It’s about that time of year that having celebrated the excellent achievements of some of the standout performers in the Premier League this season, we shed light on some less than desirable statistics.
As has become a tradition at WhoScored.com, we’ve compiled an XI of players whose exploits in certain aspects of play have been disappointing to say the least. Be they a centre-back who can’t win an aerial duel, a winger who can’t complete a dribble or a forward who can’t convert even the simplest of chances, the following have all under performed in one way or another.
GK - John Ruddy
When a team concedes 60 goals in a season, they will always find themselves in a relegation battle, and that is certainly the case for Norwich. Midway through the campaign a string of disappointing performances from John Ruddy saw the Canaries' number one lose his place in the side, and while he has since returned at the expense of Declan Rudd, the former England international has the worst save success rate of keepers to make more than 5 appearances this season (58.3%).
Best = Petr Cech (78.3% save success)
RB - Craig Dawson
It’s fair to say that playing the ball out from the back isn’t high on Tony Pulis’ list of priorities for his side, though he’d surely hope his players could retain possession better than Craig Dawson has managed this season. The makeshift right-back has put in some solid defensive displays but a desperately poor 62% pass accuracy is the worst of all outfielders excluding strikers this season.
Best = Ki Sung-Yueng (91.2% pass accuracy)
CB - John Stones
He may have started the season with a monumental price tag but John Stones’ struggles, particularly directly before and after the turn of the year, will surely have seen interest in the Englishman cool a little for now. He has never quite recovered from said dip in form, committing 3 individual errors leading to a goal. That’s level with both teammate Phil Jagielka and Maya Yoshida of centre-backs in the Premier League, but the youngster has also committed one error that led to an unconverted chance for the opposition where the other two haven’t.
Best = Toby Alderweireld (3150 mins without committing a single error leading to a shot or goal)
CB - Daley Blind
While the general consensus is certainly that Daley Blind has instilled a sense of calm to the United backline since his switch to centre-back alongside Chris Smalling, he has one very obvious weakness. The Dutchman is certainly not your stereotypical defender and his modest frame has meant that Blind has won just 39% of the aerial duels he has competed this season - the worst of any centre-back with more than 5 appearances.
Best = Vincent Kompany (85.4% aerial duel success)
LB - Kieran Richardson
When summer signing Jordan Amavi suffered a season ending injury back in November, Villa fans were rightly concerned. It left Kieran Richardson as their only senior left-back at the time before recalling Aly Cissokho, with both flattering to deceive to say the least. It’s Richardson, however, who has the worst cross accuracy of all full-backs to attempt at least 20 this season, at a lowly 9.5%.
Best = Gael Clichy (29.2% cross accuracy)
RM - Florian Thauvin
He may not be in the Premier League any more, but the fact that Florian Thauvin was promptly sold back to Marseille proves just how ineffective he was at Newcastle. The young Frenchman attempted 31 dribbles in his time at the club but his success rate from said attempts was the lowest of all wingers to try to take on an opponent at least 20 times (35.5%).
Best = Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (70.6%)
CM - Etienne Capoue
While it’s fair to say Etienne Capoue has played an important role in the Watford midfield to help the Hornets secure survival with time to spare, his composure in front of goal has left a lot to be desired. The Frenchman has had 35 shots this season, which is more than any other player that has not found the net, with 5 of said efforts deemed clear-cut goalscoring opportunities by Opta.
Best = Jamaal Lascelles (4 shots, 2 goals)
CM - Marouane Fellaini
He may have put in a handful of impressive displays in recent weeks but all-in-all it’s been another thoroughly underwhelming campaign for Marouane Fellaini. Primarily used as a target to cause havoc in an opposition box, his displays in midfield have generally been below par, producing the fewest tackles per foul when excluding strikers of outfielders to make 20 or more tackles this season (0.8).
Best = Kolo Toure (20 tackles per foul)
LM - Scott Sinclair
It would be pretty unjust to have just one Villa player in this XI given their woeful record this season, with Scott Sinclair having had very little impact since making his move from Manchester City permanent in the summer. The 27-year old has made 24 league appearances but having scored in just one (a brace vs Sunderland), registered 0 assists and created only 5 chances all season, he has the lowest WhoScored rating (6.28) of all players to start more than 10 times.
Best = Riyad Mahrez (7.84 rating)
FW - Bafetimbi Gomis
For a player who started the campaign in such fine form, it’s turned out to be something of a nightmare season for Bafetimbi Gomis. Not only has he scored just once since the first month of the season and had just one shot on target since the turn of the year, the Frenchman has infuriated Swansea fans with his lack of concentration, caught offside more often than any other player to make more than 10 appearances (every 44 minutes).
Best = Connor Wickham (offside every 580 minutes)
FW - Cameron Jerome
If this was Cameron Jerome’s last chance to prove he is capable of translating his impressive Championship record to the Premier League, it’s fair to say he has failed. The striker is a handful at times but has scored just 3 goals all season and has the worst conversion rate from clear-cut chances (18.2%) of all players to be presented with at least ten, missing 9 out of 11.
Best = Anthony Martial (70% clear-cut chance conversion)
Which players have been fortunate to miss out here? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below
