Peter Odemwingie has become the most talked about player in the Premier League over the last 24 hours. Some might say he stole David Beckham’s Transfer Day thunder, ok maybe not. When Sky Sports News showed Peter Odemwingie drive into QPR’s training ground we all assumed that he had permission to speak to QPR. All of a sudden his current employers, West Bromwich Albion, released a statement saying that QPR had not agreed a deal and that Peter Odemwingie did not have permission to speak to the R’s. First thought? Unbelievable, second thought – lunacy!
For some reason Peter Odemwingie drove 120 miles down from the West Midlands to London without permission to speak to QPR. It’s unheard of and you can understand why QPR refused him entry. The fact that Odemwingie sat outside the QPR training ground and gave Sky Sports an interview points to some sort of mis-communication as he was referring to QPR as “we”. Surely a player cannot be this care-free and unknown to the consequences of these actions? That’s if he was there to force a move through – there is one theory out there stating that he was told that he could leave if a bid came in for £3.5m. The bid came in and he was told about this – he obviously assumed that was that. Regardless of the theory, mis-communication or utter stupidity this was a situation that is very embarrassing for Peter. His manager has today called it “total lunacy” and Harry Redknapp feels sorry for “the lad”.
However is Peter Odemwingie worth all of this hassle? Below we’re going to take a quick look at the stats from our EPL Index Stats Centre. (Click images below to enlarge)
Peter Odemwingie has been at West Brom since the 2010/11 season and his first season was his best as he scored fifteen goals and averaged a goal every 179 minutes. That was a very respectable rate as it equates to one goal every 2 games. In previous years strikers that scored one goal in every two games were thought of as good strikers so this wasn’t a bad return at all. He also had a very good shot accuracy, decent chance conversion and a clear-cut chance conversion % in the 2010/11 that is better than the Top 5 scorers in 2012/13.
2011/12 saw a little dip with Odemwingie scoring ten goals and his rate dropped to a goal every 229 mins. His shooting accuracy also dropped to 44%, his chance conversion was exactly the same of 18% but his clear-cut conversion dipped by 24% to 33%.
This season Odemwingie’s chance conversion was once again 18% so he’s been very consistent in his Premier League career. His shooting accuracy has dipped further though to 36% and he’s only had 4 clear-cut opportunities created for him this season a major difference to 15 last season and 23 the season before. The introduction of Shane Long last year meant that Peter played less and this season Romelu Lukaku, on-loan from Chelsea, is scoring every 124 minutes which is better than Peter has managed in his career at West Brom.
For every Albion fan the hat-trick he scored last season against, the arch-enemy, Wolves will live long in the memory but the Twitter outburst last week and yesterday’s shenanigans will bring a bitter taste to their mouth.
Going back to the question? Is he worth the hassle? 30 goals in 67 Premier League starts points to a very good striking record – a goal every 204.5 minutes in his Premier League career isn’t a bad shout at all – almost averaging a goal every 2 games. A strike rate like that in the Premier League usually means survival.
You can see why QPR wanted Peter’s services – he’s got a great record in the Premier League.
The real question for West Bromwich Albion fans is – are the stats meaningless to you now? Is there no way back? Or could you forgive after an apology? I guess only time will tell.
