Even footballing fairytales have their limits.
Which is why Bobby Zamora will almost certainly not score 40 league goals for Albion this season.
But that’s the sort of pace the Seagulls’ experienced striker is setting in terms of minutes and shots per goal.
The numbers confirm what Chris Hughton said after his latest matchwinning strike – that Zamora does not miss many.
According to figures provided by Ben Mayhew of the Press Association and experimental361.com, Zamora’s four league goals to date have come from just nine goal attempts. That is 2.25 attempts per goal.
Six of those nine shots or headers have been on target.
Zamora’s minutes-per-goal figure is also impressive at just 110.
Which means he won’t necessarily score today, even if he plays the whole game and has two shots.
But a player completing a full season of 46 lots of 90 minutes at that scoring ratio would end up with 40 goals to his name.
Forty goals? That’s just a fun stat of course. Dreamland. Not something to be taken seriously.
But the stats compare very well with the best.
Excluding penalties, and taken over a far longer period (since the start of last season), Sergio Aguero averages 6.3 attempts per goal and Harry Kane 6.4.
So, even given the short period for which Zamora has played, Hughton was quite right to praise his four goals from nine attempts.
The Albion boss said: “Bobby has a certain know-how. We know the things he can’t do these days.
“But, if you look at his goal return, he is putting away a high percentage of the chances he is getting.
“That’s testament to Bobby. He has adjusted his game as he gets older and he uses his body very well.”
With three winners so far, he has scored some precious goals already.
But then, with a combination of draws and narrow wins, every one of his side’s 24 league strikes have been crucial.
Hughton is reluctant to be publicly critical of his unbeaten table-toppers but, equally, their progress to date on and off the pitch has been built on a determination not to rest on their laurels.
“But of course there are margins and things you can improve on and probably that is one.
“In games where we have had a really good percentage of the play in the final third, it’s about maybe being that little bit more clinical. Probably that’s the only complaint I can have.”
Bobby closes in on the leaders
Bobby Zamora could move into Albion’s all-time goalscoring top five today. And their post-war record is not far away.
Zamora is just one goal behind fifth-placed Peter Ward in Albion’s all-time list of Football League and Southern League marksmen. His winner against Birmingham was his 80th league goal for the club.
Well within his sights are Ward (81), Kit Napier (84), Bert Stephens (86) and Albert Mundy (87).
Top man Tommy Cook, a converted centre-back, scored 114 league goals in the 1920s before concentrating on his cricket career.
Original article
Which is why Bobby Zamora will almost certainly not score 40 league goals for Albion this season.
But that’s the sort of pace the Seagulls’ experienced striker is setting in terms of minutes and shots per goal.
The numbers confirm what Chris Hughton said after his latest matchwinning strike – that Zamora does not miss many.
According to figures provided by Ben Mayhew of the Press Association and experimental361.com, Zamora’s four league goals to date have come from just nine goal attempts. That is 2.25 attempts per goal.
Six of those nine shots or headers have been on target.
Zamora’s minutes-per-goal figure is also impressive at just 110.
Which means he won’t necessarily score today, even if he plays the whole game and has two shots.
But a player completing a full season of 46 lots of 90 minutes at that scoring ratio would end up with 40 goals to his name.
Forty goals? That’s just a fun stat of course. Dreamland. Not something to be taken seriously.
But the stats compare very well with the best.
Excluding penalties, and taken over a far longer period (since the start of last season), Sergio Aguero averages 6.3 attempts per goal and Harry Kane 6.4.
So, even given the short period for which Zamora has played, Hughton was quite right to praise his four goals from nine attempts.
The Albion boss said: “Bobby has a certain know-how. We know the things he can’t do these days.
“But, if you look at his goal return, he is putting away a high percentage of the chances he is getting.
“That’s testament to Bobby. He has adjusted his game as he gets older and he uses his body very well.”
With three winners so far, he has scored some precious goals already.
But then, with a combination of draws and narrow wins, every one of his side’s 24 league strikes have been crucial.
Hughton is reluctant to be publicly critical of his unbeaten table-toppers but, equally, their progress to date on and off the pitch has been built on a determination not to rest on their laurels.
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“But of course there are margins and things you can improve on and probably that is one.
“In games where we have had a really good percentage of the play in the final third, it’s about maybe being that little bit more clinical. Probably that’s the only complaint I can have.”
Bobby closes in on the leaders
Bobby Zamora could move into Albion’s all-time goalscoring top five today. And their post-war record is not far away.
Zamora is just one goal behind fifth-placed Peter Ward in Albion’s all-time list of Football League and Southern League marksmen. His winner against Birmingham was his 80th league goal for the club.
Well within his sights are Ward (81), Kit Napier (84), Bert Stephens (86) and Albert Mundy (87).
Top man Tommy Cook, a converted centre-back, scored 114 league goals in the 1920s before concentrating on his cricket career.
Original article