Article with some interesting talking points, including some featuring Spurs:
theathletic.com
It’s that time of year again.
Manchester City are Premier League champions for the third season running, Erling Haaland has won the Golden Boot, the Premier League’s Player of the Season and the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year, and Kevin De Bruyne has landed the Premier League Playmaker of the Season for the third time in six years.
That’s right, it’s awards time. And sure, we could rattle out the traditional prizes when digging into the numbers, but let’s be more creative.
Let’s find out who is the ‘sweepiest’ of goalkeepers, who rotated their starting XI the most, and who logged the most powerful shot of the season.
Here are The Athletic’s 2022-23 alternative Premier League awards…
GO DEEPER
USMNT summer of transfers: Where will Pulisic, Adams, Musah end up?
Elsewhere on The Athletic…
Among the 17 teams to have played in the Premier League in the past two campaigns, only six have built upon their points tally from last season, but it is Newcastle who have shown the biggest improvement of any side — accruing 22 points more than 2021-22.
It has been a pivotal season for Eddie Howe and his men, with a top-four finish meaning Champions League football will return to St James’ Park for the first time since 2002-03.
GO DEEPER
Dear Eddie... Thank you, for all of it
At the other end, Chelsea fans might want to look away after gathering 30 points fewer than last season.
With both Chelsea and Liverpool playing 63 games apiece last season, the drop-off from both sides — with Liverpool 25 points worse off this season — has been one of the overwhelming narratives of the campaign.
At team level, we can drill into the variety of goals scored by each side as a share of their total.
Brighton, Brentford and Southampton share the award as the only three teams to have logged at least one goal across each of the listed categories: open play, corner, direct and indirect free kick, penalty, throw-in, and counter-attacking situations.
At the same time, Brighton’s goalscoring has actually been the most homogenous, with 78 per cent of their goals coming from open play.
Meanwhile, Woolwich and Manchester United didn’t score from a direct free kick all season. Nearly a quarter of West Ham’s goals were from corners and Bournemouth did not take a single penalty all season.
A total of nine goals were scored from attacking-throw ins this season, up from seven last year — and just three in 2020-21 — but The Athletic have previously analysed how a throw into the box is about twice as valuable as one taken short from the same part of the pitch.
GO DEEPER
Get it launched — why long throw-ins into the penalty area are undervalued
Of course, Brentford have been staunch advocates of this set-piece approach since they arrived in the Premier League last season, with 113 long box-throws dwarfing all other teams in the league.
However, Southampton, West Ham and, more recently, Nottingham Forest have discovered the value of this technique, with Forest’s Moussa Niakhateparticularly impressive in his slingshot approach.
With three goals scored from throw-ins — constituting eight per cent of their total tally — Forest can pick up this award.
Comparing each player’s non-penalty goals with their non-penalty expected goals (xG) tally, it is Harry Kane who has overperformed more than any other player this season — converting more than eight goals above expectation based on the quality of chances he found himself in.
Despite Spurs’ own struggles, Kane has had a superb season, overtaking Jimmy Greaves to become Spurs’ leading goalscorer and becoming England’s out-and-out top goalscorer in March.
More recently, he became the first player to score in 25 different matches in a single 38-game season — a record he extended to 26 on the final day — which is a highly impressive level of consistency.
If not for a certain Norwegian powerhouse, Kane’s 30 goals this season would have been enough for him to win the Premier League golden boot in each of the past four seasons.
Hard lines, Harry. Maybe next year.
It had to be a Chelsea player, didn’t it? Only Everton have underperformed their xG more this season — with the poor conversion of chances being an epidemic that has spread across the whole squad this season.
Meanwhile, Woolwich’s Eddie Nketiah has not been the most prolific in front of goal, scoring four goals fewer than he should have based on the quality of his chances. While Nketiah has been limited to just nine starts in the Premier League during Gabriel Jesus’ absence, the 23-year-old will be looking for a better goal return next season at Woolwich.
Which player logged the fastest shot this season? The winner of this award certainly passes the eye test.
Kevin De Bruyne is quite simply very good at kicking a ball really hard. We’ve seen it in the Champions League and he hasn’t disappointed in the Premier League. Via Opta, his strike at the start of the season against Bournemouth was registered at 85.8mph — nearly 10mph more than the second-fastest shot from Marcus Rashford (vs Tottenham).
Some of the players on the list above are known for their powerful strikes, but some may surprise you. Either way, there were plenty of players who gave the goalkeeper no chance with their efforts, which brings us nicely onto…
To answer this, we can use the ‘goals prevented’ metric, which compares how many goals a goalkeeper actually conceded versus the number they were expected to based on the quality of the shot.
In total, Fulham’s Bernd Leno lands the award for most goals prevented having stopped nearly 12 goals more than he was expected to from the efforts he faced — helping Marco Silva’s side to one of their best Premier League campaigns in recent memory.
If we were to look at ‘goals-prevented rate’ — which adjusts for the volume of shots a goalkeeper has faced — Liverpool’s Alisson would have one hand on the trophy.
The Brazilian’s goals-prevented rate of 1.3 means he would have been expected to concede 1.3 goals for every goal he actually conceded; a highly impressive return that justifiably makes him the strongest candidate for Liverpool’s player of the season.
Liverpool’s high defensive line is well-established, but no goalkeeper has to be more alert to the threat than Alisson to hoover up those loose balls.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez pushes Alisson all the way for the award with 2.2 sweeper actions per 90, with Unai Emery instilling bravery in his side’s high defensive line since he arrived.
Meanwhile, Newcastle’s Nick Pope has continued to be quick off his line since arriving from Burnley in the summer.
Most effective at set pieces
Back to team level and a part of the game that has a growing number of dedicated backroom staff in recent seasons.
Yes, we’re talking about set pieces — but rather than look at the most goals scored from set pieces, we need to account for the opportunity to score and calculate how prolific each team has been from their situations.
Looking at the volume of set pieces per goal — where a lower tally denotes a stronger output — Spurs land the award as the best set-piece takers. With the dedicated playbook that set-piece coach Gianni Vio has to hand, it is of little surprise to see them top the list.
The thesis that Vio wrote when completing his coaching badges was entitled: “Set pieces: the 15-goal striker”.
How many goals have Spurs scored this season? Sixteen. Almost perfectly on the money.
At the other end of this scale, Brighton have been particularly wasteful from their set-piece opportunities this season, taking 42.3 plays, on average, before scoring.
Something for Roberto De Zerbi to address in the summer ahead of a historic first season containing European football.
Interestingly, Everton have been the most resolute in defending from set pieces, forcing opponents to have 40.3 chances before scoring.
After scraping survival on the final day, Sean Dyche will be encouraged by their defensive strength from a dead-ball situation. It might prove a good foundation to build from next season.
Wolves are the most focused on the right channel, getting it to Adama Traore, followed by Woolwich, then Liverpool and Newcastle, whose right-sided dominance is focused around deliveries from full-back Kieran Trippier, with the 32-year-old making 133 open-play crosses this season — more than double the tally of his remaining team-mates.
On the other flank, Fulham and West Ham are the most left-dominant, followed by Brentford and Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola’s focus on width across the pitch allowing them to attack with a front five — made more potent by their recent three-box-three system (or 3-2-4-1) in attacking phases.
Meanwhile, Brighton are an interesting case study as the side most likely to enter the final third through the central channel of the pitch. With De Zerbi’s possession-based style, Brighton will often drop their striker — most prominently Evan Ferguson — into midfield areas to allow wide players like Solly March and Kaoru Mitoma to make runs from out to in.
Manchester City’s Rodri scoops this award, edging out Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes as the player who makes the most passes under pressure — defined by Opta as a pass made when an opponent is within two metres of the player — per 90 minutes.
Not only does he make the most pressured passes, but Rodri’s pass completion of 86 per cent stands as the second-highest rate of any player in the top 20, just behind Riyad Mahrez. The headlines have rightfully gone to Haaland this season, but you could make a strong case that Rodri has been the most indispensable player from a City perspective.
An unwanted record, no doubt, but when accounting for possession, it is actually Brighton who make the most fouls per 1,000 opponent touches. De Zerbi’s men look to be shrewd in making their fouls to break up the play, as Brighton have got away with their fair share of fouls before being cautioned — the third-most behind Manchester City and West Ham.
Meanwhile, Everton and Chelsea’s difficult seasons are not helped by the fact their players are often seeing the referee reach for his pocket, with both making just five fouls before receiving a yellow card, the lowest rate in the Premier League this season.
In fairness, both sides’ to-do lists will have far more important things to address ahead of next season, but it is a disciplinary record that neither will be happy to see.
Across the whole campaign, Mikel Arteta named an unchanged starting line-up on 13 occasions — more than any other Premier League team.
As the joint-youngest average age in the squad (25.5 years), Arteta squeezed as much as he could out of his players in their memorable season. While injuries to key players did hamper their title push, it was ultimately a settled squad that Arteta was able to choose from.
At the other end, Brentford, Manchester City and Chelsea managed to go the whole season without naming the same starting XI. While Brentford were more likely to make tweaks to their team with 1.9 changes on average, Chelsea’s average of 3.7 changes per game — 139 in total — was the highest of any side in the league.
Not only that, Chelsea were the only side who failed to name an unchanged side across the whole of last season, meaning they have gone two full campaigns with a different team sheet.
Sadly not worthy of an award, but a great place to finish our ceremony.
The alternative Premier League awards: Biggest overperformer? Fastest shot? Sweepiest goalkeeper?
Your team may not have won the Premier League, but did they win one of The Athletic's alternative data-based awards?
theathletic.com
It’s that time of year again.
Manchester City are Premier League champions for the third season running, Erling Haaland has won the Golden Boot, the Premier League’s Player of the Season and the Football Writers’ Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year, and Kevin De Bruyne has landed the Premier League Playmaker of the Season for the third time in six years.
That’s right, it’s awards time. And sure, we could rattle out the traditional prizes when digging into the numbers, but let’s be more creative.
Let’s find out who is the ‘sweepiest’ of goalkeepers, who rotated their starting XI the most, and who logged the most powerful shot of the season.
Here are The Athletic’s 2022-23 alternative Premier League awards…
GO DEEPER
USMNT summer of transfers: Where will Pulisic, Adams, Musah end up?
Elsewhere on The Athletic…
- ‘I was wrong about…’ – Our writers confess to their 2022-23 mistakes
- Premier League clubs’ season summed up in 10 games
Most improved team
No good awards ceremony would be without a ‘most improved’ category, so we shall begin by looking at which team has changed the most in their points haul this season.Among the 17 teams to have played in the Premier League in the past two campaigns, only six have built upon their points tally from last season, but it is Newcastle who have shown the biggest improvement of any side — accruing 22 points more than 2021-22.
It has been a pivotal season for Eddie Howe and his men, with a top-four finish meaning Champions League football will return to St James’ Park for the first time since 2002-03.
GO DEEPER
Dear Eddie... Thank you, for all of it
At the other end, Chelsea fans might want to look away after gathering 30 points fewer than last season.
With both Chelsea and Liverpool playing 63 games apiece last season, the drop-off from both sides — with Liverpool 25 points worse off this season — has been one of the overwhelming narratives of the campaign.
The greatest variety of goals
Let’s talk goals.At team level, we can drill into the variety of goals scored by each side as a share of their total.
Brighton, Brentford and Southampton share the award as the only three teams to have logged at least one goal across each of the listed categories: open play, corner, direct and indirect free kick, penalty, throw-in, and counter-attacking situations.
At the same time, Brighton’s goalscoring has actually been the most homogenous, with 78 per cent of their goals coming from open play.
Meanwhile, Woolwich and Manchester United didn’t score from a direct free kick all season. Nearly a quarter of West Ham’s goals were from corners and Bournemouth did not take a single penalty all season.
Most goals from throw-ins
Looking at attacking throw-ins in particular, why are teams not maximising this opportunity more?A total of nine goals were scored from attacking-throw ins this season, up from seven last year — and just three in 2020-21 — but The Athletic have previously analysed how a throw into the box is about twice as valuable as one taken short from the same part of the pitch.
GO DEEPER
Get it launched — why long throw-ins into the penalty area are undervalued
Of course, Brentford have been staunch advocates of this set-piece approach since they arrived in the Premier League last season, with 113 long box-throws dwarfing all other teams in the league.
However, Southampton, West Ham and, more recently, Nottingham Forest have discovered the value of this technique, with Forest’s Moussa Niakhateparticularly impressive in his slingshot approach.
With three goals scored from throw-ins — constituting eight per cent of their total tally — Forest can pick up this award.
Most overperformed their xG
At player level, we can roll out the classic goalscoring data award to see who has performed above or below expectation in front of goal this season.Comparing each player’s non-penalty goals with their non-penalty expected goals (xG) tally, it is Harry Kane who has overperformed more than any other player this season — converting more than eight goals above expectation based on the quality of chances he found himself in.
Despite Spurs’ own struggles, Kane has had a superb season, overtaking Jimmy Greaves to become Spurs’ leading goalscorer and becoming England’s out-and-out top goalscorer in March.
More recently, he became the first player to score in 25 different matches in a single 38-game season — a record he extended to 26 on the final day — which is a highly impressive level of consistency.
If not for a certain Norwegian powerhouse, Kane’s 30 goals this season would have been enough for him to win the Premier League golden boot in each of the past four seasons.
Hard lines, Harry. Maybe next year.
Most underperformed their xG
It’s an award that no one wants, but the player with the largest difference below expectation in front of goal was Kai Havertz — scoring just six non-penalty goals from an xG of 10.8.It had to be a Chelsea player, didn’t it? Only Everton have underperformed their xG more this season — with the poor conversion of chances being an epidemic that has spread across the whole squad this season.
Meanwhile, Woolwich’s Eddie Nketiah has not been the most prolific in front of goal, scoring four goals fewer than he should have based on the quality of his chances. While Nketiah has been limited to just nine starts in the Premier League during Gabriel Jesus’ absence, the 23-year-old will be looking for a better goal return next season at Woolwich.
Fastest shot
An utterly pointless statistic in the wider analysis of the season, but a particularly fun one that you can share with your friends.Which player logged the fastest shot this season? The winner of this award certainly passes the eye test.
Kevin De Bruyne is quite simply very good at kicking a ball really hard. We’ve seen it in the Champions League and he hasn’t disappointed in the Premier League. Via Opta, his strike at the start of the season against Bournemouth was registered at 85.8mph — nearly 10mph more than the second-fastest shot from Marcus Rashford (vs Tottenham).
Some of the players on the list above are known for their powerful strikes, but some may surprise you. Either way, there were plenty of players who gave the goalkeeper no chance with their efforts, which brings us nicely onto…
Best shot-stopper
While Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has won the Premier League’s Golden Glove award with 17 clean sheets, who has had the best shot-stopping season?To answer this, we can use the ‘goals prevented’ metric, which compares how many goals a goalkeeper actually conceded versus the number they were expected to based on the quality of the shot.
In total, Fulham’s Bernd Leno lands the award for most goals prevented having stopped nearly 12 goals more than he was expected to from the efforts he faced — helping Marco Silva’s side to one of their best Premier League campaigns in recent memory.
If we were to look at ‘goals-prevented rate’ — which adjusts for the volume of shots a goalkeeper has faced — Liverpool’s Alisson would have one hand on the trophy.
The Brazilian’s goals-prevented rate of 1.3 means he would have been expected to concede 1.3 goals for every goal he actually conceded; a highly impressive return that justifiably makes him the strongest candidate for Liverpool’s player of the season.
Sweepiest goalkeeper
Sticking with Liverpool’s stopper, Alisson also scoops the award for the most ‘sweeper actions’ — defined as defensive actions made outside the box — with 2.4 per 90 being the highest average among all goalkeepers this season.Liverpool’s high defensive line is well-established, but no goalkeeper has to be more alert to the threat than Alisson to hoover up those loose balls.
Elsewhere, Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez pushes Alisson all the way for the award with 2.2 sweeper actions per 90, with Unai Emery instilling bravery in his side’s high defensive line since he arrived.
Meanwhile, Newcastle’s Nick Pope has continued to be quick off his line since arriving from Burnley in the summer.
Most effective at set pieces
Back to team level and a part of the game that has a growing number of dedicated backroom staff in recent seasons.
Yes, we’re talking about set pieces — but rather than look at the most goals scored from set pieces, we need to account for the opportunity to score and calculate how prolific each team has been from their situations.
Looking at the volume of set pieces per goal — where a lower tally denotes a stronger output — Spurs land the award as the best set-piece takers. With the dedicated playbook that set-piece coach Gianni Vio has to hand, it is of little surprise to see them top the list.
The thesis that Vio wrote when completing his coaching badges was entitled: “Set pieces: the 15-goal striker”.
How many goals have Spurs scored this season? Sixteen. Almost perfectly on the money.
At the other end of this scale, Brighton have been particularly wasteful from their set-piece opportunities this season, taking 42.3 plays, on average, before scoring.
Worst at defending set pieces
It doesn’t look much better for Brighton defensively as they land the unwanted award for the fewest set pieces per goal conceded, with opponents needing just 16.4 opportunities before scoring.
Something for Roberto De Zerbi to address in the summer ahead of a historic first season containing European football.
Interestingly, Everton have been the most resolute in defending from set pieces, forcing opponents to have 40.3 chances before scoring.
After scraping survival on the final day, Sean Dyche will be encouraged by their defensive strength from a dead-ball situation. It might prove a good foundation to build from next season.
Most focused on a particular attacking flank
Working back from the goalmouth action, it is a fun exercise to see how each Premier League side advanced the ball into the final third.Wolves are the most focused on the right channel, getting it to Adama Traore, followed by Woolwich, then Liverpool and Newcastle, whose right-sided dominance is focused around deliveries from full-back Kieran Trippier, with the 32-year-old making 133 open-play crosses this season — more than double the tally of his remaining team-mates.
On the other flank, Fulham and West Ham are the most left-dominant, followed by Brentford and Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola’s focus on width across the pitch allowing them to attack with a front five — made more potent by their recent three-box-three system (or 3-2-4-1) in attacking phases.
Meanwhile, Brighton are an interesting case study as the side most likely to enter the final third through the central channel of the pitch. With De Zerbi’s possession-based style, Brighton will often drop their striker — most prominently Evan Ferguson — into midfield areas to allow wide players like Solly March and Kaoru Mitoma to make runs from out to in.
Most passes under pressure per 90
The centre of the pitch will commonly be the most congested area, but which player thrives the most when an opponent is breathing down their neck?Manchester City’s Rodri scoops this award, edging out Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes as the player who makes the most passes under pressure — defined by Opta as a pass made when an opponent is within two metres of the player — per 90 minutes.
Not only does he make the most pressured passes, but Rodri’s pass completion of 86 per cent stands as the second-highest rate of any player in the top 20, just behind Riyad Mahrez. The headlines have rightfully gone to Haaland this season, but you could make a strong case that Rodri has been the most indispensable player from a City perspective.
Most fouls committed
For the second season in a row, Leeds United have the title of the most fouls committed in the Premier League, with 466 in total across 2022-23.An unwanted record, no doubt, but when accounting for possession, it is actually Brighton who make the most fouls per 1,000 opponent touches. De Zerbi’s men look to be shrewd in making their fouls to break up the play, as Brighton have got away with their fair share of fouls before being cautioned — the third-most behind Manchester City and West Ham.
Meanwhile, Everton and Chelsea’s difficult seasons are not helped by the fact their players are often seeing the referee reach for his pocket, with both making just five fouls before receiving a yellow card, the lowest rate in the Premier League this season.
In fairness, both sides’ to-do lists will have far more important things to address ahead of next season, but it is a disciplinary record that neither will be happy to see.
Most settled team
Finally, the award for the most settled side of the season.Across the whole campaign, Mikel Arteta named an unchanged starting line-up on 13 occasions — more than any other Premier League team.
As the joint-youngest average age in the squad (25.5 years), Arteta squeezed as much as he could out of his players in their memorable season. While injuries to key players did hamper their title push, it was ultimately a settled squad that Arteta was able to choose from.
At the other end, Brentford, Manchester City and Chelsea managed to go the whole season without naming the same starting XI. While Brentford were more likely to make tweaks to their team with 1.9 changes on average, Chelsea’s average of 3.7 changes per game — 139 in total — was the highest of any side in the league.
Not only that, Chelsea were the only side who failed to name an unchanged side across the whole of last season, meaning they have gone two full campaigns with a different team sheet.
Sadly not worthy of an award, but a great place to finish our ceremony.
