Being the big data nerd that I am, I wanted to see how our players were performing relative to their peers. FBref is a website which lists statistics about a player's performance in various areas per 90 minutes. It doesn't tell the full picture, but it can be combined with what we see to identify strengths and weaknesses in the squad.
Fullback:
Our fullbacks are collectively not strong offensively, they have low chance creation and also have poor ball progression. Mitchell appears the best at this - and it's not uncommon for teams to have one offensive fullback and one more defensive minded. We have neither. Usually there's a trade off between pass accuraccy and progressive passing. When you pass forwards, you take a risk meaning that your pass completion will decrease. When you score poorly in both measures it suggests a lack of quality.
Centre Back:
Tomkins and Richards haven't hit the minimum amount of minutes to register here. Guehi and Andersen are good though. Guehi plays his passes safer whilst Andersen will attempt longer passes to get us up the pitch.
Centre Midfield:
Doucoure looks great, he not only breaks up play well, but he also progresses us too. Eze's underlying numbers look great offensively, yet his defensive output is really low. I feel if he watched the way Griezmann played for France in that CAM role, he'd improve massively. Schlupp, Hughes and Milivojevic offer very little it would seem. Schlupp's passing stats are woeful considering the accuracy and number of progressive passes. Milivojevic looks like a clogger. I'm surprised by just how poor some of Hughes's numbers are - perhaps sample size is an issue because I feel he snaps in tackles well and is tidy in possession.
Wingers:
Suggests Zaha is a great finish, but we don't create enough for him. Ayew's offensive stats are miserable - but excellent defensively. Olise has good chance creation, but poor goal output.
Forwards:
Edouard seems to be more a team player, capable of progressing forwards with the ball through dribbling and passing, but has low shot volume. Mateta seems to be just a focal point, but with better shot volume.
Summary
I just skimmed this and it doesn't identify new issues, rather just adds further evidence to what we already know. The data suggests we lack technical ability in both fullback positions and CM. Perhaps Tayo can provide the qualities of the modern fullback to us at LB - Mitchell is serviceable in the meantime. At RB, neither are good enough.
CM is a big problem. There's been lots of debate about systems 433 with two 8s or 4231. Eze has looked out of sorts lately, but there's quality to be extracted there. He can create and score. Doucoure is great, but the lack of quality to complete a midfield three is just not there.
Wide areas should only be Zaha and Olise starting. Ayew is where attacks go to fizzle out. It's partly why the ball reaches our forwards so infrequently. His role should be a sub to wind down the clock when we're trying to see out a result.
At striker we don't have world beaters, but they would both improve with better personnel behind them. We struggle to get the ball to Eze, Zaha, Edouard and Olise often enough because of systematic problems in personnel behind them.
As a conclusion, a first team RB comfortable on the ball, able to progress it via dribbling or passing accurately as well as supporting attacks is essential.
A CM that is well rounded and provides the ability to break up play and also pass forwards accurately is essential.
It would be nice to have a better LB, but that goes against the club's vision of not blocking the pathway of the academy's brightest prospects.
A better forward would be nice, but until we can get in players behind them that can get the ball forward to create it's not an effective use of our resources.
Sorry for the long post.
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