Kinmartin: Count on the Impatient

Matchday 11 facts and figures, for Jalf Bros and beyond….

The collective wisdom of football spectators, though generally hollow, must be weighed occasionally. Few in the sect can consistently detect specific realities on the pitch, but such cultivated opinion will only drown amid the drunk and baseless who yearn to be considered nevertheless. And they are critical in one sense — the emotions flowing through the “streets” (these days, the internet perhaps) are the chimes that players and staff inevitably digest in some way inside or outside the stadium.

Interesting then to interpret the popular Sky Sports fan rating system for each match and how those valuations level against that of the match analyst assigned by the network. At some point the inner workings of his dispassion will stray a few lengths from the bantering intellects of observers elsewhere.

In Villa’s case, as the paid analyzers don’t seem particularly aghast with the scoring problems of the past month, the perspective outside truly is festering. Andreas Weimann and Christian Benteke, beloved as they were at the end of the 2012-2013 campaign, are suddenly approaching Alan Hutton levels of depreciation — he among the league’s most polarized subjects in this Sky fans vs. Sky analysts valuations game during the height of his participation with AV.

Below is a look at the average squad ratings so far recorded from both ledgers, where the interpretations are mostly similar while the few breaches in viewpoint ought to be known to anticipate which breezes of public sway are forthcoming.

+0.2  Okore 6.2 / 6.0

+0.1  Clark 6.7 / 6.6

-0.8  Tonev 4.7 / 5.5

-0.8  Weimann 5.1 / 5.9

-0.9  Lowton 5.3 / 6.2

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In fact, no other non-forwards have put a larger percentage of their total passes into the penalty area this season. Below is evidence on the full list. Note: Corner kicks and free kicks have been excluded from these figures.

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There is much to like about the Cardiff return to the top flight, another vibrant episode coming last week when the Bluebirds put together their 1-0 win while neither Peter Whittingham, Craig Bellamy nor Peter Odemwingie was a prominent presence (together, the accomplished trio possessed the ball only 21 times in Cardiff’s attack half of the field during live play in the second half).

Still, vulnerabilities abound as they hit Trinity Road. Only Fulham is allowing shots quicker while opponents have possession. Below is the list of average rates for opposition ball time between shots allowed.

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