Are Liverpool Progressing?
Following a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford yesterday, the usual questions are being asked on Twitter and in the forums.
Are Liverpool making any real progress? Should Rodgers be let go and someone else be brought in?
I believe the answers to those two questions are 'yes' and 'no', and here's why....
After every match, The Tomkins Times provides a round up of the statistics from that game, as well as a look at the averages for the season as a whole. Here are the numbers from the United game, for instance (though you do have to be a subscriber to view this).
Based on the information in the latest stats round up, Brendan Rodgers has:
- Improved the Reds' clear cut chance (CCC) creation by 0.62 per game, which is an increase of 41% on last season. Liverpool are now creating 98% as many CCCs as Manchester City did on their way to the title in 2011/12.
- Increased the Reds' shots on target by 0.56 per game, a 10% improvement.
- Increased Liverpool's final third passing accuracy from 69% last season to 73% this. This means that the team are now just 1% off the top four level of 74%, instead of 5% as they were in the last campaign.
- Lowered the number of times the Reds lose possession per game by thirteen, and so they're now performing better in this regard than Spurs did last season on their way to fourth place.
- Increased the number of times the Reds win possession in the final third, when they were already the joint-best side at this (along with the champions, Manchester City) last season.
- Increased the team's average possession by 3.6% (which is a 6% rise on last year's figure) and passing accuracy by 4%.
I’m not going to pretend that everything is rosy, as the Reds' defending appears to be worse (as defensive errors have gone through the roof, for instance), and Liverpool do often seem to be just as open in midfield this season as they were last, but Rodgers has made improvements in the key stats that dictate whether or not a team generally wins football matches.
Personally, I think it would be madness to ditch him this summer and start again for the fourth year in a row. What do you think?
Related articles you might like:
Liverpool’s Scoring And Defending Is Showing Progress – Compared to lots of previous campaigns, the Reds are performing better.
Brendan Rodgers: Making Progress? – An in-depth look (for The Tomkins Times) at Rodgers’ stats, compared to Dalglish’s.
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