Blame game
So can all the blame be attributed directly on the goalkeeper? We don’t think it can. There has to be more to this than just a drop in Pepe’s form. So let’s have a look at the Clear Cut Chances metric that is available to us via our EPLIndex.com Stats Centre. We’re only going to use the data from 2012 so that we can see what the trends have been like for Liverpool this season.
Liverpool have conceded 17 clear-cut chances in 2012 of which the opposition have converted 8 times, giving a conversion percentage of 47%. Meanwhile Liverpool’s conversion rate in this same period is 28.6% (6/21 clear-cut chances scored). The opposition is clearly scoring at a better rate this season but has it changed much recently? Let’s break it down even further.
A fit Daniel Agger
There’s a noticeable change in the amount of clear-cut chances when either Daniel Agger or Jamie Carragher start. When Agger was fit in 2012 Liverpool were still out of form but only conceded, on average, 1.17 clear-cut chances per game. Whilst Carragher has started this has increased to 2 clear cut chances per game conceded. The opposition have taken advantage of this and converted 50% of them whilst Carragher has been playing too which is a better conversion rate.
The increase in the number of clear-cut chances is going to be a factor in why Pepe Reina’s shots on target save percentage has decreased in the last six games. In the last six games alone Liverpool have conceded 14 clear cut chances and shipped seven goals from these clear cut chances. It’s going to affect Pepe’s figures for sure so we believe that supporters blaming Pepe, solely for the slump should re-think this and really there is collective blame here as a team. Or is there?
Next Page: Skrtel, Enrique & right backs stats for 2012.
