stat magazine - issue one

CONTENTS

EDITORDAVID BOWERS

FEATURES EDITORRYAN PARRISH

pictures EDITORLewis kavanagh

SUB-EDITORdan whitelegg

4World cup 2014contenders

9underrated and overrated players

19The prozonerevolution

24A deservedEngland xi

26alternative englandmanagers

p 26

p 24

p 19

p 9Photo by Anthony BookerPhoto by vilnietis

Photo by Mikhail Slein

Cover Photo by iDan Design

Hello, Ciao, Bonjour and Hola. Football is universally recognised as the greatest sport, and it’s popularity shows no signs of diminishing.

We’ve had an incredible start to the season, with Manchester United losing grip on their Premier League hold, Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich revolution in top gear, Roma’s blistering start in Serie A and Atletico Madrid’s attempts to break the ‘top two’ dominance in Spain.

It’s all providing a toasty warm-up to next year’s carinvale in Brazil, when the world’s top international sides meet next summer for a festival of passion, skill, agony, ectasty and world-class football.

What comes hand-in-hand with the elite tournaments, is debate. It’s what makes the beautiful game, so popular.

We at Stat, are commited to changing the impression of statistics - often seen as mind-numbing and heavy. We want to search through a mountain of statistics to uncover the gems, the articles that will shock and surprise you, whilst saving you the time.

If statistics were the most pivotal factor in football, it’d be completely predictable. But, the unpredictability of football is what makes it so exciting and nerve-jangling.

Our statistics-based articles will ensure you continue the debate, and you’ll be in for surprise as we uncover who is overrated in football, who should be the England manager, and who should be in walking out with Roy in Rio.

Enjoy our first issue.

David Bowers,Editor of Stat Magazine

Letter From The Editor

Can Ronaldo finally end the reign of ‘La Pulga?’

By Dan Whitelegg

The Ballon d’Or nominees are out and the FIFA world player of the year will be announced in January after being whittled down to just three later this month.

While there are no English players on the 23-name shortlist, Gareth Bale did make the cut and after a spectacular season at Tottenham, which resulted in him becoming the most expensive player in history via a move to Real Madrid, he is backed by the bookies to at least make the final three. The two other obvious candidates, who will inevitably battle it out with Bale, are Ronaldo and four-time consecutive winner Messi.

Just five years ago, Bale was a floundering left-back whose potential was on the brink of being completely unrecognised. How things have changed though for the now most-expensive player in world football whose move into a free attacking role saw him dominate the Premier League with a plethora of spectacular goals and impressive European performances. Since his £85 million move to Madrid he has silenced some of his critics with a string of notable displays which have seen him score four goals in six starts, and aided his team with five assists. It’s hard to stand out in a team that has Cristiano Ronaldo, but Bale is doing that as he settles into La Liga. He won PFA player’s player, young player and football writers player of the year awards at the end of last season, but the Ballon d’Or may just be one step too far for the Welsh wizard.

Though it is hard to believe Ronaldo has only got better since leaving the Manchester drizzle for sunny Madrid and his stats in 2013 have been just as unbelievable. In the last 12 months he has helped himself to 62 goals for club and country with 14 of those coming in the Champions League. This season he has been particularly sparkling, scoring 24 goals in 17 games in all competitions, contributing five

Lionel Messi: Can the Barcelona man make it five in a row?

assists and having an average of nearly eight shots a game. His unsavoury relationship with FIFA president Sepp Blatter could result in another near miss for the Portuguese star, but there’s no doubt that an award is long overdue.

Andrew Murray, writer for leading football magazine FourFourTwo, thinks the award should go to Ronaldo this year and said: “I think it would be more interesting if Ronaldo won it. I think Messi’s the better player, but Ronaldo has been something else for the last 12 months. His goal scoring record is exceptional in 2013 and he’s scored more goals than Levante this season.”

If it wasn’t for one man, Ronaldo would probably have won the Ballon d’Or already. That man is Lionel Messi. Four time winner Messi never ceases to amaze fans and pundits alike and finished the 2012/2013 at the top of the scoring charts with an outstanding 45 goal tally. Despite injuries and reports of unrest at Barcelona, Messi has continued his fine form into this season with 14 goals in 14 appearances this year. However, he is expected to be out for the next couple of months through injury and this will give Ronaldo a chance to take the lead in the stats charts.

Murray agrees and says: “Messi’s starting to pick

Picture rights go to Carlos RM

6 - Stat -Issue One

up injuries, and though Barca aren’t the same team without him and his injuries aren’t his fault, that counts against him. Messi’s more of a natural footballer, but I’d like to see Ronaldo win it, even if he ends up not going to the World Cup.”

FIFA could throw us a surprise though and we can’t completely discount the other 20 players who have been nominated. Zlatan Ibrahimovic has really matured over the last few years and this is perhaps the last chance the 32-year-old has at winning it. Traditionally a controversial figure, his 30 goals last season helped PSG lift the Ligue 1 title. He’s followed that with 15 goals this term and a range of spectacular strikes, including four against England, and has cemented his position as one of the Europe’s top strikers.

Dortmunds Lewandowski is another towering forward who has had an impressive year with his stock rising enough to make him one of the most sought after players in the game. While a move away seems imminent, his continued form of 12 goals this season means he’s at least a contender for January’s top prize.

Other names on the list include Philipp Lahm, Neymar, Robin Van Persie and Luis Suarez, but it’s hard to look much further than Cristiano Ronaldo to finally put his name on the Ballon d’Dor trophy.

Gareth Bale (Real Madrid/Wales), Edinson Cavani (Paris St-Germain/Uruguay), Radamel Falcao (Mona-co/Colombia), Eden Hazard (Chelsea/Belgium), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Paris St-Germain/Sweden), Andres Iniesta (Barcelona/Spain), Philipp Lahm (Bayern Munich/Germany), Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund/Poland), Lionel Messi (Barcelona/Argentina), Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich/Germany), Manuel Neuer (Bayern Munich/Germany), Neymar (Barcelona/Brazil), Mesut Ozil (Arsenal/Germany), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus/Italy), Franck Ribery (Bayern Munich/France), Arjen Robben (Bayern Munich/Netherlands), Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid/Portugal), Bastian Schweinsteiger (Bayern Munich/Ger-many), Luis Suarez (Liverpool/Uruguay), Thiago Silva (Paris St-Germain/Brazil), Yaya Toure (Manches-ter City/Ivory Coast), Robin Van Persie (Manchester United/Netherlands), Xavi (Barcelona/Spain).

Ronaldo: The Real Madrid star is backed by the bookies to finally take the Ballon d’Or from Lionel Messi

Picture rights go to calciostreaming

Stat - Issue One - 7

The nominees...

Football by Stats

15Amount of goals scored by Luis Suarez. The highest in the Premier League. 0 100 200 300 400 500

Bundesliga

la liga

premier league

Serie A

Goals scored

Goals scored

0 2 4 6 8 10

Bundesliga

la liga

premier league

Serie A

Most assists by one player

Most assists by one player

9 The most amount of cards received by any player across the European leagues.

Liverpool have scored 13 set piece goals this season. The most by any team across the top four European teams.

“

9

”Yaya Toure has got 91% passing accuracy in the Premier League this season.Steven Caulker has made the most blocks in the Premier League this season making 26 blocks.Vallecano have conceeded the most goals in across the top four European teams conceding 36 goals.

20 Real Madrid have scored highest amount of goals in the Champions League, scoring 18.

The number of goals Ronaldo got to break the record for most goals scored in the Champions League group stage this year.

Atletico Madrid midfielder, Koke has got 8 assists in the season so far, the most across the top 4 European teams.

I Stand firm will be very close. I hope we are in it at the end of the season.

David Moyes

16 Bayern Munich have won their last 16 games at home in the Bundesliga

8 - Stat - Issue One

Picture Courtesy of Jan SOLO

Picture courtesy of agmcat

From the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga, Stat Magazine runs the rule over Europe’s most over and underrated players in the four top divisions. Nobody is safe.

TIME TO BERUTHLESS


Bundesliga’s Underrated playerMax kruse

It looked like Borussia Monchengladbach had surrendered all of their progression when they sold star-man Marco Reus to rivals Borussia Dortmund in January 2012 for €17m.

After flying at the top of the Bundesliga leading up to the winter transfer window, Monchengladbach continued their meteoric rise up the league without their talisman, with impressive victories away at Leverkusen and Stuttgart, whilst comprehensively beating top sides Bayern Munich and Schalke at home during a seven-game unbeaten run. A deserved Champions League place was their reward.

The following season, disappointment ensued. Expected to push on as genuine title contenders, Lucien Favre’s side succumbed to disappointing hammerings at Werder Bremen and Dortmund, amongst too many home draws. Many critics believed that they returned to their rightful position in the league come May after finishing 8th.

This year has seen a massive revival; largely lead by Max Kruse. The German has continued his fine form from his previous season at Freiburg, where he bagged a brace against Monchengladbach, helping him reach a tally of 11 goals for the term. Since moving, Kruse has banged in a massively impressive seven goals in

11 games, whilst helping his team mates with four assists.

His all-round game is also superb, with a highly respectable pass success rate of 83.7%, creating a mammoth 27 chances for his colleagues whilst playing in a variety of positions ranging from winger to striker to playmaker.

Gladbach’s total of 28 goals is only bettered by Dortmund’s

reputable strike force who’ve hammered in 32 goals in 12 games. He isn’t afraid of taking on the notoriously stern Bundesliga defences, and his tally of 48 is the highest of all the forwards in the league. What’s even more impressive is that his success rate of 67% ranks him higher than Franck Ribery’s 60% success

rate, despite the Frenchman being regarded as possibly the best winger/dribbler in the world at the moment.

Kruse featured in the friendly win over England in November, with pundits and experts suggesting that he could lead the line for Germany in Brazil. If he continues his form, there’s no doubt he can transform himself from an underrated prospect to an outstanding international footballer. David Bowers.

Photo by: Northside

Picture rights go to funky1opti


Bundesliga’s overrated playerLuiZ gustavo

When Gustavo decided to leave behind Guardiola’s revolution at Munich for the modest, midtable obscurity of Wolfsburg, Arsenal fans bemoaned their clubs lack of ability to impact upon Jim White’s transfer rhetoric, as the Brazilian defensive midfielder shunned the Emirates to stay in Germany.

Only 10 games into the Bundesliga season however, the Gunners faithful may be forgiven for exhaling a sigh of relief as the Champions League medal holder has made a less than accomplished start to his time in Lower Saxony. Since an impressive debut, in which the Brazilian international played a starring role in the 4-0 demolition of Schalke, Gustavo has failed to live up to his €20million (£17million) transfer fee. The biggest question mark so far has been over his discipline. In just 8 appearances for the club, Luiz Gustavo Dias has seen 2 red cards in back to back league games, both of which resulted in defeats for Die Wölfe, and has committed 24 fouls to date. While these kinds of stats are to be expected of a hard tackling defensive midfielder, backed up by his impressive average of 4.3 tackles per game, suggests that his effect on the team is proving as detrimental as it is good.

Going forward the Champions League winner has been less than imposing. He has scored one goal so far this season, grabbing the winner in a 2-1 victory at Augsburg in October, however it’s his lack of any assists which is perhaps the most

disappointing, with the price tag suggesting he could dictate the play better. On the plus side however, his pass completion of 86.8% is one of the best in the league, with 310 of his 357 passes this season finding their intended target. Of these though, only two have resulted in chances for his team mates.While Gustavo has proved this season to be a decent and capable defensive midfielder, it is the value for money aspect which leaves him a little lacking when compared to other players in his position.

A better illustration of value for money though would be Milan Badelj. The Croatian signed for Hamburg in the summer of 2012 for a mere £2.95million and has gone on to be one of the best holding midfielders in Europe. His stats may not be as high as the aforementioned but are close enough suggest that he is better signing. Defensively, his tackle per game average of 3.5 is impressive while he has

only given away half the fouls of Brazilian international Gustavo. He has one assist this season and has created five more chances for his team. While not as high as Gustavo’s, his pass success rate of 83.4% of 465 passes (which is actually more passes than Gustavo) is extremely impressive.

While there is no doubt that Gustavo has had a decent enough start to his Wolsburg career it is his price tag which lets him down with adept options being available for much less money.Dan Whitelegg


Photo by: Agencia Brasil


La liga’s underrated playercani

When looking for the most underrated La Liga player, it’s easy to not look much past the likes of Ivan Rakitic or a Giovani Dos Santos, both of who have received mass praise this season, but have also had their time courted by top European clubs. The player chosen to shine the spotlight on is a veteran of the Spanish game, but like a fine wine, he seems to only be getting better.

At the age of 32, Villarreal’s Cani, aka Ruben Garcia Calmache, has been an instrumental part of a ‘Yellow submarines’ team which has settled back into the Spanish top flight with ease after a season of being a big fish in a small pond in the Segunda Division. Cani, who was part of the team that finished La Liga runners-up in 2008 and the one which got relegated in 2012, has flourished in side which is threatening the Champions League places.

A left sided midfielder, Cani is rising to the top of the assists charts with an impressive five so far this season from his 13 appearances. This is one more than Messi and two more than Ronaldo. His eye for a key pass is also supported by the 17 chances he’s created overall for his team mates this season out of a total of 489 passes. Cani also has two goals to his name and his impressive stats are also backed by the two man of the match awards he’s received , both in wins against Granada and Espanyol respectively.

For all his attacking attributes, Cani is well known for his hard work and team ethic and for a wide man; his 34 tackles this season and 22 interceptions, highlight a player who certainly doesn’t ignore his defensive responsibilities.

For a player that cost £9.3million when he signed from Zaragoza in 2006 (pennies by today’s standards), Cani has proved to be a fantastic servant to Villarreal. He has somehow managed to slip under the radar of clubs

who will be bemoaning the fact that they didn’t sign him on the cheap during Villarreal’s demise. Their loss is El Submarino’s gain as they now possess a Ryan Giggs-esque midfielder who is capable of firing them back into one of Europe’s elite. Dan Whitelegg


““his five assists rank higher

than cristiano ronaldo and

lionel messi

Photo by: Tpower1978

12 - Stat- Issue One

La liga’s overrated playersami khedira

Real Madrid undoubtedly have plethora of talented players to choose from, however along with the stars there are a number of players which performances seem very ordinary.

Sami Khedira at 26 should be about to hit his peak as a footballer, however his recently statistics don’t suggest this. On Whoscored.com he has been given a rating of 6.65 out of 10 on average for his performances in La Liga, and this ranks him 17th out of the 25 Real Madrid players.

Along with Xabi Alonso, he is considered as one of Real’s main defensive midfielders and with Alonso only having 2 appearances compared to Khedira’s 10 appearances.

As a defensive midfielder: blocks, interceptions and clearances are very important and on Squawka it states he has an average of three of these defensive actions per game.

When you compare this to Barcelona’s defensive midfielder, Sergio Busquets, he has an average of five defensive actions per game and has a passing accuracy of 94%. In terms of passing accuracy you would expect a defensive midfielder to convert a high amount of passes when connecting the defence and the midfielder and collecting the ball from a deep lying position. Khedira’s passing accuracy is relatively high at 85% and short passing is a focus of his gameplay.

WhoScored emphasizes one of his weaknesses

being tackling, and to class yourself as a defensive midfielder who can’t tackle, is rather hypocritical. It’s like saying you’re a striker who can’t score goals or a goalkeeper who can’t catch.

Real Madrid have spent £143 million on summer signings, but sit third in the La Liga table with Barcelona six points ahead of them

and Athletico Madrid three points ahead of them. So they haven’t had the best of starts to the season and players like Sami Khedira haven’t helped their cause.

Khedira’s form will have to rapidly improve if he wants to start in Joachim Low’s starting XI next year in Brazil, which is a hard task in itself. The likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Mario Gotze and Sven Bender are providing incredibly tough competition, which ranks the German’s as hot favourites for the tournament. Lewis Kavanagh.


““His whoscoredrating is a lowly

6.65 out of 10

Photo by: Steindy.

Premier league’s underrated playerClaudio yacob

West Brom have started the season brightly with an away win at Old Trafford being a highlight, a feat they haven’t been able to do since 1978.

The Baggies have made a few additions in the likes of Amalfitano, Berahino, and Anichebe which have improved their squad. They are now being regarded as a top Premier League team, and have lost the label of being a yo-yo club.

One player which has seem to go under the radar is Claudio Yacob. Having moved to The Albion last season, he looks like he is now settling into English football and gives West Brom a solid base from the centre of midfield.

He has been able to build a strong, powerful midfield partnership with Mulumbu, full of strong tackling and important interceptions.

He has made 25 tackles this season, the 4th best in the premier league. He has an average of 5 defensive actions per game and the chart on the right categorises these into three different groups.

It highlights how he has made a lot of defensive clearances but highlights that he also makes a high amount of interceptions which is an important attribute for a defensive midfielder.

In the modern game, having a good defensive midfielder to give freedom to your wingers and maybe a player sitting in the hole behind the

striker, is becoming an increasingly preferred tactic for managers.

Yacob certainly does this, and his man of the match performance against Arsenal highlights his qualities. He even headed the baggies goal in this 1-1 draw at the Hawthorns.

At 26 years old, he arguably has not reached his peak as a defensive midfielder. With his combative displays attracting the eye of Europe’s top clubs, there is a possibility that Yacob could feature in next year’s World Cup

for his native Argentina. With the likes of Esteban Cambiasso and Javier Mascherano reaching the end of their careers, a spot in midfield is certainly up for grabs.

He isn’t a player to put in your fantasy football team, however he is one of the most

underestimated players of the Premier League in regards to what he provides for the team as a whole and it wouldn’t be surprising if he moves to a top five club in the near future. Lewis Kavanagh.


““He has made 25 tackles this season, 4th best in the

league

Photo by: Steve Collins.


Premier League’s overrated playerGaston ramirez

Remember when we were all outraged at chairman Nicola Cortese’s decision to replace Southampton fan-favourite Nigel Adkins with Mauricio Pochettino? As Southampton currently sit comfortably in 3rd place in the Premier League, the Argentine is having the last laugh, albeit through his translator.

The Saints have played some outstanding football this term and their fluid style of play marshalled by captain Adam Lallana has propelled them to the summit of the table, which is fully deserved.

Lallana and team-mate Rickie Lambert have both been called up for Roy Hodgson’s England side for the upcoming friendlies against Chile and Germany after helping their side to an impressive 15 goals so far. What’s even more impressive, is their exceptional record of conceding just five goals which is currently the best in the league. However, a man tipped to impress simply hasn’t.

Gaston Ramirez showed glimpses of his £12m price tag last year and would be expected to be the lynchpin of Southampton’s successes this year. The Uruguayan has had a poor term and has largely watched his team’s superb performances from the bench, after a string of abject displays.

His pass accuracy of 70% ranks amongst the

lowest of Premier League midfielders this year, with only West Brom’s Chris Brunt (65%) and Sunderland’s Adam Johnson (68%) having a worse pass success rate of those who have played more than five games this year.

Granted, some midfielders aren’t blessed with talent for passing. However, taking the Uruguayan’s dribbling statistics into account doesn’t help him out either. During his five appearances, Ramirez has attempted nine take-ons and completed just two of them, meaning

that his success rate his a lowly 22%.

He has yet to start this season so it could be seen as a harsh criticism, but Southampton cannot afford to spend £12m on a substitute. When he signed last year, it was seen as an incredible coup for a club who were hosting Hereford in a league match a few years ago. Ironically, as Southampton progresses his career is stagnating, so he needs to impress Pochettino

quickly or the idea that he was once linked with Barcelona and Real Madrid will look increasingly laughable by the minute. David Bowers

Stat- Issue One - 15


““ his take-on success rate is

22%Photo by: Jikatu

Serie a’s underrated playerMehdi benatia

You’d be forgiven for overlooking Serie A, often recognised as a sluggish, tactical league. The explosive start to the Italian season, however, has rendered those previous suggestions as utterly obsolete.

A standard start to Serie A would see the likes of AC Milan, Inter and Juventus battling out for an early lead, until one of them breaks free and the others settle for the Champions League places. This season, Rudi Garcia’s Roma have torn up the script and surprised Italy with a combination of devastating attacking play and beautiful flair, resulting in an incredible run of form which sees them top the table, winning all nine opening games.

With a style strikingly similar to the 1988/89 European Cup winning AC Milan side, Garcia’s Franco Baresi has been the unstoppable defensive wall, Mehdi Benatia.

The Moroccan international has an impressive 76% tackle success rate, which is even more admirable when you compare it to top-class internationals such as 67-time-capped Italian Giorgio Chiellini, who has managed 71%, and Milan’s Cristian Zapata who has thus far managed a 60% tackle success rate.

Although Benatia has had less tackles to make than Chiellini and Zapata, it’s a testament to Roma and their defensive line that they’ve had less defensive work than their rivals.With an outstanding pass success rate of 89%, Benatia has proved to be somewhat of a cool head in the Roma backline. This has no doubt

been helped by the standard of his teammates, in particular the rejuvenation of their talismanic captain, Francesco Totti.

A hero for those in the maroon half of Rome, the 37-year-old has been greeted with a chorus of calls demanding that he returns to the Italian fold for their quest to replicate their 2006 World Cup glory in Brazil next year, and it’s no surprise.

After a great return of three goals and six assists in their opening nine games, Totti has been an integral part in Roma’s blistering start which has seen them fire in 23 goals.

Whilst Totti and attackers Miralem Pjanic, Gervinho and Alessandro Florenzi taking the majority of the credit, Benatia, who has chipped in with two goals himself, has been a rock at the heart of the defence.

Signed as a replacement for PSG bound Marquinhos, the Romans have conceded one solitary goal, helping to

back up the adage that you have to “build from the back”.

A defence which includes Maicon, Leandro Castan and Federico Balzaretti, has combined with a devastating attack force to ensure that Italy takes this side seriously.

After an impressive 3-0 win over Inter at the San Siro and a crucial 2-0 victory over arch-rivals Lazio on the weekend, it’s hard to see anyone breaking down Benatia’s barrier. David Bowers.



Photo by: Arvedui89

Almost mirroring his 2012 loan spell at Manchester City, David Pizarro has struggled to make any kind of impact upon Fiorentina’s season.

The Chilean midfielder enjoyed a relatively strong return to Serie A in the previous campaign with the Viola, but this time around, Pizarro has been somewhat of a liability for Vincenzo Montella’s side.

Sent-off in the dying stages of a 1-1 draw with Cagliari in Florence just 22 minutes after coming on, and with three yellow cards collected from his opening eight league games, Pizarro’s lack of discipline is particularly surprising for a player with such a wealth of experience.

The former Roma man was also dismissed in Fiorentina’s Europa League win over Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk for two bookings, something which Montella could do without as he leads a charge for Champions League qualification.

With an average Who Scored rating of 6.54, Pizarro is ranked 240th out of the 304 Serie A players charted and is the lowest ranked midfielder to have started more than six league games.

As with those who mainly operate in a holding

role, a shortfall in creativity can often be forgiven, but with a shots-per-game average of 0.3 and still yet to assist a goal, the 34-year-old has been outshone by the likes of Roma’s Kevin Strootman (five assists, 1.6 SPG) and Cagliari’s Daniel Conti (one assist, 2.8 SPG) in terms of finding the right balance between attacking and defensive duties.

After a disappointing spell in England, Pizarro was keen to refresh his reputation after previously being receognised as one of the world’s top creative midfielders.

Where Pizarro does somewhat redeem himself is with his pass success rate (89.9%), here, he stands just above Italy and Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi (89.7%) and AC Milan’s Massimo Ambrosini (89.1%), although players like team-mate Matia Fernandez (92.9%) and Milan’s Nigel de Jong (91.6%) are still able to raise the bar that crucial bit higher, something

which can make all the difference in such a closely-contested division. Ryan Parrish.

Serie a’s overrated playerdavid pizarro



““ Pizarro’s whoscored

rating is 6.54

Photo by: Insidefoto Luca Pagliaricci

Statiscal Best XI Of The Season

M.PerinGenoa

M.DebuchyNewcastle

A. LucarelliParma

Naldo Wolfsburg

R. RodriguezWolfburg

A.RamseyArsenal

I.RakiticSevilla

R. Alvarez Inter

F.RiberyBayern Munich

M.KruseBorrussia

M.Gladbach

L.SuarezLiverpool

Mattia Perin has had a bril-liant start to Serie A, earning three man-of-the match award this season. At right back, Mathieu Debuchy has been an important link in the resurgence of the Newcastle side, and often provides them option on the overlap. Naldo is surely putting himself forward, as a defensive option for Brazil providing Wolfs-burg a solid base to work from. Lucarelli main attribute is the timing of his tackling and has been excellent for Parma. Rodriguez another Wolfsburg defender gives them width, and is brilliant on the ball. Ramsey is argu-ably having the season of his life with 10 goals already to his name this season. Rakitic has been a consistent perfor-mancer for Sevilla offering five assists and seven goals for the club. Alvarez is the complete midfield and offers attacking flair along with defensive excellence. Ribery gives Bayern a great opportu-nity on the counter with his pace and dribbling skills, he can easily beat the defender. Suarez has been outstanding for Liverpool, his talent is un-denialable and like brilliant football manages to find a option that most of us tend to to see. Kruse has scored eight goals this season and his performances in the league have rightly earned himself a place in the German national team.


FOOTBALL BUT NOT AS WE KNOW IT

Hailed as football’s light bulb moment, Prozone undisputedly changed the face of the beautiful game. Ryan Parrish goes behind-the-scenes at their HQ.


‘Arry’ wanted it but was he the right man for England?

If only ‘Arry could keep his opinions as attractive as his son Jamie, he would perhaps have more fans at the FA.

Redknapp senior’s latest outburst has may-be not shown him in the best light as he vociferously claimed that he was the man for the England job when Capello left the role in early 2012.

In his autobiography; Always Managing: My Autobiography by Harry Redknapp, Redknapp revealed how he expected to be offered the job before then West Brom boss Roy Hodgson was unveiled by the FA two months after Capello’s departure.“Everyone said I was the people’s choice, the only choice. All the senior players seemed to be up for me to get the job...But the FA went for Roy Hodgson to be the England manager - a man who is more their cup of tea.”Had he been appointed to the post at the time nobody would have argued,with the QPR boss being backed heavily by the media, bookies and even players themselves, to take charge of the three lions.His recent outburst however, highlighted by the Daily Mail who had been serialising the book, has raised some interesting queries namely regarding the credentials of the current England manager and whether there were in fact other men more qualified for the job than Hodgson or even Redknapp.

So let’s start with the protagonist and antagonist to this piece in the shape of Harry Redknapp. Redknapp has managed seven clubs to date and has seen relative success at the majority. His first major managerial job was at West Ham where they produced the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole and Frank Lampard. He guided them to suc-cessive top half finishes in the Premier League

and even led them into the UEFA cup.He soon found himself at Portsmouth where he left an impressive legacy over two spells which saw promotion to the Premier League, consolidation, an FA cup trophy and a European adventure. Sandwiched in between these two spells though was an unsuccessful stint at Pompey rivals Southampton where

he was unable to save them from the drop. In 2008, Redknapp took over at Tottenham and thanks to some significant backing, transformed them into outside title contenders. In 2010, his Spurs side qualified for the Champions League and after some memorable displays against both the red and blue of Milan, they eventually got knocked out at the quarter final stage to Real Madrid. However, consecutive failures to break back into the top four, and the inability to agree on a new contract saw Redknapp leave White Hart Lane in the summer of 2012. He currently finds himself at QPR, where after failing to save them from inevitable relegation after just one season of Premier League football, he has the unenviable task of transforming the big spending R’s into top flight material. To date, Redknapp has a win percentage of 40% of his 1,318 games in charge. This translates into 533 wins and 452 losses.

Current England manager Roy Hodgson boasts a higher win percentage than Redknapp but has the unusual tag of being in charge of fewer games. Hodgson holds a win rate of 43% in a managerial career which has spanned nearly 38 years. In this career which started in 1976 at Halmstads BK in Sweden, he has managed 16 clubs across six different countries, as well as managing the

By Dan Whitelegg

“Everyone said I was the people’s choice, the only choice”


Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Finland and now England national teams. Hodgson has won seven Swedish League titles, two Swedish Cups, a Danish League title, a Danish League cup, and two runner-up medals in the UEFA cup/Europa League. His illustrious and diverse career in management has made Hodgson one of the most respected coaches in Europe and having led England to the Rio World Cup in 2014, his appointment as national team manager has yet to be overly disputed by fans and press.

The highest win rate of those to have managed in the top flight will surprise some, with Reading boss Nigel Adkins rising to the top of the pile. At nearly 50%, Adkins 231 wins from 463 games is certainly impressive but the vast majority of these have come in the football league at Scunthorpe and Southampton where his stock rose exponentially.

Behind him in the win percentage stakes is Steve ‘wolly with the brolly’McClaren but his failed efforts as England manager already discounts him from the running entirely. The new Derby boss has a win rate of nearly 45% which has been largely boosted by his exploits abroad where he turned Dutch outfit FC Twente into league winners and Champions League participants. His only previous trophy came from his spell in charge at Middlesbrough where he won the League Cup and also guided the Teesiders to the UEFA cup final. However unsuccessful stints at Nottingham Forest, Wolfsburg, and a second go at Twente saw his reputation plummet but it will be his inability to take England to Euro 2008 which will live longest in the memories of the hardened England supporters.

Not too far behind though is Chris Hughton and Alan Pardew who have both won 43% of their games. Both have their spells at Newcastle to thank for this. Hughton transformed a Newcastle side which had just been relegated to the Championship and brought promotion and Premier League stability to St James Park. His surprise sacking brought Pardew to the club and he was able to capitalise on the sturdy foundations which

Hughton had already laid down. A few bits of quality in the shape of Cabaye and Ben Arfa were added and the Magpies saw themselves challenging for a top four spot but eventually had to settle for a place in the Europa League. A disappointing season followed but there’s no doubt that Pardew has a talented squad at his disposal. Hughton on the other hand saw himself take over from Paul Lambert at Norwich and to his credit has once again brought Premier League stability thanks to a plethora of signings. Neither of these men have managed consistently enough at the top level to be seriously considered for an England role.

Other interesting names of mention include Paul Cox at Mansfield who’s staggering 51% win percentage is the best in English football. Eddie Howe’s fantastic work at BourBurnley(and a brief spell at Burnley), has seen him rewarded with a win rate of 48%, while life long England

candidate Sam Alladyce has a 40.5% rate, continuing his success at some of the Premier Leagues less fashionable clubs.

So based on this, the top two candidates for the England job are indeed Roy Hodgson and Harry Redknapp, however Hodgson’s collective experience both abroad and in the Premier league, plus his already acquired knowledge of international football, just edges him in front.

Picture rights go to BlueWheel

Mansfield’sPaul Cox has the best win rate in England


“They’re looking for people that care enough about football, and are reliable enough to put the information through. I genuinely take an interest in what boots or accessories the players are wearing, as i’ll tell my editor and we’ll see a mirror image a few days after the real-life game. You need to have that attention to detail too.”

Since starting at Opta, Lorenzato-Lloyd has seen the prominence of stats soar in recent years, with managers such as Andre Villas-Boas (right) and Sam Allardyce famed for using statistics software Prozone to help with their matchday tactics.

At 23, has aspirations of his own and believes that a stumbling block for a large majority of keen statisticians or journalists is the fear that you’ve missed the boat due to being older and that your opportunity has gone, a thought that he describes as “defeatist”.

Opportunities to work in the industry are readily available, however employers seek an outstanding portfolio and that your dream job may fall into your lap, only if you combine dedication to work unsocial hours, a commitment to continually improve the quality of football statistics and aawillingness to work voluntarily.

“I’d love to be a football commentator one day. That is the overall dream, but I need to keep telling myself every day that “Dan - you’re 23. John Motson is 70.” There’s absolutely no way that you’re opportunity has gone when you’re 23, you have to put the legwork in. You have to do something that is unpaid or not well paid because essentially, it’s about builiding a profile and impressing

““It’s about building a profile and impressing

employers with a great portfolio

Photo by: JustinLim30- Stat - Issue One

ONES TO WATCHALL THE KEY FIXTURES YOU NEED FROM EUROPE’S TOP LEAGUES

PREMIER LEAGUE - BUNDESLIGA - SERIE A - LA LIGA

Premier League

01/01 - Manchester United v Tottenham12/01 - Newcastle United v Manchester City

19/01 - Chelsea v Manchester United28/01 - Liverpool v Everton

Current standings (top four)

1. Arsenal - 352. Liverpool - 303. Chelsea - 304. Man City -29

Bundesliga

25/01 - Borussia Dortmund v Fc Ausburg25/01 - Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayern

25/01 - Hamburg v Schalke25/01 - Stuttgart v Mainz


1. Bayern Munich - 412. Bayer Leverkusen - 373. Borussia Dortmund - 31

4. Borussia Monchengladbach

Serie A

06/01 - Lazio v Inter Milan06/01 - Juventus v Roma

26/01 - Cagliari v AC Milan26/01 - Lazio v Juventus


1. Juventus - 402. Roma - 373. Napoli - 32

4. Inter Milan - 28

La Liga

05/01 - Malaga v Atletico Madrid12/01 - Atletico Madrid v Barcelona

19/01 - Real Betis v Real Madrid26/01 - Valencia v Espanyol


1. Barcelona - 402. Atletico Madrid - 40

3. Real Madrid - 374. Athletico Bilbao - 29

Picture courtesy of Rebecca Siegel


stat magazine - issue one

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