B'Ham player of the season (so far)

[Dr Preston Burke 0]

His performances for Birmingham beg the question; just why was he so ineffective and anonymous for Rangers last season? Ferguson and Mendes was an absolute shambles of a partnership yet he's looking outstanding with Lee Bowyer alongside him?

[metlika 0]

His performances for Birmingham beg the question; just why was he so ineffective and anonymous for Rangers last season? Ferguson and Mendes was an absolute shambles of a partnership yet he's looking outstanding with Lee Bowyer alongside him?

 

Less pressure? A bit like Charlie Adam although Adam was played out of position.

[Super_Ally 0]

More interesting stats:

 

http://forums.birminghammail.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=25840&start=0

 

Below is the top 50 most successful passers of the Premier League Season so far:

 

1 Javier Mascherano Liverpool 1474

2 John Terry Chelsea 1444

3 Barry Ferguson Birmingham City 1388

4 Francesc Fabregas Arsenal 1386

5 Lucas Leiva Liverpool 1294

6 Michael Carrick Manchester United 1267

7 Frank Lampard Chelsea 1257

8 Darren Fletcher Manchester United 1207

9 Tom Huddlestone Tottenham Hotspur 1163

10 Patrice Evra Manchester United 1160

11 Alexandre Song Arsenal 1147

12 Michael Ballack Chelsea 1147

13 Gareth Barry Manchester City 1139

14 Paul Scholes Manchester United 1101

15 Scott Parker West Ham United 1092

16 Jamie Carragher Liverpool 1070

17 Wilson Palacios Tottenham Hotspur 1067

18 John Obi Mikel Chelsea 1063

19 Bacary Sagna Arsenal 1051

20 Jamie O'Hara Portsmouth 1027

21 Vasiriki Abou Diaby Arsenal 1021

22 Karl Henry Wolverhampton Wanderers 985

23 Chris Baird Fulham 955

24 Denilson Pereira Neves Arsenal 951

25 Emiliano Insua Liverpool 945

26 Vedran Corluka Tottenham Hotspur 944

27 Dirk Kuyt Liverpool 938

28 Hendry Thomas Wigan Athletic 920

29 Brede Hangeland Fulham 919

30 Danny Murphy Fulham 918

31 Ricardo Carvalho Chelsea 917

32 William Gallas Arsenal 909

33 Stilian Petrov Aston Villa 905

34 Thomas Vermaelen Arsenal 905

35 Steven Gerrard Liverpool 901

36 Nigel de Jong Manchester City 887

37 Benoit Assou-Ekotto Tottenham Hotspur 863

38 Steven Pienaar Everton 858

39 Aaron Hughes Fulham 854

40 Wayne Rooney Manchester United 853

41 Titus Bramble Wigan Athletic 846

42 Graham Alexander Burnley 844

43 Florent Malouda Chelsea 842

44 Mario Melchiot Wigan Athletic 823

45 Leighton Baines Everton 822

46 Michael Essien Chelsea 816

47 Paul Scharner Wigan Athletic 814

48 James Milner Aston Villa 797

49 Steven N'Zonzi Blackburn Rovers 796

50 Ashley Cole Chelsea 792

[craig 5,199]

More interesting stats:

 

http://forums.birminghammail.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=25840&start=0

 

%age completion would be more of an indicator than simply number of passes completed.

 

Also, and not to downplay that very impressive stat that you highlight, it is easier to complete a pass, generally speaking, when playing in a deeper midfield role than a more advanced role as you tend to have more time on the ball.

 

For instance, Barry's stats are very impressive but I would be more impressed by Fabregas's completion given that he plays more of an advanced role where space is more limited. Again, %age completion would be a better indicator because it is also likely that Fabregas has had far more attempts than Barry as Arsenal tend to dominate possession.

[Super_Ally 0]

%age completion would be more of an indicator than simply number of passes completed.

 

Also, and not to downplay that very impressive stat that you highlight, it is easier to complete a pass, generally speaking, when playing in a deeper midfield role than a more advanced role as you tend to have more time on the ball.

 

For instance, Barry's stats are very impressive but I would be more impressed by Fabregas's completion given that he plays more of an advanced role where space is more limited. Again, %age completion would be a better indicator because it is also likely that Fabregas has had far more attempts than Barry as Arsenal tend to dominate possession.

 

All fair and valid points. Probably easier to play a pass to your Arsenal team mates who read the game better and have better movement too.

 

As I say, not trying to say we should have kept him or he's the best player in the EPL. But bloody hell he's having a good season.

[ascender 352]

He's having a great season which makes it all the more annoying and disappointing that he was so poor for us. There was an age-old argument which said that he played much better when surrounded by better players, but I'm sure that's true for most footballers. He liked to publicise himself as "Mr Rangers" so he brought some of the pressure and expectations on himself I'm afraid.

 

 

Mike.

[calscot 0]

I think there are many complex reasons for why a player plays better for one team than another - there was such a thread about Boumsong, so did he have great players around him at Rangers?

[Danny 0]

His performances for Birmingham beg the question; just why was he so ineffective and anonymous for Rangers last season? Ferguson and Mendes was an absolute shambles of a partnership yet he's looking outstanding with Lee Bowyer alongside him?

 

Probably because there was a lack of definition of roles there. Mendes supposedly as the deep lying creative playmaker with an eye for a pass, Ferguson as the deep lying creative playmaker with an eye for a pass. Yet Mendes is better as a pure DM, while Ferguson is best as a CM.

 

They were two players who didn't suit being partnered in vague roles.

 

Bowyer is more attack minded than Ferguson, who sits in more as Bowyer goes forward more. It's a partnership which blends unlike Mendes and Ferguson.

[Danny 0]

More interesting stats:

 

http://forums.birminghammail.net/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=25840&start=0

 

I remember a piece in some rag which said the same thing years ago, maybe a decade ago. It compared Ferguson with Beckham and it was Ferguson who had the better overall distribution rate.