According to statistics by whoscored.com, Newcastle United are excelling in many areas of their game this season as the league table suggests. However, two statistics give a great insight into Newcastle’s success this season.
While Newcastle’s average ball possession this season is 53%, something that they may have to work on if they are promoted, their pass success is 78%, meaning that when they have the ball, they are using it well.
Newcastle have obviously scored a lot of goals this season, even boasting the division’s top goal scorer in Dwight Gayle. Meaning that they are using the ball to create opportunities, which is furthered by the fact that 64% of their goals have come from open play this season.
Newcastle’s season statistics go on to show the importance of Matt Ritchie who has been lauded as their best player on multiple occasions this season.
When Newcastle are attacking, 45% of the ball goes down the right-hand side meaning that they are clearly using Ritchie as an outlet more often than anyone else.
Newcastle also seem far more willing to shoot from distance this season. With 43% of their attempts coming from outside of the box, with some great goals being scored this season.
However, not every Newcastle statistic this season is a positive one. With 32 cards being shown to the Magpies’ players this season. Only 66% of these were for fouls.
Perhaps the Newcastle players must look at why they are picking up such a large percentage of their cards from things other than fouls, this again may be something they need to eradicate if they do gain promotion to the Premier League.
If hypothetically the club does find itself back in the top division next season, they may find that their average of 15.1 shots per game may mean that they score enough goals to see themselves safe.
While the sides’ average 1.8 offsides per game is likely to increase due to the increased intelligence of Premier League defenders. For example, David Luiz is far more likely to react quicker to seeing a forwards run than Sol Bamba is.
The stats do make interesting reading though and it will certainly be interesting to see how they do develop over the next two seasons and see what, if any, impact that has on the teams’ style of play.
Thank you Jake, good read and interesting too. Whilst I agree our possession rate will probably need to improve should we go up, it’s not the be all and end all. How many times in the PL do we see teams have loads of possession yet ultimately fail to capitalise on it. It’s what you do with it when you do have the ball. Having players who are confident enough to try a shot outside the area negates the need for the majority of possession, likewise if you have a quality outlet like Ritchie you don’t need the ball for that long. Pretty passing is all well and good but it has to have an end product. It’s really pleasing that we have such a good pass completion percentage and this will stand us in good stead for the PL should we return. If Gayle can sustain his form and the confidence gained from it, that will also be huge for us. I fully expect Rafa to strengthen in the summer anyway, bringing in the players with the skillset required.
kimtoon(Quote)
KIM aye mate passing the ball all over the pitch is nice to watch but not if there is no end product and at times you suffer as the other team go up the other end and score with simple football,i know we are not in the same class as the gunners but watching them trying to pass the ball into net does my head in at times,
thanks for the thread Jake
icedog(Quote)
mini dont like the our club captain keep going on and on about Gayle how is that going to make Mitro feel after all as Rafa says its a team game
icedog(Quote)
Kim, I agree to an extent about the passing but I feel that if we are to play the same way in the Premier League, major improvement will be needed. While Ritchie is a stand out player in this division, in the Premier League he is a decent player in a division filled with stars atm. However, there is no reason he and the side cannot improve and reach the levels needed to enable us to continue playing this way. RE Gayle – he is always going to have praise heaped upon him, being the divisions top scorer! Thanks to all for reading though, football always gets us talking!
Jake Swinburn(Quote)
Good article Jake.
I often think we look in control of games without being convincing however we have the ability to take our chances more often than the opposition.
Rafa is a joy to watch. He’s cnstantly directing the team from his tech box. He’s the equivalent of a vocal captain but with more technical nous and better view of the game.
He’s transforming the club. Long may it last.
Troy Stavers(Quote)
Jake, I would think Rafa is very aware which players are able and which are required to sustain PL survival, whether he gets them or not is another matter, that’s down to Ashley and how generous he wants to be with the clubs money. Even if we don’t vastly improve the squad I still think under Rafa we’ll survive. We will have the same problem as most others outside the top 5 rich clubs, in that we’ll all be chasing the same players likely. We will never compete on a level playing field in the PL due to 5 or 6 clubs being able to totally outspend everyone else. We just have to hope Rafa can tactically outwit other managers. Last year with Leicester was a fluke I doubt you’ll see it again anytime soon.
kimtoon(Quote)
Interesting view on Benitez.
I don’t live local so get scraps from tv to view any they rarely (never) show him during the game.
He always looks calm and measured pre and post match so I assume this carries over to the games themselves ratcher than the emotional dances a lot of managers display
Do you think as the team matures he’ll be able to trust them more and let the team self direct?
Wouldn’t question Benitez .. His results speak for themselves .. More interested in a view of his leadership style.
GlosMag(Quote)
Kim, I’m not entirely sure that I agree with you regarding the top 5/6 clubs. Many teams recently have fallen away from there, ourselves included. I think with clever investment like Spurs have done, they are catchable. It just takes a long time. However, our sole focus must be on survival, I think the squad we have is capable of it and hopefully we can add 1/2 real quality players! Possibly from other struggling Premier League sides/those that may be relegated
Jake Swinburn(Quote)
Good article, Rafa is an expert as to how teams play but I think a lot of it is just to do with confidence and it’s amazing what a winning run can do for a side. Definitely quite a lot of it has to do with momentum. A team who have lost their last four games go out with their heads dropped and players shy away from the ball. We seem to be getting some leaders back like Lascelles & Ritchie who I think would lift the team after a defeat. In recent seasons I just didn’t see players like that, we had players who had one eye on a move away and others who were fair weather players. Will players like Ritchie and Gayle be top players in the PL? Probably not but they look like they will give it their all and it’s a good foundation from which to build. They also have something to prove, like Gayle who was regularly on the bench at Palace.
DJG(Quote)
So Toon are now dragged into this child abuse scandal . BBC just said an unnamed former player has come forward . That’s Crew, Man City and Toon and god only knows how many more.
kimtoon(Quote)
There is a pre-match thread up here now guys! https://www.nufcblog.co.uk/2016/11/26/newcastle-united-vs-blackburn-rovers-pre-match-and-predicted-line-up/
Jake Swinburn(Quote)
Jake agree on the survival issue, have to walk before we can run. Not many teams can catch Chelsea, City, Arsenal, Manure the wealth they have just seems to increase year on year with every foray into the CL. It can be done as you say, but it will take a lot of building and time and not a little money.
kimtoon(Quote)