Probing Pardew’s four French fancies: 2. Mapou Yanga-M’Biwa

Posted on January 31st, 2013 | 50 Comments |

Mapou Yanga-M’Biwa: Daft hair like Debuchy.
Mapou Yanga-M’Biwa: Daft pointy hair like Debuchy.
Hello and welcome to the second of my series on the latest four Frenchmen to join Newcastle. The subject this time will be the versatile 23 year old defender Mapou Yanga-M’Biwa, purchased from Ligue 1 side Montpellier for undisclosed fee that is estimated to be around £6.9 million.

For those of you who didn’t read my last piece on Yoan Gouffran, as I explained in that, the reason why there isn’t one on the first of our January signings, Mathieu Debuchy, is that I have already written several pieces about him, including this one where I looked at Debuchy in comparison with Newcastle United’s existing first choice right back, Danny Simpson, which was written when Debuchy was still a Lille player. So without further ado, let’s get back to Yanga-M’Biwa.

The most expensive of Newcastle United’s new signings, Yanga-M’Biwa was signed from French champions Montpellier for a fee of around €8 million which converts to around £6.9 million at current exchange rates. Until he joined Newcastle United, M’Biwa had been a one club man, having spent the whole of his career at Montpellier, rising from the youth ranks to eventually become captain of the side. In total he played 211 games over seven seasons for Montpellier, becoming an established part of the side from the 2007-8 season onwards, and playing a key role in the Montpellier side which won the Ligue 1 title last season along with the likes of Arsenal’s Olivier Giroud. In that time M’Biwa scored a total of four goals, providing 3 assists. He also has three caps for the senior French national side, along with five under 21 caps.

Vital statistics.

Age: 23
Height: 6’0″
Positions: Centre Back / right back and defensive midfield.

According to stats website “WhoScored,” statistically, M’Biwa had the best rating of any defender in Ligue 1 when he left for Newcastle, and was the sixth most highly rated of any player. In the table below, I have compared him on a variety of stats with Newcastle United’s two main centre backs this season so far, Fabricio Coloccini and Mike Williamson. Though of course, it might be slightly unfair to compare stats from Ligue 1 with stats from the Premiership, it’s just a bit of fun!


Yanga-M’Biwa vs Coloccini and Willamson (All comps 2012/13),
Defensive.
Player App TPG IPG FPG OSW CPG DPG BSG WSR
Mike Williamson 23(0) 1.5 0.7 1.1 1.0 13.1 0.3 0.8 7.26
M.YangaM’Biwa 25(1) 2.0 3.1 1.0 1.0 7.3 0.7 0.3 7.18
F.Coloccini 19(2) 2.3 2.0 0.6 0.9 5.5 0.7 0.6 6.79
App – Appearences, TPG – Tackles Per Game, IPG – Interceptions Per Game, FPG – Fouls Per Game OSW – Off Sides Won Per Game, CPG – Clearences Per Game, DPG – Dribbled Per Game, BSG – Blocked Shots Per Game, WSR – Who Scored Rating (out of ten).
Offensive.
Player App Gls Ass SPG DPG FPG OSG DiPG WSR
Mike Williamson 23(0) 0 0 0.2 0.2 0.8 0.3 0 7.26
M.YangaM’Biwa 25(1) 0 0 0.3 1.2 1.6 0.1 0.1 7.18
F.Coloccini 19(2) 0 1 0.3 0.3 0.6 0 0.2 6.79
App – Appearences, Gls – Goals, Ass – Assists, SPG – Shots Per Game DPG – Dribbles Per Game, FPG – Fouled Per Game, OSG – Off Sides Per Game, DiPG – Dispossessed Per Game, WSR – Who Scored Rating (out of ten).
Passing
Player App PPG Ass KPG PS% ACG ALB TBG WSR
Mike Williamson 23(0) 30.8 0 0.2 79% 0 3 0 7.26
M.YangaM’Biwa 25(1) 46.1 0 0.4 82% 0 4.9 0.2 7.18
F.Coloccini 19(2) 31.7 1 0.3 88% 0.1 4.4 0 6.79
App – Appearences, PPG – Passes Per Game, Ass – Assists, KPG – Key Passes Per Game PS% – Pass Success %, ACG – Accurate Crosses Per Game, ALB – Accurate Long Balls Per Game, TBG – Through Balls Per Game, WSR – Who Scored Rating (out of ten).
Other stats.
Player App MoM ADW YCs RCs … … … WSR
Mike Williamson 23(0) 1 5.8 8 0 – – – 7.26
M.YangaM’Biwa 25(1) 1 1.2 3 0 – – – 7.18
F.Coloccini 19(2) 0 1.4 1 1 – – – 6.79
App – Appearences, MoM – Man of the Match Awards, ADW – Aerial Duels Won Per Game, YCs – Yellow Cards RCs – Red Cards, WSR – Who Scored Rating (out of ten).


Style of play.

Though primarily a centre back, Yanga-M’Biwa is a versatile defensive player who has also played as a right back and in defensive midfield. Though it has been written that he can play “right across the back four,” I can’t find any record of him having played at left back.

M’Biwa is very comfortable on the ball for a defender, having the abilty to play his way out of defence, pass very respectably and generally build attacks from the rear. In other words he is what you might call a very “cultured” defender who is good technically. However, he also has the other more traditional qualities necessary to make him an excellent defensive package, specifically he is strong, good in the tackle, and a hard worker who is good at intercepting passes of his opponents to add to all the fancy stuff that is expected of defenders nowadays, sometimes at the expense of all the old fashioned values, though this is certainly not the case with M’Biwa. When he signed, Alan Pardew said of him:

“We needed to strengthen the team and bringing in Mapou will give the whole squad a boost. He is precisely the sort of player we’ve been looking to bring to the club. He is a good age for us but has plenty of experience at club and international level. Mapou is a talented footballer, good in the air and on the ground and has all the attributes to succeed as a quality defender in the Premier League. He’s a good character too and that will be important for us over the next few months.”

Conclusion.

So basically, we have a very cultured but well rounded defender in Yanga-M’Biwa. Not just that but his leadership experience a captaining a League winning side might well stand the club in good stead if our existing central defensive Captain, Coloccini, leaves the club at the end of the season. That’s not bad for a 23 year old!

Yanga-M’Biwa on video.

Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa vs Marseille.

Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa vs Lille (10/11/2010)

Poll

NUFCBlog Author: workyticket workyticket has written 1095 articles on this blog.

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Comment on this post

50 Responses

  3. Jimmy says:
    January 31, 2013 at 11:07 pm

    “Centre Forward / left, right sided forward and attacking midfield.”

    Thanks for pointing that out last night Jimmy. I did the whole thing, checked it, then the last little detail I put in after that was Yoan Gouffran, not M’Biwa. Bollocks!

  4. I have to say that I was surprised that Sissoko was so cheap in comparison (especially compared to Debuchy). Fair play to them for nabbing a complete bargain there.

  5. Another good write up Kudos worky. I think this has been a great window and respect to G Carr and Lambias. Sissoko looks a specimen, Gouffran looks a grafter for a forward and Mbiwa looks like a great defensive asset. 3 more signings and i think we’ll be a force next season. Anyone know anything about Gomis’s situation? I think his contract isup in july and i’d rather see him land on a free with good wages than 9mil spent on Siem De Jong. Im genuinely looking forward to the back end of this season and next season and watchin this squad gel. Good times.

  6. pete_toon says:
    February 1, 2013 at 11:17 am

    “I have to say that I was surprised that Sissoko was so cheap in comparison (especially compared to Debuchy). Fair play to them for nabbing a complete bargain there.”

    Sissoko and Gouffran Pete, as they were both reaching the end of their contracts at the end of the season, hence the low transfer fees. However it can work both ways.

    It would be an understatement if I wrote that Liverpool didn’t really get a great deal when they bought Carroll of course, but they certainly did when they bought Enrique when he was close to the end of his contract like Sissoko and Gouffran. Ba hasn’t really been replaced, and Simpson will almost certainly be going somewhere for free in the Summer too (as Guthrie did before) because Ashley won’t pay him what other players of similar abilty are receiving elsewhere, and he is worth more than some fans think he is too.

    We got a great deal on Cisse too by holding out and playing “hardball” with Freiburg. However if we’d have got him earlier in the Summer and his goals made the difference between the Europa League and the Champions League, it would have been a false economy. That’s hypothetical of course but I think you get the point. Hughton was gagging for Victor Moses too, but hardball Ashley wouldn’t be “held to ransom,” wouldn’t pay a penny over £1.5 million so Wigan got him for a million more and made a fortune on him eventually.

    There are other examples too, but the ones above are just an illustration that either way, you have to look at the whole picture, including where we are in the table at the moment with Ashley’s policies on player recruitment, and manager recruitment too.

  7. Simple-Tings says:
    February 1, 2013 at 12:47 pm

    “Another good write up Kudos worky”

    Thanks Simple-Tings.

    Just that Gomis should be free to talk to other clubs now without having to go through Lyons.

  8. “When we lost out on Remy it was pretty evident we weren’t going to get a big striker”.

    Errrrr OK Alan no Plan B again.

    Still think we will struggle for goals without Demba Ba!!

  9. Simple-Tings I don’t bother reading the blog now until I see you give it the thumbs up-good to have someone like you around.

    SJT

  10. Yes few can deny it’s been a bargain filled window.
    However there were reasons for it that few mention.
    The fact that if some of those recruited had been brought in during the summer, there probably would’nt have been the panic buying due to our being in a dangerous position in regard to relegation.

    As for relating Ashleys spending to any long term involvement, imo it has more to do with the fear of loosing out on next seasons highest ever revenues, to be shared out among the surviving PL sides.

    There was certainly no fooling around when as stated in the media, Ashley had personally took charge of the dealmaking, as opposed to prior windows, when the nickle
    and diming went on for weeks and we ended up loosing out on many deals.

    Though he had a cetain things in his favor, the fact many were running down their contracts, the tax rate in a socialist party dominated France, has those earning over one million euros annually, paying a rate of around 75%, that and the already established group of French players at Nouveau Chateau.

    Though other sides could have given us competition, like Arry did, appears Ashley got in early and made the deals.
    Now that they are done, lets see how they, with Pardew directing operations, can perform.

    The time for excuses is over, if this side goes down, their will be hell to pay.

  11. As to how much our new recruits will affect our play.
    Obvious too early to tell.
    Though Sissoko, did lay on the perfect pass for Cisse, something that has been lacking lately, good support.
    Up ontil this season, Sissoko had been described as box to box, which i take it means he can play in bothe the defensive and attacking roles, but mainly defensive.
    However he has been deployed in a more attacking role, for most of this season, which was obvious in the first half of the Villa game, the second half it was all ten men defending desperately.
    Gouffran, also showed a bit of pace, reminding me of Marveaux a bit and was’nt afraid to shoot, having played as a striker.
    We need more goals from our midfielders, as we cant expect Cisse to carry the entire burden alone.
    Debuchy has been a bit dissapointing, expected more from him, but willing to give him time, but like Tiote has to cut down on the fouls.
    Though he did ok and managed to put in a couple of nice crosses.
    With Saylor back (hope he can avoid injuries) Colo and Yanga Mbiwa, we hopefully have enough cover at the CD spot.
    I would like to see Simpson stay , but looks like he’s going to Wigan.
    But is Haidarra not a versitile FB, who can play either side?
    It will be interesting to see how much emphasis we place on the european tournament, now we have strength in depth, but there’s already talk of loaning out our younger players (save a buck) when we could blood them in these games.
    Why dont we just fill the Gateshead side with our up and commers and borrow them back when needed.

  12. So what can we expect for the rest of the season ?
    Well with our injured players coming back, there should be competition for jobs, which is a goog thing, no one wanting to sit on the bench.
    And we will now be able to rest players with knocks, plus of course horses for courses.
    That is if Pardew can tell the difference between Aintree and Epsom.
    But we should IMO finish with enough ponts to survive the drop, but doubt if there will be any sudden surge up the league, mid table somewhere.
    But doubtless it will take time before everyone is on the same page, hopefully that won’t be the hoofball page.

  13. in the poll at the top i voted M’biwa as wor best addition in this window.he does look a cracking player but like Worky pointed out Ligue 1 certainly aint the prem.Colo will be off in the summer imo,also wiv Sissoko now here,does this spell the end ov Tiote? Mbiwa can play the holding role,so IF we sign another CB in the summer Pards could play him in the holding role..i like Tiote as a player,every team needs an intimadating,general in the middle ov the park n Tiote is certainly that but his reputation does precede him n refs card him for any mistake these days.
    Debuchy will be a good player for us.lets not critise the lad yet.he’s got to get up to speed wiv the prem n adapt just like all new players that come to ply there trade in England.
    HWTL

  15. A problematic analysis for me that deepens my instinctive misgivings about the “Who Scored” site.

    I have no idea how they rate Williamson so highly relative to the other two. Clearly they are heavily weighting his 13.1 clearances per match. It is the only statistical area where he stands out. I ask myself a question regarding his 7.6 more clearances per game than Colo (5.8 more than MYM). Why the difference? Does he finds himself in positions where he has no choice but to clear more than twice as often as Colo? Has Colo been constantly been dispossessed when he should have cleared? Of course not-it’s because Williamson is not a brilliant passer. He often “clears” the ball-clearances in general often end up at the feet of an opponent-in situations where Colo (and presumably from the numbers, MYM) gets his head up and finds a short pass on the floor to keep possession.

    What I want to know about CBs, statistically, are three things: success rate in challenges, passing completion percentage and, related, how often they turn the ball over per match.

    It’s absurd analysis to me that Williamson is generally rated ahead of a guy who’s passing percentage is 9 points better basically because he clears the ball a lot. Not impressed.

    I’m also perplexed by the newest buzzword in football: “cultured.” I have no idea what that means as a descriptor of a footballer as a footballer.

    To the point, MYM looks a natural replacement for Colo who looks certain to leave in the summer. With Debuchy just replacing Simpson and the constant interest in Cabaye, Tiote and more recently Santon, I don’t think we’ve necessarily improved the squad at all. And I agree with SJT @ 8 that there really aren’t many goals in this team right now. Still a work in progress, has been since before the Carroll sale.

  17. I always think ‘cultured’ related to all-round ability on the ball as opposed to our domestic defenders who very rarely do anything but hoof the ball up the pitch. E.g. John Terry great defender but little technical ability, Rio Ferdinand.cultured defender, a turn.of pace.in his youth and able to pass out. British defenders.are.rarely like this thats why i always thought.the term.was cultured. I could be wrong though.

  18. Cultureed
    Yes it’s just a nonsensicle term invented by some hack journalist, who is perhaps confusing football with croquet.
    Cultured covers a lot of ground and is really not a term that best describes any form of football.

  19. tunyc
    Progress ?
    We are now beginning our second 5 year plan, the first one went in the same direction as Mao’s Great Leap Forward.
    Oh ! sorry, yes we had a modicum of success last season, 5th place, not exactly what one would expect from a five year plan, considering one of our managers was fired for dropping that low, nevertheless, a moicum.
    question is how does a side go from fifth to below 15th with the same players ?
    Ah but not to worry were gonna shoot right up the league starting against Villa, before long we will be challenging the Barca’s and Man. U,s in the champions league, cause this is a real five year plan, the boss has learned a lot.

  20. simpletings sez
    …I could be wrong though….

    Simple, in refering to one of the country’s best CD’s John Terry(Whatever you think of him on a personal level) as
    ..great defender but little technical ability..
    Makes me wonder how he ever became captain of both Chelsea an Engerland, and was the first name pencilled in, even ahead of that great technical player Ferdinand.
    But thats what it’s about here, debate.
    I really have no idea where that came from and am flabbergasted.

  21. Chuck. You’re an idiot.
    He became captain due to his leadership abilities…… Like most captains.
    He was pencilled in ahead of Rio due to those qualities and the fact Rio was often injured and banned for 8 months at one point.

    As i say your an idiot. I hate myself for replying to you.

  22. tunyc says:
    February 1, 2013 at 4:26 pm

    “A problematic analysis for me that deepens my instinctive misgivings about the “Who Scored” site.

    “I have no idea how they rate Williamson so highly relative to the other two. Clearly they are heavily weighting his 13.1 clearances per match.”

    Tunyc, they use OPTA stats just like most others. As I’ve mentioned before on here, when stats are correctly gathered, the problem is more often that there simply aren’t enough of them, or they aren’t being examined throughly enough, or they are being examined by someone without the intellectual capacity to hold enough of them in their noggin to make the right connections, or that they are merely using them selectively in an attempt to reinforce some kind of existing prejudice. In your case I certainly don’t think that intelligence that is the problem, but you haven’t examined them closely enough to say “Clearly they are heavily weighting his 13.1 clearances per match. It is the only statistical area where he stands out.”

    If you’d managed to read them to the bottom, you should have noticed another standout statistic, those of “Aerial Duels Won Per Game” – M’Biwa 1.2, Colo 1.4 and Williamson 5.8. I must also confess at this point that I have seen more aerial stats on Colo, Williamson and Steven Taylor which also have the percentages of aerial duels won too, in both areas Williamson stands head and shoulders above Colo both literally and in the football sense, ie he has more aerial duels and wins a much higher % of them too. This is one of the reasons why I have written in the past that Colo and Williamson have complimentary skills in the centre of Newcastle’s defence.

    Poor old Willamson has even been blamed by prejudiced and less intellectually gifted fans (on Ed’s blog) for Newcastle’s long ball problem on his own, though actually, Colo’s figures are actually higher than Williamson’s and the last time I checked, Cabaye’s were the highest of all, though there have been quite a few games since I checked Cabaye’s stats.

    So, whilst Colo might be better on the floor, Williamson is undoubtedly more effective in the air though ideally, a defender with both characteristics would be ideal. This was why my answer to the problem some time ago was Jan Vertonghen, a m**********r of a centre back who has just about everything. Then again, unlike Ashley and Llambias the football idiots, football is my primary concern rather than how much of a “bargain” a player is, whether he’s a purple casino chip or whatever.

  23. tunyc,

    You mentioned “turnover” stats above. With Williamson it’s 0.2 per game, with Coloccini it’s 0.3 and finally with M’Biwa it’s 0.6 (though in a different league as I stressed above too).

    “Was Dribbled” stats are Willamson 0.3 per game, Colo 0.7 and M’Biwa’s 0.7 too.

    So it looks like Williamson wins out again! ;-)

  24. workyticket says: “…football is my primary concern rather than how much of a “bargain” a player is, whether he’s a purple casino chip or whatever.”

    Worky, all that matters now is that we hit a purple patch. As with all fans, I hope we do, in part to hear how all the anti-Pardew folk respond.

  25. like most good centre half pairings its like that.1always attacks the high ball in..Hansen &Lawro.Hansen never hardly had to heeder a ball as Lawro attacked every high ball.they were probably the best partnership av seen.yes Williams pony but give credit were credits due,he does win most heeders in the box.

  26. Paul in Hollywood says:
    February 1, 2013 at 9:20 pm

    “Worky, all that matters now is that we hit a purple patch. As with all fans, I hope we do, in part to hear how all the anti-Pardew folk respond.”

    Yes Paul, of course we need a purple patch to get us away from being precariously close to the bottom three, but why are you so curious to “hear how all the anti-Pardew folk respond” over one purple patch? That’s the mistake most people make whatever side of the argument they’re on. They take how things are going over a very short period and, usually mistakenly, they extrapolate from that.

    Anyway, alot of people are simple, cowardly folk who have little or no memory or knowledge and just crave the approval of the majority. Hence, thay blow in the wind, just going with what the majority are saying at the time. When Pardew was fifth, they were his biggest fans and when things started to go wrong, his harshest critics. Hence, many of them will just go back to being his biggest fans again!

  27. as we kna Worky bud a big majority ov football fans r fickle.if we do go on a everton esq run ov flying up the table after a poor start.it will certainly not be down to pardew,it will be down to the players.thats who got us the 5th place finish last season,not pardew.
    i think we might just get a result against chelski.there form aint that great atm.Ba has to be the NAP ov the day to score,ex toon players always do.
    like simple tings..chuck you r a fkin idiot ov the HIGHEST order,how couldnt you see the qualitys John Terry has? i,like probably 1000s ov other NUFC supporters wish he had ov been Geordie born & bred n stayed as loyal as he has at Chelski…honest question for you here chuck…do you honestly think about wot your ganna type or do your fingers crack on wivout the brains permission?

  28. cheers for write up worky , whats ya predictions for 2morrow? we usually play well against top sides and chelsea ain’t exactly on form id be chuffed with a point tbh

    this guy looks decent, my mate rang me this morning and told me we signed carlton cole for 5mil i had just woke up and proper believed him haha

  30. jack72 says:
    February 1, 2013 at 9:25 pm

    “like most good centre half pairings its like that.1always attacks the high ball in..Hansen &Lawro.Hansen never hardly had to heeder a ball as Lawro attacked every high ball.they were probably the best partnership av seen.yes Williams pony but give credit were credits due,he does win most heeders in the box.”

    Spot on Jack! They did, and they were a hell of a partnership. However I wouldn’t describe Williamson as “pony.”

    Paisley once said of Lawro (after showering him with praise and saying he could play almost anywhere on the pitch) that he was a very ungainly runner and perhaps Williamson has a similar problem, ie he just looks a bit ungainly? I’m not saying he’s Baresi, but he certainly isn’t quite as “pony” as many seem to think either.

    On the other hand that other defensive scapegoat, Danny Simpson, has the opposite problem. He doesn’t get ugly very often, he doesn’t get stuck in and pick up yellow cards that much, or give away penalties. His method is to try and shepherd opposing players out of harms way while the rest of the defence regroup and get their shape back. However alot of fans don’t get that either and criticise him from the point of having no knowledge.

  31. danny b says:
    February 1, 2013 at 11:46 pm

    “cheers for write up worky , whats ya predictions for 2morrow? we usually play well against top sides and chelsea ain’t exactly on form id be chuffed with a point tbh

    “this guy looks decent, my mate rang me this morning and told me we signed carlton cole for 5mil i had just woke up and proper believed him haha”

    Nee botha danny. I can see why you fancy our chances of a draw, after all, Reading got a point, QPR got three and both of those teams are even lower than we are. I’m like you, I’ve been secretly harbouring hopes of a draw, but we could get hammered too. Benitez is a new manager at Chelsea and he’s looks like he’s going through the erratic stage.

    Aye, I laughed as well. I think that part of it is that you look at him, then you look at the weights and you know exactly what’s going to happen!

    Daft get! :-)

  32. aye worky lets hope ba dont smash a few past us……. that would be horrible and i know i cracked up with that vid daaaaad ,daaaaaad ,daaaaaad, MOM LOL i need help! funniest thing i seen in ages! and lets hope we do em if we do we will go 7 points clear of the drop breathing space it horrible being 1 point from the drop

  33. can’t believe i just said aye! your bringing the geordie out of me on this blog lol il be saying wor missus soon!

  34. But getting back to the topic at hand, what has possibly impressed me most from what I’ve seen of M’Biwa so far is his abilty to read games, which is perhaps shown above in his very good interception stats. It almost goes without saying that a great defender should be a great tackler, but when a defender actually makes more interceptions than tackles per game, that can be a very good sign.

  35. @worky what u know about this little swiss guy we got he is 17 pardew has said he has been watching him for years lets not hope he is alan peadophew :p

  36. danny b, I’m a Geordie and I type a bit like a Geordie on here sometimes but the truth is I don’t sound very Geordie in real life. I can sound proper Benwell when I want to, and my parents were as common as clarts, but I sound more like Alexander Armstrong (that posh Geordie on the telly from the Armstrong family) than Jimmy Nail usually.

  37. danny b says:
    February 2, 2013 at 1:19 am

    “@worky what u know about this little swiss guy we got he is 17 pardew has said he has been watching him for years lets not hope he is alan peadophew :p”

    Not alot TBH danny, but Pardew will say any old shite if it makes him look good.

    I’d better gan’n get some kip now like. I didn’t do my Metro blog today and I’m in botha for only deein’ one so far as it is!

    Does anyone have an idea what I can write a blog on for the Metro?

  38. @ worky i was raised in northern ireland but my dad’s family lives in wallsend i left ireland when was 8 went lived up north till was 14 n moved down essex place called colchester (propa shiteole) but now in chelmsford with me missus im only a baby on this blog im 23 nearly 24 lol i can’t even remember the manager before keegan haha still love newcastle tho HWTL keep this blog going mate only source of info i trust

  41. tunyc

    As for the stat on Williamson, what was it clearances,
    that translates into on gaining possesion, either hoofed it into the upper stands or to an opposition defender.
    And if anyone cares to defend his heading, he has yet to score in the opposition box (although deployed there on every set play) either by heading or shooting, in fact the only time he has put the ball in the net is in his own end.
    But it appears Worky, contrary to most on this blog , is on some kind of crusade using stats and other nonsense to attempt to prove he is in fact a good PL player.
    I put it down to contrariness and ego, but then who knows?

  42. Jack @ 27 #

    I’m a bit confused as to whether you are calling me an idiot or agree with my evaluation of John Terry, who by the way, SBR wanted to sign.(prior to Abramovich)
    I think John Terry has been one of the best CD’s Engerland has produced.
    A great stopper who gets his goals from set pieces and by joining in the attack.
    Inspires and pushes both Chelsea and the Engerland side.
    But to say hes not a technical player like Ferdinand, is simply nonsense.
    Thats all i said to Simple Tings, no personal insults.

  43. Simple Tings

    For you to claim John Terry was not a good technical player , is in my opinion, both unjust and untrue.
    And it certainly does’nt require you to call me an idiot, because i’m of that opinion.
    A simple response as to why , would suffice.
    As i stated this is about opinions on football, not a place to indiscriminately insult people.
    When you make a statement, you should be prepared to defend it, not loose your temper and simply insult people.
    By the way i also disagree on your opinion the average EPL defender simply hoofs the ball up the pitch.
    And dont know which sides you have been watching, but that’s not been the case in games i have watched.
    Perhaps you would be better off, cosidering what you say, before you print it, as you may regret some of your statements.

  44. chuck read my comment @27 again then take a minute,hour or however long it takes to digest what i wrote…heres a hint,i definately wasnt agreeing wiv your asssesment ov JT..so i guess you could say i was calling you an idiot…btw i thought you had stopped reading my posts?

  45. workyticket says:
    February 2, 2013 at 1:34 am

    “Does anyone have an idea what I can write a blog on for the Metro?”

    It’s got to be something to do with our expanding French contingent, surely? I read somewhere that there’s getting on for 4.5 million French people living in ‘the smoke’.

    Maybe toss in some Geordie-tinged Franglais for a bit of light relief (can’t think of any off hand!).

  46. hows about best geordie in your opinion in your lifetime defence/midfield/forward v best foreign import in each postion, quite topical at the minute

  48. Jack

    I have re-read your comments @27 # and am non the wiser, it appears we are in agreement on the fact that John Terry was a good player that you would have liked to see at NUFC, no ?
    I think perhaps you misunderstood my original comments to Simple Tings.
    And i would,nt normally reply to you had you not misunderstood my comments plus insulted me to boot.

  49. Sorry for my absence…between living with a 9-months pregnant wife capable of doing no housework at all, an NYC apartment search, filing our tax return and a hectic work schedule I haven’t had time to do much online at all. But far be it from me not to argue so here goes.

    Worky @ 22: I certainly don’t mean to unduly criticize you or Who Scored. I know you vet your sources very well and I’m not suggesting there’s any real flaw or misdirection to Who Scored’s interpretation of the stats. You both make reasonable and thoughtful arguments for your analysis and the stats are what they are, I can accept them as facts.

    I still think there’s validity to my misgivings about the upshot here, though, not least because the comparison about which I complain does not bear out what I see on the field. I’m not a Williamson hater, I just see his limitations. He’s competing for the 3-4th CB slot in a solidly mid-table PL squad. That’s just where he belongs if you ask me and actually makes him one of the best couple hundred defenders in the world. That said,I’ve only ever thought to rate Willo ahead of Colo on isolated afternoons where the latter was off form.

    For every stat one can point out where Williamson enjoys a small-but-not-statistically-insignificant advantage (OSW, DPG, BSG, DiPG, RC) one can point out two for Colo (TPG, IPG, FPG, SPG, DPG, OSG, PPG, Ass, KPG, ACG, ALB). I’ll cede that I did not properly consider the aerial duels stat before and that’s important. Williamson is superior there. (Again, he definitely can fill a role in this squad.) For me, though, that’s leveled out by Colo’s superior passing percentage and less frequent bookings (which affects how a defender plays the rest of a match or forces the manager’s hand with a sub). This leaves the clearances as the outstanding difference. How is a “clearance” determined? Is it counted the same if the ball lands at an opponent’s feet in our half, goes out of bounds, or lands in an area where our guy can get on the end of it? Some clearances are good, some are very bad. Some are forced, some are not.

    Worky @ 23: I don’t see turnovers listed in the stats above and, at the risk of nitpicking, I don’t see a link. I’d still like to know how “clearances” and “turnovers” are reckoned. The number of 13+ per game suggests to me that all clearances are considered in that stat. It makes me suspect that a “clearance” that goes directly to the opposition may not be considered a “turnover.” But I’ll go to Who Scored and check it out…

    btw: still haven’t seen enough of MYM to really form an opinion!

  50. tunyc says:
    February 5, 2013 at 8:29 pm

    “Worky @ 22: I certainly don’t mean to unduly criticize you or Who Scored. I know you vet your sources very well and I’m not suggesting there’s any real flaw or misdirection to Who Scored’s interpretation of the stats.”

    I may have mentioned it before but they are OPTA stats, same as most others. As for “interpretation,” that’s just the overall whoscored ratings reduced to a number out of ten. I also have access to far more extensive OPTA stats and I also spend hours trawling other places too and you must remember that you can’t just look at a few stats superficially and think you have the whole picture.

    “I’m not a Williamson hater, I just see his limitations.”

    Exactly tunyc, you just see his limitations, not his strengths. With other players you like more, like Coloccini, you might concentrate on their strengths and give less weight to their limitations (like being shit in the air).

    Anyway, this is becoming an argument about stats and that’s only a part of the story. Of course, it’s about the actual football too, and how deep an understanding you have of it. They do say that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. In the modern game, fans seem to have a template of a modern defender just being an attacking player who can tackle a bit and they write off more old fashioned defenders like Williamson, yet they overlook the defensive frailties of many of the more modern defenders they like.