Most crucially, look at just how many times Noble passes the ball! Nolan made 1009 passes last season and 827 went to a team mate. Collison, apparently, only made 105 passes, with just 91 hitting a man in Claret and Blue. Noble, on the other hand, passed the ball 1331 times and made 1074 completed passes!
All season, I argued that Noble was the hub of the team and these stats prove it. Noble and Nolan enjoyed similar game time to each other and Noble saw far more of the ball, and far more than any of his other team mates.
Those who still harbour a prejudice for what ever reason need to explain why the stats support the view that Noble is fundamental to our game plan. Even with long ball Allardyce in charge, Noble gets on the ball more than any other player and all fans of proper football should be grateful for his presence. Without him, the ball would go long far more often!
Pirlo's pass completion rate in the European Championship? Not much better than Noble's!
Kevin in Manchester writes...
ReplyDeletemakes you think that perhaps the long ball game you accuse Alladyce of importing is an unfounded prejudice on your part!
I think Noble refuses to follow orders! Don't you remember that time - against Bristol City? - when Allardyce was yelling him to pass it back to Green and Noble completely igored him, setting up play with a pass out to the flank instead?
ReplyDeleteWest Ham Pirlo????
ReplyDeletein the same sentence.
nah
Not that I disagree at how important Noble was but no way do these stats prove it.
ReplyDeleteYou can pick stats to make any point you like.
Not that I am suggesting this is the case but what Noble's passes were all under 5 yards and the 257 that didn't reach a teammate resulted in conceding a goal or a goal scoring opportunity?
I agree that Noble was important to us last season but be careful when you use statistics because they rarely tell the whole story.
We should be able to gauge his value just by watching him play.
You can't compare stats for other players playing different roles - you might as well compare him to Green. Compare his stats this season to players in similar roles for other teams.
ReplyDeleteTwist the facts whichever way you want but the fact is - Noble is an average player as proved by the lack of offers for him when we were relegated - something that happens for good players playing for relegated clubs.
Anonymous poster must not have watched us last season. We were a long ball team.
ReplyDeleteThe Allardyce method is the one pioneered by Charles Taylor and Don Howe back in the 80s. They did a load of research on how goals were scored and found that by far the most were scored with 3 passes or less. Graham Taylor tried it with some success (yes, he did have some success, lest we forget). Jack Charlton's Ireland were probably the most successful exponents.
The philosophy is that by going long you minimise risk to your own goal and create continuous pressure on the opposition's defensive third. When the ball goes long it tends to come back from forwards or defensive headers. Then you battle like hell for the breakdown ball which is mainly in the opposition's half. Hence why Charlton played McGrath in midfield - you need a lot of muscle to make it work but you also need width.
Last season, our narrow 4-3-3 and lack of quality wide (neither fullback nor wingers) meant we had piles of possession 40 yards out but were faced with 8 or 9 opposition players behind the ball. Hence Noble getting the ball a lot as the wide options were limited and he was really the only player adept at threading something through. Problem was, we didn't have (or didn't select) the fowrards with the touch to operate in such narrow spaces. Almost all the stuff that was created from wide was when opponents became so squeezed there was a bit of room near the corner flags to get something over. And again Noble was often the supplier to the crosser after picking something up near the edge of the box. Nolan was by that stage snooping in the box and Collison was trying to make the late run in.
This explains our superior away record. Home teams left more room at the back as they were more attack minded on their own patch. So we got a bit of room for our clumsy but powerful and relatively pacey forwards to work.
Regrettably (from a success point of view), this will probably not work in the PL. Fortunately (from a style point of view), Sam will have to try something different. A second ball player in the middle is essential to cover for injury to Noble. Stankovic makes sense in this respect and we could do with another one as well. We'll also need proper fullbacks and wingers. We'll need a winger on the pitch from the start of every game. And I don't mean Matt Taylor. Seb Laursen would be ideal if we could afford him. A proper 4-5-1 formation with midfielders making late breaks looks like the best bet for us.
Hahaaa?! Is this some kind of sick joke?
ReplyDeletecheck out wrighty on the org on the andy murray page with DITM, OMG! Come back will you fella?
ReplyDeleteNice try HF! If he is really that good we should sell him to Barcelona to replace Xavi. He would be so great playing in between Iniesta and Messi.
ReplyDeleteHow much did you have to drink. I mean really...
Yes, Stani it is a sick joke aiming to get me and you started. Well it won't succeed. Have a nice night HF. Nice try.
He is a fantastic player great penalty taker should be signed by a club like Liverpool or Arsenal
ReplyDelete