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[Football] Keeping A Clean Sheet vs Scoring One Goal

Which is most valuable ???


  • Total voters
    31
  • Poll closed .


8ace

Banned
Jul 21, 2003
23,811
Brighton
According to Soccernomics keeping a clean sheet is more valuable.

At least, I think that's what it said, don't ask me to explain why

More valuable than scoring two goals in fact and only marginally less than scoring three goals.
 

Herr Tubthumper

Well-known member
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Jul 11, 2003
59,071
The Fatherland
I prefer teams to try and score above anything else.
 

drew

Drew
Oct 3, 2006
22,981
Burgess Hill
Scoring is obviously more important. If you draw 10 games 1-1 you will finish higher than another team that draws ten games 0-0, all other results being the same.
 


Stat Brother

Well-known member
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Jul 11, 2003
73,270
West west west Sussex
It's all about the bigger picture.

I'd happily sit through an above average amount of 0-0's if the rest of the games were victories or at least entertaining.

But sitting through yet another desperate 0-0 fixture with no idea where and when the next goal is coming from is asking to much for expensive 'entertainment'.


It's almost as if I have some kind of reference point to draw on for that conclusion.
 

8ace

Banned
Jul 21, 2003
23,811
Brighton
Rplot1.png
 


theboybilly

Well-known member
Scoring is obviously more important. If you draw 10 games 1-1 you will finish higher than another team that draws ten games 0-0, all other results being the same.

But your talking about 0-0 draws which is different altogether. Keeping a clean sheet is the first thing a succesful side will set out to do as there is always the chance of nicking a goal or three, especially away from home. Mourinho had this down to a fine art in his first tenure at Stamford Bridge.
 

studio150

Well-known member
Jul 30, 2011
29,524
On the Border
A clean sheet guarantees at least a point, a goal guarantees nothing.

The ideal is of course to score one goal and not concede in the same match.
 

The Upper Library

New member
May 23, 2013
675
Being an ex keeper (of limited ability) and having a son who is a keeper I am totally in the clean sheet camp. A good defence is what all great teams are based on. Obviously though 46 0-0 draws won't get you very far. But a solid base takes some of the pressure off the attackers.
It works the other way round and that was the problem last season and reason Stockdale and rest of back 4 got a fair bit of criticism.
 


Acker79

Well-known member
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Nov 15, 2008
31,743
Brighton
Valuable? Over the past several seasons, our points per game in which we keep a clean sheet is higher than our points per game in which we score 1 or 2 goals, and last season was equal to our points per game in which we scored 3. I believe El Presidente has an article on here analysing the previous seasons in more detail. The value of points is important for league standings, promotion etc.

But what about entertainment value? Of course, some clean sheets come about because we are so dominant our opponents don't get a chance to attack between us banging them in their goal. But just as many come from tight games. 0-0s, and 1-0s. Where there is less excitement. How many times have people posted on here claiming they'd prefer us to lose 4-3 than sit through a dull 0-0?
 


Cheshire Cat

The most curious thing..
Winning - everything else is nothing.
 

SweatyMexican

Well-known member
Mar 31, 2013
4,099
If you keep a clean sheet, you only need one goal to win a game.

But if you can't get that one goal (as we've seen) drawing every game only gets you 46 points, which is relegation form.

If you score one goal, I'll say you win 50%, draw 30%, and lose 20%. Which comes to 82 points. which is promotion form.

Of course, all this assumes in the first scenario you can't hit a barn door. And in the second scenario, you can't defend for sh*t.
 

Acker79

Well-known member
NSC Licker Extraordinaire
Nov 15, 2008
31,743
Brighton
If you keep a clean sheet, you only need one goal to win a game.

But if you can't get that one goal (as we've seen) drawing every game only gets you 46 points, which is relegation form.

If you score one goal, I'll say you win 50%, draw 30%, and lose 20%. Which comes to 82 points. which is promotion form.

Of course, all this assumes in the first scenario you can't hit a barn door. And in the second scenario, you can't defend for sh*t.

But history shows that isn't the case. Last season, keeping a clean sheet earned us an average of two points per game. Scoring one goal earned us 1.14 points per game. The seasons before that showed the same pattern of clean sheets earning us more points that single goals scored. http://www.northstandchat.com/conte...re-valuable-to-the-Albion-than-scoring-a-goal
 


glasfryn

cleaning up cat sick
Nov 29, 2005
20,261
somewhere in Eastbourne
as long as you score one more goal than the opposition, thats all that matters and you get 3 points
 

Sheebo

Well-known member
Jul 13, 2003
29,165
Clean sheet obviously - keep a clean sheet and you'll win most games with a few drawn thrown in.
 

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