2018/19 Gylfi Sigurdsson

[HongKongToffee]

Sorry to say i expected far more after 12 months.

Been a poor signing so far.

For that price i expected more goals and assists and being the main dangerous outlet that playmakers are reknowned for.

 

[BlueToff]

But jogging around space doesn’t actually mean anything, nor does the speed in which he jogged around that space. The stats may show that he covered more ground than Gana, but who was actually more effective in covering that ground? Gana closed off passing avenues, made tackles, interceptions, Sigurdsson did what? This is why football simply is not a numbers game, other than the number on the scoreboard.

Well Gana won the ball back eight times, and Gylfi won it six times, so there's not much difference between them in that regard.

Is it Sigurdsson's primary job to win tackles?

No, it's Gana's job to do that.

It's Gylfi's primary job to create - which the stats, as they mostly always do, prove that he did.

So yes, there's plenty more to it than numbers. But the numbers can be used to help prove a point is right or wrong, or maybe even somewhere in between the two (which is what I think they do in this case, which I've said a few times mate).

 

[Simon baker]

I work for the company that own Opta. They make money from selling the stats to broadcasters, yes, but their main market is they sell to the individual leagues/organisations, which distribute them to the teams, who use them - along with their own levels of tracking - to gauge player performances.

Nobody is saying that it should be taken as gospel.

But they are used to help see how a player is performing.

People shouldn't say 'he was anonymous' without knowing that they can back it up?

You mention key passes.

The biggest criticism of Gylfi is 'he doesn't create enough', which is absolute bull, because he does create a lot - he's our most creative player.

On Sunday, he was - by definition - the most creative player on the park. That creativity didn't lead to a goal, which is part of the problem.

Another is that he's slow, yet he was averaging our highest speed...

I'm not suggesting he doesn't need to improve. He didn't have his best game, but the stats show that he was still one of our highest performers in a number of areas. So does that say more about the team or Gylfi?

I’m sure you know far more about this than me but the speed stat has to be misleading. How many high intensity sprints did he do was the speed stat due to the length of sprint. He looks an absolute snail it’s very hard to believe using the naked eye that he is in the same hemisphere as Richarlison, walcott or Calvert-Lewin.

 

[Parker]

aren't half blag them "stats"

the two big chances for DCL ( come from a good davies pass ) and Walcott ( come from Walcott winning the ball back didn't it )

so what passes where these? was it the long ball where he just chested it down and richarlison had a pop, would hardly call stuff like that a key pass

Walcotts chance came from Sigurdsson terroring Monreal and then playing it perfectly into Walcott for him to miscontrol. Theres one key pass mate. Which should've been an assist.

 

[BlueToff]

aren't half blag them "stats"

the two big chances for DCL ( come from a good davies pass ) and Walcott ( come from Walcott winning the ball back didn't it )

so what passes where these? was it the long ball where he just chested it down and richarlison had a pop, would hardly call stuff like that a key pass

They're not blag.

And no, the Walcott chance was a Gylfi pass. One of those key passes will be that Walcott one. As I said, I don't define the passes, but a key pass in Opta's terms is a pass that leads to a chance, whether it be the assist or the one before the assist (Pienarr was renowned for that).

From four key passes, you'd expect at least one goal. That's not xGoals either, that's just common sense/law of averages.

 

[havrey0123]

our only hope is if a chinese team comes in and offers a big transfer fee and wages. Even if we want to sell him he will never take a 50% hit on his 150k a week wages playing for a team lower then us.

 

[evertonarntwe]

They're not blag.

And no, the Walcott chance was a Gylfi pass. One of those key passes will be that Walcott one. As I said, I don't define the passes, but a key pass in Opta's terms is a pass that leads to a chance, whether it be the assist or the one before the assist (Pienarr was renowned for that).

From four key passes, you'd expect at least one goal. That's not xGoals either, that's just common sense/law of averages.

ok fair enough then that's one ( I was thinking of the time Walcott won the ball back then won a free kick on the edge )

I genuinely can't remember any other key passes to be fair

 

[BlueToff]

I’m sure you know far more about this than me but the speed stat has to be misleading. How many high intensity sprints did he do was the speed stat due to the length of sprint. He looks an absolute snail it’s very hard to believe using the naked eye that he is in the same hemisphere as Richarlison, walcott or Calvert-Lewin.

He did 11 high intensity sprints.

I did mention it yeh. I put it in there as I was surprised that he was our highest on average.

But the top speed stat actually show how close he is to Richarlison and DCL, and he was higher than Walcott.

Now, the caveat is obviously that meant that Walcott never got into full flow in any of his sprints, probably because there was less space when he did manage to pick up speed.

Keane was our second quickest player, which is mad, because we know he isn't quick.

 

[Neiler]

I thought he was great on Sunday playing in the three in midfield, looked very dangerous coming from deep and transitioned play very well not resembling something like a submarine turning, him and Davies gave us some much needed expansiveness.

 

[MikeH72]

Well Gana won the ball back eight times, and Gylfi won it six times, so there's not much difference between them in that regard.

Is it Sigurdsson's primary job to win tackles?

No, it's Gana's job to do that.

It's Gylfi's primary job to create - which the stats, as they mostly always do, prove that he did.

So yes, there's plenty more to it than numbers. But the numbers can be used to help prove a point is right or wrong, or maybe even somewhere in between the two (which is what I think they do in this case, which I've said a few times mate).

Yes there is, there’s a massive difference. Gana wins it in key areas breaking up opposition attacks, Gylfi running over to close the full back down and concede a throw in 20 yards inside their half is not the same as that. Not saying I expect him to do a DM’s work, but all I’m saying is this illustrates how the distance covered stat tells you absolutely nothing about a player’s effectiveness.

 

[BlueToff]

ok fair enough then that's one ( I was thinking of the time Walcott won the ball back then won a free kick on the edge )

I genuinely can't remember any other key passes to be fair

I'm really not trying to be sly with the stats.

I'm just putting them out there, and I like how it's the usual crowd (not you in this case, because likewise I think it's hard to pinpoint all four key passes off the top of my head) who immediately disregard them, yet will use stats of goals/assists to back up other points. People like to use stats when it suits, and I'm no different tbf.

I just think they help add a fresh perspective for any player, good or bad, and help back up or negate points.

People can go 'they don't matter' all they want. The fact is they really do, in terms of how teams use them. I'm not saying Gylfi will be let off the hook because he runs further than anyone else, but the performances will be assessed by a combination of stat analysis, video analysis and good old fashioned common sense.

My mate used to work for Leeds United collecting the stats in training for the U21 lads. It's that detailed, down to the exact data points. They're a huge part of the game and to simply shrug them off is as ludicrous as relying on them entirely would be.

 

[havrey0123]

Well Gana won the ball back eight times, and Gylfi won it six times, so there's not much difference between them in that regard.

Is it Sigurdsson's primary job to win tackles?

No, it's Gana's job to do that.

It's Gylfi's primary job to create - which the stats, as they mostly always do, prove that he did.

So yes, there's plenty more to it than numbers. But the numbers can be used to help prove a point is right or wrong, or maybe even somewhere in between the two (which is what I think they do in this case, which I've said a few times mate).

he is a luxury player, a player the top 6 would use to come off the bench or in rotation.
I expected him him at the very least to bring in quality from set pieces, I dont think he has scored a free kick yet

 

[MikeH72]

I’m sure you know far more about this than me but the speed stat has to be misleading. How many high intensity sprints did he do was the speed stat due to the length of sprint. He looks an absolute snail it’s very hard to believe using the naked eye that he is in the same hemisphere as Richarlison, walcott or Calvert-Lewin.

It is massively misleading mate. What your eyes tell you is correct.

 

[BlueToff]

Yes there is, there’s a massive difference. Gana wins it in key areas breaking up opposition attacks, Gylfi running over to close the full back down and concede a throw in 20 yards inside their half is not the same as that. Not saying I expect him to do a DM’s work, but all I’m saying is this illustrates how the distance covered stat tells you absolutely nothing about a player’s effectiveness.

I'm not saying it does demonstrate his effectiveness. I put it in there because it helps put perspective, that's all.

I mention straight after that he did 11 sprints, which was around the middle iirc out of our players. We know Gylfi covers a lot of ground, because of how he plays and where he plays.

 

[Parker]

Yes there is, there’s a massive difference. Gana wins it in key areas breaking up opposition attacks, Gylfi running over to close the full back down and concede a throw in 20 yards inside their half is not the same as that. Not saying I expect him to do a DM’s work, but all I’m saying is this illustrates how the distance covered stat tells you absolutely nothing about a player’s effectiveness.

You're just assuming he did something poorly despite what the stats say just because of your opinion of the player here mate. There is not a chance you know exactly where he won the ball all 6 times compared to where Gana won the ball.