Jump to content

Is Joe Ledley the most important player in the squad ?


brady1993

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 49
  • Created
  • Last Reply
27 minutes ago, lukedcfc said:

Is Johnson injured or just surplus to requirements? Either way ledley over Johnson everyday day of the week, Johnson was a poor buy. 

He's been pretty awful really. He had that little spell under Mac at DM where he played really well but other than that he's just been an annoyance for both us and our opponent at the same time.

Yay, he's won the ball..... aaaaannnd he's lost it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, Alpha said:

Think his absence is felt more when that donkey steps into his place. Johnson does nothing well except kick everything hard.

He couldn't even tackle against Sunderland.

My Dad says he currently hates two things in football. 

The way Sterling runs and a starting line-up with Bradley Johnson in it.

Hard to argue against.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, brady1993 said:

Forgive the slightly provocative title but I genuinely think you can put forward the argument that Ledley could well be the most important player in the squad (Note I'm not saying best, I'm saying most important). He's a player that frequently goes under people's Rader however the difference in results when he plays compares to when he doesn't is stark. 

This season he's made 20 appearances lasting 45 minutes or more in those games we have;

Won 12

Drawn 6

Lost 2

Scored 33

Conceded 12

And in the 20 games he didn't play (or didn't play for a significant time) we have;

Won 6

Drawn 8

Lost 6

Scored 27 

Conceded 26

Overall this is the difference between averaging 2.1 points per game and 1.3. I.e. the difference between automatics form and mid table form. I think what's really interesting whilst there isn't a huge difference in goals scored, there is a big difference in goals conceded suggesting that Ledley might be the true lynch pin in anchoring our defensive unit.

Keogh and Forsyth have taken a reasonable amount of flak lately for their defensive performances (some fairly, some not) whilst Pearce has been treated as a defensive revalation in the last 2 wins. However the shaky defensive performances of the last couple of months has been a time when Ledley hasn't played and then suddenly he comes back into the side and we are solid again. Could it be that simple ? 

As always the stats speak loud and clear. Ledley doing unglamorous but very effective work in the team. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, brady1993 said:

His positioning is what has always impressed me about him. He has a fantastic habit of being in the right place to snuff out danger.

I made a point of watching him closely on Saturday and two things stood out:

- he continuously makes himself available for a short pass, taking pressure off the player with the ball

- he is deceptively skillful. A couple of little shimmys and suddenly he is in space. No ostentatious stepovers, just flicking the ball from foot to foot, and keeping it close.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I would say Ledley is one of the most important players in our squad, his strengths are, being in the right place at the right time, his reading of the game is excellent, his awareness what is around him, his experience is very  important to us, and his partnership with Huddlestone is very good as well, Other players who have also been very important to the squad this year has been Carson, very consistent with some excellent saves, Davis has been a man mountain at the back, been a very good addition to the squad, Huddlestone, gets us playing, also reads the game well, and some of his passing is top draw and Vydra also has been very good with his goals and his genuine play.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, wixman1884 said:

I feel like he should try Rugby or something

I'm probably being really horrible here but what about American football - they use blockers to support their receivers and running backs don't they? Bradley would be quite effective at running around getting in the way, I'd have thought. 

7 hours ago, lukedcfc said:

Is Johnson injured or just surplus to requirements? 

Both it would seem.

I do wonder, and perhaps someone on here could offer a sensible commentary on this, how was it he was so good for Norwich but has struggled so badly for us? Wasn't he their POTY the year they got promoted? I'm guessing he was used differently in their set-up?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

17 minutes ago, 86 points said:

I do wonder, and perhaps someone on here could offer a sensible commentary on this, how was it he was so good for Norwich but has struggled so badly for us? Wasn't he their POTY the year they got promoted? I'm guessing he was used differently in their set-up?

Presumably they used him in a way that took advantage of his unique ability to charge the ball into defenders or kick it as hard as he can in some arbitrary direction. Anything that ends the passage of play as quickly as possible. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Carnero said:

@admira

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.hitc.com/en-gb/2018/04/08/tt-derbys-george-thorne-is-statistically-the-clubs-most-effectiv/

Points per game

George Thorne 2.05

Joe Ledley 2.00

Marcus Olsson 1.83

Matej Vydra 1.82

Chris Baird 1.82

Andre Wisdom 1.75

Tom Lawrence 1.73

Tom Huddlestone 1.71

Scott Carson 1.7

Curtis Davies 1.7

Richard Keogh 1.63

Andreas Weimann 1.62

Craig Forsyth 1.59

David Nugent 1.58

Bradley Johnson 1.45 @Alpha

Stats like this are great in that they show a snap shot of points per games played individually. What they don't show is who else was in each particular team and how they effected the overall stat.

For instance, for Thorne to attain 2.1 points per game, who was with him and around him each time against those further down the list.

Also if you only play in a handful of games during a purple patch then your stats will be higher.

Stats can be looked at from which ever angle you want to make them look good or bad for which ever element you require to suit your ultimate goal.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, BathRam72 said:

Stats like this are great in that they show a snap shot of points per games played individually. What they don't show is who else was in each particular team and how they effected the overall stat.

For instance, for Thorne to attain 2.1 points per game, who was with him and around him each time against those further down the list.

Also if you only play in a handful of games during a purple patch then your stats will be higher.

Stats can be looked at from which ever angle you want to make them look good or bad for which ever element you require to suit your ultimate goal.

doesn't alter the fact that we look a more stable unit with him in the team than when he's not

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Seaside Sam said:

doesn't alter the fact that we look a more stable unit with him in the team than when he's not

Thorne? really? Do his stats really suggest this against the way he has been playing or was it the team around him?

This is where stats can be manipulated to show what ever you want.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, BathRam72 said:

Thorne? really? Do his stats really suggest this against the way he has been playing or was it the team around him?

This is where stats can be manipulated to show what ever you want.

I was talking about Ledley sorry if i misled you ,as for Thorne never really rated him myself,still just my opinion

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, BathRam72 said:

Thorne? really? Do his stats really suggest this against the way he has been playing or was it the team around him?

This is where stats can be manipulated to show what ever you want.

He means Ledley.

The Thorne stat looks a bit of an anomaly (small sample), the most telling for me are those for Ledley @ 2.00 & Johnson @ 1.45.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, Norman said:

He couldn't even tackle against Sunderland.

My Dad says he currently hates two things in football. 

The way Sterling runs and a starting line-up with Bradley Johnson in it.

Hard to argue against.

Yes!!

If I was Pep I'd sell Sterling just for that. Imagine watching that every week!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Seaside Sam said:

cheers mate

 

1 hour ago, Carnero said:

He means Ledley.

The Thorne stat looks a bit of an anomaly (small sample), the most telling for me are those for Ledley @ 2.00 & Johnson @ 1.45.

I realise the post was about Ledley and i agree he is class.

But my point was that stats can be looked at in what ever way you want to get to the end goal. In the same stat league Thorne looks outstanding. So not an anomaly as such as his stats are taken from the same team over a period of games. However surely he had the winning team around him through those games and nothing to do with his individual skills and commitment. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, BathRam72 said:

 

I realise the post was about Ledley and i agree he is class.

But my point was that stats can be looked at in what ever way you want to get to the end goal. In the same stat league Thorne looks outstanding. So not an anomaly as such as his stats are taken from the same team over a period of games. However surely he had the winning team around him through those games and nothing to do with his individual skills and commitment. 

 

Or maybe we are all missing the point and Thorne is excellent this season!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...