Andre Villas-Boas today told the press that he doesn’t believe in the use of statistics in football saying that he does not adapt his team selection/tactics off the back of them. The use of statistics in football has been more predominant than ever and at Squawka, we love to fuel the debate. Here are some stats which might make even AVB have a ponder before his Spurs face West Ham tonight.
Find out more incredible stats and graphs for Spurs on their Squawka Stats page
Slow starters
Spurs‘ shot accuracy in the first half this season is 37.5%. In 2nd half of Premier League games it’s 56.8%. This is a very interesting stat which might be a direct result of the improved fitness that the Portuguese man has brought to the club leading to more open looks later in the game. This fact is compounded when one sees that Spurs have scored 11 goals in the first half on Premier League games this season and 30 in the second half.
Missing the target
Following on from a shot accuracy stat comes the fact that Spurs are 4th in EPL for missed shots (167). The main culprits in this instance are, unsurprisingly Gareth Bale and Jermain Defoe missing the target 33 and 35 times respectively.
Good at beating their man
Spurs have the 4th highest take on success rate in the Premier League (46.9%), a sure sign of the pace and strength they possess across the pitch. The best at the club is dynamic midfield revelation Mousa Dembele who beats his man 64% of the time.
Defending from the front.
The Lilywhites are the 3rd best team in the Premier League at making interceptions in the opposition half. Rather than a specific tactic being responsible for the Lilywhites’ position in this top 5; it has more to do with the quite incredible Gareth Bale and Sandro. While Bale loves to lurk behind his opposition winger and nip in for the ball with his pace, Sandro is an intercepting machine in all areas of the pitch.
Create, create, create
Behind Liverpool, Spurs have created the most goalscoring opportunities in the EPL this season which won’t surprise a lot of the White Hart Lane faithful who believe they are only a world class striker away from being genuine title challengers. The fact that only 27 of the 359 goalscoring opportunities created have resulted in goals is a testament to that fact.
Find out more incredible stats and graphs for Spurs on their Squawka Stats page
By Nic English
Topics: Gareth Bale, Jermain Defoe, Mousa Dembele, Sandro, Tottenham Hotspur
