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Goals from midfield

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TheBunnyman

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It's long been a criticism of Liverpool that we don't score enough goals from midfield. Well, we now have basically only one striker, and he's been injured for half the season, yet we're still the PL top scorers. So obviously something's gone right in midfield. What is it? What's changed? To help you out, here are our midfielders' 2008/09 goalscoring stats (league only):

Gerrard - 16 goals from 31 games (30 starts)

Dirk - 12 goals from 38 games (36 starts)

Yossi - 8 goals from 32 games (21 starts)

Xabi - 4 goals from 33 games (27 starts)

Babel - 3 goals from 27 games (6 starts)

Riera - 3 goals from 28 games (24 starts)

Lucas - 1 goal from 25 games (13 starts)

Mascher - 0 goals from 27 games (27 starts)

El Zhar - 0 goals from 15 games (1 start)
 
[quote author=TheBunnyman link=topic=33763.msg875251#msg875251 date=1243329561]
It's long been a criticism of Liverpool that we don't score enough goals from midfield. Well, we now have basically only one striker, and he's been injured for half the season, yet we're still the PL top scorers. So obviously something's gone right in midfield. What is it? What's changed? To help you out, here are our midfielders' 2008/09 goalscoring stats (league only):

Gerrard - 16 goals from 31 games (30 starts)

Dirk - 12 goals from 38 games (36 starts)

Yossi - 8 goals from 32 games (21 starts)

Xabi - 4 goals from 33 games (27 starts)

Babel - 3 goals from 27 games (6 starts)

Riera - 3 goals from 28 games (24 starts)

Lucas - 1 goal from 25 games (13 starts)

Mascher - 0 goals from 27 games (27 starts)

El Zhar - 0 goals from 15 games (1 start)






[/quote]

we play with more midfielders now and the chances of a midfielder scoring a goal increases.....
 
I'm not sure there has been *that* much of a change.

Gerrard plays as a forward pretty much and has been scoring regularly for a few seasons now.

Last time I checked, Kuyt scored 8 of those goals in games he started up front as a striker

And Yossi got 10 last season in all comps (only 4 in the league, but he also played / started less) compared to 9 this year.
 
I've been really impressed with Dirk and Yossi's overall contribution this season. Xabi, Masher and Babel really need to sort their fucking shit out. 1 or 2 of those might be gone for next season though and replaced with someone who can chip in.
 
[quote author=Mors link=topic=33763.msg875302#msg875302 date=1243331968]
I've been really impressed with Dirk and Yossi's overall contribution this season. Xabi, Masher and Babel really need to sort their fucking shit out. 1 or 2 of those might be gone for next season though and replaced with someone who can chip in.
[/quote]

masherano is a holding midfielder.
 
[quote author=spider-neil link=topic=33763.msg875317#msg875317 date=1243332721]
[quote author=Mors link=topic=33763.msg875302#msg875302 date=1243331968]
I've been really impressed with Dirk and Yossi's overall contribution this season. Xabi, Masher and Babel really need to sort their fucking shit out. 1 or 2 of those might be gone for next season though and replaced with someone who can chip in.
[/quote]

masherano is a holding midfielder.
[/quote]

Yeah, I don't think we can ever really expect goals from Mascherano; essentially he's a defender who happens to play in midfield.

Keni - Gerrard didn't score 1 in 2 in the league last year; nor did Kuyt score 1 in 3, or Yossi 1 in 4. Something's changed, even if it's only their conversion rate.
 
[quote author=Mors link=topic=33763.msg875302#msg875302 date=1243331968]
I've been really impressed with Dirk and Yossi's overall contribution this season. Xabi, Masher and Babel really need to sort their fucking shit out. 1 or 2 of those might be gone for next season though and replaced with someone who can chip in.
[/quote]

Mascherano?

You do know where he plays, yes?
 
[quote author=TheBunnyman link=topic=33763.msg875325#msg875325 date=1243333436]


Keni - Gerrard didn't score 1 in 2 in the league last year; nor did Kuyt score 1 in 3, or Yossi 1 in 4. Something's changed, even if it's only their conversion rate.

[/quote]

We were top scorers in Europe last year with 100+ goals, weren't we? Or was that the year before?

If the question relates solely to goals from midfield, then I don't think there has been a significant change - Gerrard has played as a second striker pretty much all season long, which has pushed him further towards goal. Kuyt has gotten the majority of his from playing as a striker.

But if we want to look at it in greater detail...

We pretty much realized that 4-2-3-1 was the way forward last season and this has been our settled system for much of this year. I would say that our 'progress' this year has largely been underpinned by the consistency that has brought, the organic development of the team and the upturn in form of key players - the revitalisation of Alonso orchestrating our play beautifully from midfield, the massive upturn in form from Kuyt and at a push, perhaps the ball retention or 'balance' offered by Riera.
 
[quote author=spider-neil link=topic=33763.msg875317#msg875317 date=1243332721]
[quote author=Mors link=topic=33763.msg875302#msg875302 date=1243331968]
I've been really impressed with Dirk and Yossi's overall contribution this season. Xabi, Masher and Babel really need to sort their fucking shit out. 1 or 2 of those might be gone for next season though and replaced with someone who can chip in.
[/quote]

masherano is a holding midfielder.
[/quote]

Agreed, but 1 or 2 goals a season isn't too much to ask. What's Xabi's excuse?
 
Last Season's Scorers:

Fernando Torres 24 3 0 6 33
Steven Gerrard 11 1 3 6 21
Peter Crouch 5 0 2 4 11
Dirk Kuyt 3 0 1 7 11
Yossi Benayoun 4 1 3 3 11
Ryan Babel 4 0 1 5 10
Andriy Voronin 5 0 0 1 6
Sami Hyypia 1 0 1 2 4
Xabi Alonso 2 0 0 0 2
Jermaine Pennant 2 0 0 0 2
Lucas Leiva 0 0 1 0 1
Mohamed Sissoko 1 0 0 0 1
Nabil El Zhar 0 1 0 0 1
Javier Mascherano 1 0 0 0 1
Fábio Aurélio 1 0 0 0 1


and This Seasons Scorers:

Steven Gerrard 16 0 1 7 24
Fernando Torres 14 0 1 2 17
Dirk Kuyt 12 0 0 3 15
Yossi Benayoun 8 0 0 1 9
Robbie Keane 5 0 0 2 7
Xabi Alonso 4 0 0 1 5
Albert Riera 3 0 1 1 5
Ryan Babel 3 0 0 1 4
Lucas Leiva 1 1 0 1 3
David Ngog 2 0 0 1 3
Fábio Aurélio 2 0 0 1 3
Daniel Agger 1 1 0 0 2
Sami Hyypia 1 1 0 0 2
Andrea Dossena 1 0 0 1 2
Jamie Carragher 1 0 0 0 1
Damien Plessis 0 1 0 0 1
Ãlvaro Arbeloa 1 0 0 0 1
 
[quote author=keniget link=topic=33763.msg875333#msg875333 date=1243334480]
[quote author=TheBunnyman link=topic=33763.msg875325#msg875325 date=1243333436]


Keni - Gerrard didn't score 1 in 2 in the league last year; nor did Kuyt score 1 in 3, or Yossi 1 in 4. Something's changed, even if it's only their conversion rate.

[/quote]

We were top scorers in Europe last year with 100+ goals, weren't we? Or was that the year before?

If the question relates solely to goals from midfield, then I don't think there has been a significant change - Gerrard has played as a second striker pretty much all season long, which has pushed him further towards goal. Kuyt has gotten the majority of his from playing as a striker.

But if we want to look at it in greater detail...

We pretty much realized that 4-2-3-1 was the way forward last season and this has been our settled system for much of this year. I would say that our 'progress' this year has largely been underpinned by the consistency that has brought, the organic development of the team and the upturn in form of key players - the revitalisation of Alonso orchestrating our play beautifully from midfield, the massive upturn in form from Kuyt and at a push, perhaps the ball retention or 'balance' offered by Riera.
[/quote]

Yossi's made a more balanced contribution this season too, interms of spreading his goals more evenly. Last season despite his great record, six of his goals came in two games against poor opposition, this season (well since he started figuring more regularly) he's contributed alot more consistently, ditto Kuyt. Where Dirk has played is fairly irrelevent, he's been a contributory goalscorer and alot more consistent at it this season, wherever he's played.

Also, it's worth mentioning Aurelio's attacking contribution this season. Now for some REAL quality on the left wing...
 
Can Gerrard really be thought of as the midfield any more?

Xabi should definitely be scoring more considering the way he can strike a ball. Given it was his first season Riera can be cut some slack - especially after he had that thing in the press saying "I'm going to score more goals" and then proceeded to (well, to a degree), but next year I think he should do better, even if he is (hopefully) second choice.

Yossi has done well IMO
 
Definitely more goals from midfield particularly in the league which is extremely pleasing. The league's top scorers can't be argued with nor the obvious improvement in the goals for column.
 
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