is remarkably higher than in his first two seasons at Liverpool, intimating that Suárez is currently on a run of form where his efficiency is abnormally above his previous Liverpool averages of 7.3% (2010/11) and 8.6% (2011/12). Revisiting the trend graph above, it is clear that his current form is one that is increasing in efficiency, as he is taking fewer and fewer chances to score a goal as the season progresses (hence the upward trend in his conversion rate). How do these conversions relate to an improved goal scoring efficiency in real numbers (goals)? Well, take how many shots it takes him to score this season comparative to his previous seasons as an example:

• (2012/13) 13.9% conversion equates to: A goal every 7.2 shots;
• (2011/12) 8.6% conversion equates to: A goal every 11.6 shots;
• (2010/11) 7.3% conversion equates to: A goal every 13.7 shots.

In a league that is commonly conceived as “harder than the Eredivisie”, Suárez is scoring goals at an efficiency he achieved only once during his time at Ajax. In his three seasons at Ajax, Suárez had the following conversion rates:

• Ajax 2007/08: 15.7% conversion or 6.4 shots per goal;
• Ajax 2008/09: 11.2% conversion or 9 shots per goal;
• Ajax 2009/10: 12.7% conversion or 7.9 shots per goal.

At an average conversion rate of 13.9%, Suárez is scoring goals at a rate that outperforms his 2008/09 & 2009/10 productivity at Ajax, seasons where he scored 22 and 35 goals respectively, a hopeful sign of things to come this season for El Pistolero.

Focus of Attack

As the pivot in Liverpool’s attacking front 3, Luis Suárez has taken on the weighty responsibility of scoring all the club’s goals and has, so far, successfully done so. Liverpool’s reliance on Suárez as their main threat is blatantly obvious considering the club’s League goal scorers; with Suárez (10 goals) the only multiple goal scorer at the club. (The discussion as to whether Suárez as a centre forward is ‘successful’ and the performance of Liverpool’s current front 3 will have to wait until another day.)

As the pivot of Liverpool’s attack, and having seen Andy Carroll (Liverpool’s only other recognised striker) sent to West Ham, Luis Suárez has been presented with a greater number of chances this season to score relative to his previous seasons:



As shown above, Suárez has increased the number of shots he takes by 1.9 per game – a 46% increase. Furthermore, Suárez has been able to emulate the attacking frequency of his Ajax days, averaging the same shots per game ratio as he did over his 3 seasons at Ajax (total of 580 shots over 97 games – 5.98 shots per game on average).

But how much of Suárez’s increased shot count can be attributed to his own form and how much to the changes Rodgers has made to the system? Well, the answer is that his improved form is multifaceted. On one hand, Rodgers’ Liverpool are creating 13.23 chances per game, compared to Dalglish’s Liverpool who created 12.76 chances per game. As such, this would intimate that Suárez may be benefiting from an extra 0.6 shots per game if the increase in chances are concentrated at his feet.

The more probable reason is the departure of Andy Carroll. Last season Carroll took, on average, 2.2 shots per game alongside Suárez who managed 4.1 shots per game. Take Carroll out of the equation and purely on numbers, there is roughly 2 shots begging to be taken by the remaining forward(s). Add Rodgers’ systematic 0.6 increase in chances created per game and it would seem to intimate that Suárez may be the beneficiary of both the change in chances created and Carroll’s deduction from the lineup, with the remainder distributed to the two ancillary players in Liverpool’s attacking trinity.

However, increased shots does not immediately correlate to an increased scoring efficiency. The most notable reason for Suárez’s increase in scoring efficiency is his increased ability to convert clear cut chances (CCC). So far this season, Suárez has scored 50% of his clear cut chances (6/12), which compares to only 25% of his clear cut chances (7/28) last season. Had Suárez maintained his 25% CCC this season, he would have only scored 7 goals so far and his conversion rate would be 9.7%.

Thus, it is apparent that Suárez’s incredible run of form is attributable to systematic changes made by Brendan Rodgers (bravo) as well as Suárez’s increased capacity to score in the Premier League – a sign of acclimatisation to the League or maturity as he enters the peak stages of his career?

Projection

The exciting aspect of such an analysis is less in hindsight, but more the promise of foresight projections. Holding the assumptions that:

1. Suárez maintains his current conversion rate (13.9%); and
2. Suárez maintains his current shots per game (6).

over the course of the season, it is projected that Luis Suárez will have an incredible season, scoring 32 goals.



If Suárez manages to score 32 goals this Premier League season, he will notch the second highest goals scored for a Golden Boot winner (given he wins it) in Premier League history – beaten only by Andrew Cole (1993/94) and Alan Shearer (1994/95) who both scored 34 goals.

Conclusion

The overall improvement in Luis Suárez’s game is emphasised by the goal projection table above. By simply increasing the number of shots he takes per game from 4.1 to 6 per game and improving his conversion from 8.6% to 13.9%, Suárez is expected to more than double his goal tally from 14 goals last season to 32 this season. Such improvements in the Uruguayan’s game are arguably attributable to his central forward positioning and personnel changes to Rodgers’ 4-3-3, coupled with Suárez’s own maturity or acclimatisation to the Premier League



Whilst he may not have reached the goals per game heights of his final full season at Ajax, Suárez is mirroring the positive trend of his Ajax days here at Liverpool, with his ability to score a goal every game increasing every season. Such a trend is one that will arguably define Liverpool’s success in seasons to come, especially if his prowess to find the back of the net continues to trend upwards.

Linkage: Liverpool Scout

[Fredo]

http://www.talksport.co.uk/magazine/...ld-look-186427

The Norwich result, I guess it's a typo? We won that game 5-2.

[Cormack74]

Summary anyone?

[Pablo]

Summary anyone?

He becomes more prolific the longer he stays at a club.

[Cormack74]

Thanks Pablo, I only had an hour's lunch break.

[Reece]

Seems whilst everyone is lining up to hammer Suarez for his disgusting antics, and for being a disgrace to football, they can't wait to defend and make excuses for Bale

David Ginola defends Tottenham's Gareth Bale over diving claims

Comments (11)
Former Tottenham midfielder David Ginola says Gareth Bale's growing reputation as a diver is "unfair".
Spurs and Wales winger Bale was booked for diving for the second game in a row before going off with a hamstring injury in Saturday's 3-0 win at Fulham.
"This debate really annoys me. The kid is doing so well. He shouldn't carry this on his shoulder," Ginola told BBC Radio Wales.
"I don't understand why we put pressure on him with false ideas. It's unfair."
The yellow card was Bale's seventh of the season and Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas felt it "was a little bit harsh" with replays suggesting there was contact in the challenge with Fulham's Steve Sidwell.
"He has suffered big, big injuries to his ankles and he might put his body in situations that the referee thinks that he is diving and he is suffering for it," said Villas-Boas
Former France international Ginola believes referees should protect players of Bale's ability rather than punish them.
"When you get a reputation it's really [hard] to get rid [of]," he continued.
Continue reading the main story

“
When you have players like that who entertain you week in, week out - you have to protect that
”
David Ginola
Former Spurs midfielder
"It's really easy when you run that fast with that pace on the pitch at players - you don't need a big tackle to go down. A little push would be enough to lose the balance.
"Football is about entertainment. When you have players like that who entertain you week in, week out, you have to protect that. It's so precious."
"You have to take care of them because they are little diamonds in a league like the English Premier League.
"I thought he was a diamond when I saw him play against Inter Milan and score three goals [in 2010]. He is special."
Ginola, who played more than 100 games for Spurs in three years at White Hart Lane from 1997-2000, and also played for Newcastle United, Aston Villa and Everton, believes Bale has the potential to be even better than another Wales star, Ryan Giggs.
"To be put alongside Ryan Giggs is a huge compliment for Gareth Bale, but one day Ryan Giggs will be very happy to be named alongside Gareth Bale," stated Ginola.
"He is the complete player and he is still very young. He has got everything.
"He is going to be a huge asset for the world of football in the next few years.
Ginola wants Bale to stay in a Spurs side which he thinks can get better and eventually do well in the Champions League.
"When you have a diamond you don't sell diamonds - you try and keep them," he said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/20587205

[McDermotX]

Saw some of the Goals on Sunday the other day when the full Gareth Bale defence was in full effect with Ginola, 'Kammy' and the other gormless fool.
Was sat there mouth open as they completely exonerated him from any degree of cheating...............'unbelieveable', as one of those eejits would say.
It was so biased, that they had convinced themselves completely that he was fully justified in throwing himself to the ground.
Should have rang Sky up to demand my month's subs back......****ing clowns.

[dom9]

Saw some of the Goals on Sunday the other day when the full Gareth Bale defence was in full effect with Ginola, 'Kammy' and the other gormless fool.
Was sat there mouth open as they completely exonerated him from any degree of cheating...............'unbelieveable', as one of those eejits would say.
It was so biased, that they had convinced themselves completely that he was fully justified in throwing himself to the ground.
Should have rang Sky up to demand my month's subs back......****ing clowns.

Well, if you're gonna watch that ****e...

[McDermotX]

Well, if you're gonna watch that ****e...

fair point..........just was interested to see how the Bale diving was gonna be broached.
Should have known better.

[Norbs]

Bale has become one of the most arrogant self-absorbed players in the Premier League. I noticed the other day that he stands identically to Ronaldo when lining up to take free kicks. Is this a new thing?