[Albion] Thoughts on that missing killer instinct

[Sheebo]

Running a tight defensive ship means you just need one or two quality moments, You can spend £40m on a striker but at the end of the day a MacAllister header could have won us the three points tonight. Fine margins.

Same as the Tross one going in v Spurs. Or the Alzate v Liverpool. I’m happy overall...!

 

[Hugo Rune]

Obviously not, if we're top six on aggregate xG for and against but 15th in the real league table.

It's far too simplistic to look at the xG and say we should be top 6.

Sorry, the context is that if we had that killer instinct along with, perhaps, 50% of shots on target against Ryan not going in (highest stat in professional football pyramid) we’d clearly be top six.

 

[albionalex]

Sorry, the context is that if we had that killer instinct along with, perhaps, 50% of shots on target against Ryan not going in (lowest stat in professional football pyramid) we’d clearly be top six.

Every club could say 'if' or 'but'.

Obviously our xG stats show that we have won fewer points than we should have but it's a stretch to say we should be top 6.

 

[Kalimantan Gull]

Two strikers. Think that would have given us the edge today.

 

[Milano]

Two strikers. Think that would have given us the edge today.

Yes but then you don’t dominate the midfield like we did.
If you’re going to play one up top then that one has to be top notch. I like Maupay’s attitude and work rate but he’s the weak link in this team. He’s trying too hard, as example trying to take the shot on when he had a defender 2 feet from him instead of rolling it back to Lallana was very, very poor play.

 

[Weststander]

Every club could say 'if' or 'but'.

Obviously our xG stats show that we have won fewer points than we should have but it's a stretch to say we should be top 6.

The IF bit would be if:
1. We had a keeper that saves the vast majority shots - belatedly sorted with Sanchez.
2. Had a forward or two who tuck EPL away chances with regularity - incredibly hard to find.

 

[Weststander]

The IF bit would be if:
1. We had a keeper that saves the vast majority shots - belatedly sorted with Sanchez.
2. Had a forward or two who tuck EPL away chances with regularity - incredibly hard to find.

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Interesting though that we are the outlier club.

All the relegation candidates are still there under x points.

 

[maresfield seagull]

By having an Ings or a Vardy.

This opens up the discussion as DI has injury prone history Although recently ok
Where as JV has a more consistent Less injury prone history
How does this impact upon the stats ?

 

[Jimmy Grimble]

I imagine Maupay and indeed the other attacking players know full well what our xG situation is. Must make it even harder to get them in the right mental state, knowing they’re the ones regularly letting the side down.

Potter has been good and protected them publicly but deep down I reckon they know they’re not contributing like they should be. A vicious cycle in a way.

 

[whosthedaddy]

MASSIVE oversight by our recruitment team, a clinical striker with a killer shot is a no brainier at this level

Glenn Murray was obviously going to go at some point yet no-one deemed it urgent enough to seek out an experienced (and uninjured) replacement for our prolific strikers departure. Maupay has some merits but is not clinical enough to be a Premier League clubs top forward. It annoys me that this situation hasn’t been rectified by now, and it’s wasting a lot of the good squad building happening under Potter.

I mean, for heavens sake, some were even calling for Potter to be sacked not long ago, that’s how poor this situation was allowed to get by those who should be doing something about it. Thankfully Graham has now quietened those voices, it could and should have been avoided though.

 

[Weststander]

This opens up the discussion as DI has injury prone history Although recently ok
Where as JV has a more consistent Less injury prone history
How does this impact upon the stats ?

Looking at the PL website:
Ings EPL tally for Stains has been 7, 22 and 7 in an injury hit season.
Vardy - too many numbers to type, but 12 this season. He also helps stretch defences all over the place.
Jimenez - 13, 17 and 4 before the unlucky head injury.

Probably the best 3 outside the mega spenders?

West Ham now have no strikers at all, instead playing Antonio.

No doubt another scuffle amongst clubs this summer to find that striker at any cost.

 

[OzMike]

We must be in the top 3 for missing sitters.

 

[Stato]

Despite 6 games unbeaten in the Premier League, we are still missing a player with that killer instinct in front of goal.

We used to have it with Murray & Groß & sometimes Duffy & Izquierdo but Potter has not been blessed with any player regularly taking their chances.

I notice many other teams do, especially in the top half.

Man City have it with many players.

Leicester have it with Barnes, Vardy & Madison.

Man Utd have it with Rashford, Cavani, & Fernandes (amongst others).

Liverpool have it with Salah, Mane & Jota.

Chelsea have enough quality in the team, Mount is their man at the moment.

West Ham have it with Soucek & Antonio

Everton have it with Richarlison, Jamie & Calvert-Lewin

Villa had it with Watkins, Grealish & El Ghazi

Spurs have it with Kane & Son

Leeds have it with Bamford, Harrison & Raphinha

We don’t have anyone you can rely on to put the ball in the net.

Is it just that we don’t have the quality of players who can score goals regularly?

It’s cost us a place in the top six in Potter’s second season. I wonder what we can do about this over the summer?

I've highlighted all of the players you have mentioned who have less than, or no more goals than Neal Maupay so far this season. It's more than half of them.

 

[sydney]

i think our problems come from our slow build up play , to be fair it is not easy to shoot through a forest of opposition defenders from inside the 6yard box and beat the keeper as well .....this is where Maupay continually seems to find himself , in the six yard box with 4 defenders in front of him .

our slow transitions do not allow our forwards enough space to get a shot away.

i'm really hoping Andone comes back with a point to prove.

 

[Stato]

Maupay has some merits but is not clinical enough to be a Premier League clubs top forward.

Chelsea, Southampton, Burnley, West Brom, Fulham, Sheffield United all have top scorers who have not outscored Maupay this season. West Ham's and Arsenal's have only one more. Maupay is one of only six players under the age of 25 who are currently in the top twenty goalscorers in the division. Of those six, only Calvert-Lewin, Rashford and Maupay also managed double figures last season. Maupay was also one of only three players to reach double figures last year in their first season in the league.

 

[Johnny RoastBeef]

I've highlighted all of the players you have mentioned who have less than, or no more goals than Neal Maupay so far this season. It's more than half of them.

How many of those players are penalty takers?

The stark reality of Maupay's stats this season are very worrying.

Shots: 48
Shots on target: 18
Goals excluding penalties: 4

 

[FatSuperman]

How many of those players are penalty takers?

The stark reality of Maupay's stats this season are very worrying.

Shots: 48
Shots on target: 18
Goals excluding penalties: 4

I’m not sure ‘very worrying’ is fair. It’s not showing on my phone, but I think the BBC top scorers page will show you the total shots. Maupay’s had far fewer shots than many of his peers, but isn’t doing too badly. His accuracy and conversion is better than some big names (Kane, for example). So perhaps there is more to this than Neal not being good enough. I think he’s great.

And who would you buy instead? Realistically we aren’t going in for a guaranteed striker are we? Christ, even getting someone with a good two or three seasons doesn’t make it a sure thing. There are dozens of cautionary tales out there. Mr Benteke did pretty well across a few seasons, theb has dropped to something like 5 in 3 seasons now!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/top-scorers

 

[jcdenton08]

Totally agree we need to get two quality strikers in the summer £70 mil for the pair clear out the dead wood and we will have a chance to challenge top 6

Brilliant idea! Actually, if you have any more cash going spare there's a little castle I've had my eye on?

 

[albionalex]

How many of those players are penalty takers?

The stark reality of Maupay's stats this season are very worrying.

Shots: 48
Shots on target: 18
Goals excluding penalties: 4

Maupay is underperforming his non-penalty xG by 2.5 goals. For comparison, Mane is underperforming by 2.9 goals, Vardy by 3.1, Werner by 3.5, Firmino by 3.4, De Bruyne by 4.8 and Chris Wood by 2.1.

 

[albionfan37]

Brilliant idea! Actually, if you have any more cash going spare there's a little castle I've had my eye on?

I’m spending tb’s money on players and enhancing the reputation of the club you want a ghost infested home