Surprisingly, Arsenal and Chelsea become the team that leads in the discipline race of this season. So far, Arsenal and Chelsea have incurred. Eight yellow cards and one red card and this fact has raised many eyebrows in the football fraternity. Chelsea and Southampton are next only awful teams after Arsenal. And they have been grouped in this bracket of sinners. At least it is all a nice change from rugby that football journalists have to remind themselves occasionally. The pub comes before research; otherwise, it is headline news!
Contrary to this, the role reversal is such that Everton comes out as the cleanest team. With three yellow cards and one red only they have been able to sustain the record. But here’s the twist: Last season Arsenal was 19 teams in terms of having more yellow cards and they were awarded with 62 yellows – a rate of 1. 63 per game as to how the tables have turned!
Arsenal and Chelsea’s Persistent Yellow Fever
Concerning the yellow cards, the team that garnered most of them last season was Chelsea with a total of 105 yellow cards meaning an average of 2. 76 yellow cards per match. This season they remain not far off rank alongside Arsenal with the same 8 yellow cards accrued each. If either club is to continue like this we are likely to see 152 cards throughout the season, the record for the highest number of cards in a season. Any attempt to quantify Chelsea’s yellow card domination remains outrageous and indomitable.
Now let me take my viewers, readers and everyone interested into the peculiarities of what one might call tackles. That is why, with 23 tackles this season (Manchester United has 24), Everton looks like an exception. Still, their disciplinary conduct is also spotless with only three bookings in the form of a yellow card. At the same time, Manchester United has also been performing rather badly as it has earned eight yellow cards due to the similar tackling frequency. Of course, maybe, the tackles delivered by the Everton are as beautiful as a ballet dancer’s pirouette.
Shooting a problem for Arsenal
But wait, there’s more! Re, Shooting accuracy does not mean a lot in the game and more emphasis should be placed on players’ ability to execute moves during the game. Chelsea for example is incredible at shot on target, a shade below 50 per cent of its shots are on target. However, a rather embarrassing 33% accuracy is achieved by Liverpool in our list of big clubs. That’s something that serves as a reminder that the targets can be missed even when one shoots at the heart of the matter.
Finally, it is high time to disassemble the shot volume. Firing seventeen, Rahman pushes Nottingham Forest. Man of the moment OPEC takes 7 shots per game but has only managed three goals. Compared to other clubs Newcastle United is not very rich and has only 8. Taking an average of seven shots per game, Mutuki has scored four goals. This is advice to those people who think that if something is in large quantity, then it should be of good quality too. Football is still more about calculation, sophistication, and, to a large extent, the element of the unforeseen.
Well, as we pinch ourselves waiting for football as we know it to come back let’s enjoy statistical oddities. How another version of yellow card, tackles, and shots can build so many stories? A beautiful game, indeed.
More football ideas are always welcome or any other topic that you might wish to discuss.
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