Just how Good is Kyle Walker?

Kyle Walker has had a fantastic season.  That can’t be denied. The 21 year old has been consistent, solid and has offered quite a bit going forward for Spurs. 

But for me, some of the love and admiration towards Walker has gone overboard. I mean totally overboard.

Recently, Kyle Walker was named the PFA Young Player of the Year, ahead of the likes of Sergio Aguero, Juan Mata, Gareth Bale and others. To me and to many of you, this left us all a little bit dazed.  

Has he been THAT good this season? To beat the likes of Bale, Aguero and others to the Young Player of the Year gong? I don’t think so..

Indeed, he has been very good, especially considering he is only 21 years of age. But for him to then be named in the PFA team of the year, suggests one thing.

It suggests he has been the best right back in the division.

But is that really true?

Let’s find out.

The players to be analysed are of course, are KyleWalker, his England main counterparts at right back, so the likes of Glen Johnson and Micah Richards. The right backs to be analysed are Arsenal’s Bacary Sagna, Chelsea’s Branislav Ivanovic and my wild card, Kyle Naughton. 

Kyle Naughton was chosen for two reasons. Reason number one being the player is currently on loan from Tottenham, and secondly, he is a young (23 years old) English right back just like Walker. 

Defence

Apologies for the bluriness, Excel and Blogger seem to hate me.

There’s no better place to start than looking at the tackles made and their success rate. Walker made the second highest amount of tackles out of the players analysed, but his success rate is very impressive. Walker won 82.76% of his tackles, only Bacary Sagna has won more. Walker’s tackle success rate demonstrates just how good a right back he is. If you compare his tackle record to the likes of Glen Jonhson and Micah Richards, Walker dominates. 

But if we look at the ground dual records of the players, Walker sits a little below average. But it has to be noted Walker has made the most ground dual attempts, so perhaps it’s expected he would have lost a few more. But on the other hand, if Walker had made lots of ground dual attempts and won a great deal more, it would have been an outstanding record for the 21 year old.

Walker’s ground dual win of 58% is level with Man City’s Micah Richards. And the only player who has a worse record than 58% is current first choice England right back Glen Johnson. But comparing Walker to Ivanovic, Sagna and Naughton for ground duals, the PFA young player of the year lags behind. The most successful ground dual winner was Ivanovic, with Sagna and Naughton in joint second with 62%. 

What’s intriguing is that Kyle Naughton, 23, on loan from Tottenham finds himself right near the top of the pack for ground duals, while his highly rated team mate at Spurs, finds himself at the other end of the spectrum.  

Of course, for any defender, be it a centre back, or a full back, aerial prowess is crucial. Walker, the 5 ft 10 inch right back, has the worst aerial win percentage. Perhaps you could put it down to Walker being relatively small in height. But, Sagna, a man who is 5ft 9, one inch smaller than Walker, the Arsenal man has won a very impressive 70% of his aerial duals. Only 6ft 2 Branislav Ivanovic and Micah Richards have won more. 

But comparing Walker’s aerial abilities to the English lads, Johnson, Richards and Naughton, the Spurs man is left lagging behind again, all the other English lads have won at least 60% of their aerial duals, while Walker manages 58%. It comes as no real surprise Richards takes the lead out of the English players in regards to aerial prowess, but the Tottenham man’s aerial record demonstrates the young man has a lot of improving to do in the area, in order for him to become a defensively well rounded right back.

The most alarming Kyle Walker defensive stat for me is the defensive errors section. 

Personally, to be seen as the best right back in the division, you’ve got be consistent all season and you can’t make any major defensive errors and you can’t be easy to exploited. But Walker and Johnson, are the only players analysed to have made defensive errors this season.This points severe question marks on whether Walker has really been the best right back in league and whether he’s been the best young player in the division. Furthermore, this is developed further by the fact Walker has been dribbled past 20 times this season, only Naughton had been dribbled past more. 

But one could put the high number of defensive errors and dribbles past down to a lack of experience. After all Kyle Walker is the youngest of the analysed players. He will of course make wrong decisions and make mistakes, he is a 21 year old! But making defensive errors and being in the team of the year is rather outrageous to me, especially given the Premier League has many talented right backs that have been consistent all season, without making errors, such as Micah Richards. Surely to be in the team of the year you have to be excellent consistently? 

Defensively, the stats show Kyle Walker has not been as solid as other right backs in the division. But with the same token, they also show he has not been shocking defensively. Instead the figures demonstrate Walker is a talented right back who is very competent at his defensive work. But it’s clear, there is quite a bit of room for improvement. But for 21 years of old to have one of the best tackle success ratio’s shows clearly Walker is a talented defender, with potential. It is crucial he builds on it.

Attacking

Of course, a sign of a good full back is one who can not only defend brilliantly, but one who can bomb forward and create chances for his attacking players.

If we look at passing first, we can see all of the full backs have made a high number of passes, but no one has made more passes than Kyle Walker. The Spurs man had a pass completion rate of 84% which is very tidy. This is a crucial part of Walker’s game, he can keep the ball and pass it well meaning he is a very useful player to have in the build-up of attacks. What’s intriguing is that Walker is the second most accurate passer, alongside England rivals Johnson and Richards. All three men’s good passing abilities can only mean positive things for England.

The reason why I think Kyle Walker is so highly rated is because of attributes such as his speed, directness and stamina. Indeed, these attributes allow him to bomb on forward and continuously help Spurs attack. It comes as no surprise the 21 year old has created 31 chances, the highest out of the selected right backs. That figure is very impressive, given this is his first full season in the Premier League. Walker’s chances created figure highlights his confidence in his abilities and his desire to dominate the right hand side. Furthermore, in some respects it shows his attacking potential too. For a full back to be very solid defensively, but still have the ability to bomb on forward and create, it shows how, as his game develops, he could become a highly skilled commanding right back. 

But some of you may be thinking, Kyle Walker has only assisted once this term, while Richards has managed to assist 5 times. So he can’t be that great going forward. This is very true, but an assist demands two things from two players. Firstly, it demands a good ball in, secondly to complete an assist, it of course demands the attacker to put the ball into the back of the net. I feel more can be learnt about the attacking nature of a player by the number of chances he creates, and Walker creates a huge amount.

But on the other hand, you have Richards, who has created who has created 14 chances and assisting 5 times more than Walker. Does that mean Richard’s final ball is far better? Personally, I’m unsure, Richards assist record compared to Walker’s record highlights the difference in attacking quality between Man City and Spurs. As the chances created and assists record combined tell us on the whole the Man City players took the chances created, while the Spurs players didn’t.  But for Walker to create 32 chances is very encouraging and if he can continue to improve, Spurs have one hell of a right back in their hands.

For me, a good full back is one that can cross effectively. The PFA young player of the year’s crossing accuracy sits as the lowest out of the players analysed, alongside, the highly rated Micah Richards. But an 18% crossing accuracy isn’t that bad at all, in comparison to other players in the division. But it’s transparent Walker has a lot of improving if he is to be at the Branislav Ivanovic level of crossing accuracy. Chelsea’s Serbian has a 31% crossing accuracy which is absolutely brilliant.  

But what’s interesting is that Kyle Naughton’s crossing abilities are very impressive too. At 22% he finds himself having a better accuracy than all three England right backs and being one percent below the sensational Sagna. One wonders if Naughton is given a chance at Spurs, will his abilities get more recognised, because his statistics paint a picture of a very mature, solid right back who can offer a good outlet on the right flank.

Comparing the two Kyle’s is crucial. Indeed, both players are of similar age, (Naughton 23, Walker, 21) but more importantly, they play for the same team. And after such a solid season on loan at Norwich, you’d think Harry Redknapp would seriously consider keeping  Naughton at Spurs next season.

But comparing the PFA young player of the year, to Naughton shows a rather compelling picture. Defensively, Naughton dominates Walker in some key areas. The Norwich man has a better win percentage of  ground duals and aerial duals. But Walker shows some fight, by winning more tackles, making more interceptions and being less able to dribble past. However, Naughton’s defensive stats show a man who is solid, reliable and very mature. And even going forward, Naughton offers more than Walker in terms of crossing.

Green = the highest, red = the lowest

For me, without a doubt Kyle Naughton is severely underrated, and if he continues the good work he has done I’m sure he will be touted for England sometime next season. But comparing the Walker to Naughton, there isn’t much between them. Both are very solid defensively and both offer quite a bit going forward. The progress of both players is great news for Tottenham, it means the club have quality and depth at right back. It will be interesting to see how Naughton manages at a bigger club, if he stays at Tottenham that is. At Norwich, there is less of an expectation to bomb forward and be solid defensively too.

Comparing Walker to Richards and Johnson is vital too. Given how these three are competing for the right back spot for the euros. But again, there isn’t much between them. Defensively, one would have to say Richards is the strongest. He has won the most aerial and ground duals. But Walker shows his great strengths are tackling and his reading of the game, two areas where he dominates Johnson and City’s Richards. Perhaps at the Euros, Hodgson may look at Walker’s tackle success and his interception record. As it shows the 21 year old reads the game very well, and he can also execute fine tackles on his opponent.

But even going forward, the three England rivals are very very similar. For example all three men have an identical 84% pass accuracy ratio, while in terms of crossing, they have a very similar crossing accuracy.

Green representing greatest record, red representing worst record

For me, all three right backs are very good footballers, but to pick one for England is not an easy outright decision. They all offer different things, Johnson offers experience and fair. Richards offers power and tenacity. While Walker blistering pace and good reading of the game. It all comes down to taste and preference at the end of the day.

So, is just how good is Kyle Walker?

To keep the answer short and simple, he is very good. 

For just 21 years of age, he has shown great consistency, great tenacity and great confidence. Walker’s defensive solidity alongside his determination to go forward shows he is a decent well round full back. What’s encouraging for England and Spurs fans is that the player is still very young and you’d think he can only improve with experience and time. His raw skills such as his pace make him such a useful asset to have. It allows him to suddenly support from defence to attack, while it also allows him to keep up with the trickiest of wingers or strikers in the division. 

But has Kyle Walker been the best right back in the division?

The answer to that is no. He hasn’t. 

He has been very effective, but by no means has he been the best right back or is he the best right back in the Premier League. 

Walker has quite a bit to improve on if he is to become the best right back in the division. He firstly has to win more ground and aerial duals; he certainly has to be rid himself of defensive errors too. In terms of going forward, Walker has to work on his crossing and creating better chances for his team mates, because at the moment as much as he creates, the quality of his final ball is questionable. But with age, experience and the right coaching, his final ball improve. 

But let’s be honest, Kyle Walker has the potential to be the leading right back in Premier League. This season he has shown just how good he is, but now he needs to focus on the weak spots of his game.

But for me, the best right back in the division is Bacary Sagna. His defensive solidity, alongside his great offensive nature makes him one of the most creative and effective full backs in the division. One thing which separates Sagna from the other right backs is that he fully understands his role as right back. And this is demonstrated by his very impressive defensive statistics. Furthermore, a sign of a quality full back is in most of the variables analysed, he finds himself top or near the top of the spectrum. It highlights the Frenchman is abilities are well rounded and there is no clear defensive or offensive weakness in his game.

 Kyle Walker should aspire to make his game well rounded like his Arsenal counterpart. But the 21 year old is well on the way to doing that. If and it’s a big if he maintains the same desire to learn and develop.

This season Kyle Walker has not been the best right back in the division, nor has he been the best young player. Walker has had very secure, solid and stable season. That’s all.

(Stats taken on 30/04/12 from EPL Index)

England's new 4-3-3 system, the platform for English success? Part Two - The Negatives

We have been taking a close look at England’s new 4-3-3 strategy. Last week, we discussed the positives of the strategy and what worked well in the two games against Ghana and Wales.

We talked about how dynamic England were and how progressive the side were. The team’s high pressing system suffocated their opponents, especially Wales. And the mixture of passing made England hard to deal with in both games.

Here’s the link to the first article regarding the positives of the system.

http://thefootballfront.blogspot.com/2011/04/englands-new-4-3-3-system-platform-for.html

Today, we will be looking at the negatives and the aspects of the system, which didn’t work well for England.

The negatives

Clearly, the system is only two games old and there are still areas which need to be worked on. Here are few errors which I saw in England’s games whilst playing with the 4-3-3.

Fabio Capello loves his central midfielders to control the game and the tempo. The new system gave England’s central midfielders more time on the ball. This led there to be more of a creative spark in the middle. This all well and good. But, England were finding it hard to thread through balls into the wingers and strikers. At times against both Wales and Ghana, England’s passing was static as they couldn’t see the pass or were unwilling to execute it. Again, this could boil down to the understanding between the players regarding the new strategy. As the development of understanding takes time, but as the team gets used to the system, the central midfielders will be receptive to the run of the strikers and can quickly and effectively thread the balls through. Although this sounds very technical, some argue, England lack the ability to pass progressively. But England have a great number of passers. The likes of Lampard, Gerrard and Wilshere can all be trusted to thread in brilliant balls to the strikers and midfielders.

Ghana recognised England’s dependence on their 3 central midfielders. It was clear that the central midfield was England’s main catalyst for attacks. The Ghana team quickly closed down Wilshere and James Milner. This meant, England at times were sloppy in their passing or were often caught in possession. And because England attempted to impose themselves onto the opposition, it therefore meant that Ghana could quickly counter and could ask serious questions of England’s high defensive line. Arguably, if England were playing against a more superior team, they would have punished England on the counter. As they would have been far more quicker and crisp in their passing and would have possibly had a number of clinical finishers to finish off the move.

This is a diagram of how Ghana stopped England's midfield from settling on the ball.

Here is a diagram of how England nearly conceded because of the high defensive line.

The game against Ghana was a game of two halves. And like most friendlies, the substitutions had a big impact on the balance of the game. England in the first half were expansive and were asking all the questions to Ghana. The team were effective through the middle and found a lot of joy on the right flank, thanks to great running and movement by Glen Johnson and Stuart Downing. Arguably, England’s crossing distribution was poor throughout the game. This is a fair point, especially in the first half. As England got to the Ghana by-line but failed to provide suitable crosses into the middle.

But, when Glen Johnson came off at half time. England lost their width. Arguably, this resulted in England losing their offensive nature in the second half. Against Wales, Ashley Cole and Glen Johnson symbolised England’s imposing nature by pressing high and allowing the wingers to play in a more central striking role. While the full backs attacked the byline and gave England solid width. This meant England had more bodies upfront and were more threatening. As there were a number of attacking options available. But when Glen Johnson came off against Ghana and Phil Jagielka took his place at right back, this encouraged Ghana’s fullbacks to venture into the England half. Arguably, having Jagielka at right back is undesirable. As Jagielka isn’t the fastest, nor does he have a good cross or the off the ball movement to be an offensive full back. Maybe if Micah Richards wasn’t injured he would have been far more effective at right back and maintained England’s width.

While on the other flank, Leighton Baines yet again failed to have the confidence to venture forward and provide fantastic crosses and passes. The reason why Baines is in the England team is because of his venturing forward and great distribution. It seemed Baines was unwilling to go forward in fear of making a mistake, it’s a shame. Had Baines had more confidence, he could have played a crucial role, providing for Andy Carroll. If Baines ask more questions of Pantsil, England would have been far more effective on the left hand side. However, it’s clear the Ghanaian management saw the lack of progress by Baines and demanded Ghana’s right back, John Pantsil to venture forward continuously. The venturing of Pantsil was a crucial reason to why England were hemmed into their own box in the second half.

The lack of width by the full backs in the second half resulted in England playing far more narrow. The wingers Downing and Young had to come in a more central position to receive the ball. This often led to nothing significant occurring in terms of offensive attacks. As Ghana were quickly pressing England in the middle and England had no venturing full backs out wide, to stretch the play.

When Andy Carroll came off, another problem occurred. England by the 60^th minute were being dominated by Ghana, England didn’t have a forward who could win the ball in the air or hold the ball up. Jermaine Defoe is a great striker, but he was rather ineffectual. As England couldn’t get the ball to him. The team were unwilling to play the ball long to Defoe. As he couldn’t effectively hold up the ball. This resulted in Ghana winning the ball with great ease. Capello did try and maintain service for Defoe, by playing Young alongside him. But again, England were far too narrow and simply couldn’t get the English midfield to re-impose their tempo and their authority over the match. Perhaps, Jermaine Defoe could have been more flamboyant in his approach. Maybe he could have made wide runs or played on the shoulder of the fullback in an attempt to use his pace.

Conclusion

There is quite a lot of potential in England’s new system. The team look far more dynamic and unpredictable. But the team need to develop an intuition for the system and the strategy. Once the team fully knows the function of the tactic it could give England a huge amount of success, potentially.

It’s imperative that Capello finds his best 11 quickly. This will further speed the understanding of the strategy and the tactic. But it’s also vital that Capello tries to stick to this tactic and uses it against tough opponents. This will make the team more disciplined and have more confidence in themselves and the system they are using.

But one mustn’t get carried away. The tactic could make England fall flat on their faces against a superior opposition. Only time will tell if it could become the platform for English success. But Ghana proved if the opposition ask serious questions and look to exploit England’s high defensive line they can be vulnerable.

Next week – we will be looking at The best possible selection for the England 4-3-3 system.

Read last week’s feature here - http://thefootballfront.blogspot.com/2011/04/englands-new-4-3-3-system-platform-for.html

Things you may like to read

Why Fabio Capello should be embarrassed of his handling of the Rio Ferdinand captaincy issue - http://tiny.cc/x1wdy

Why Kevin Davies should be in contention for the England squad - http://tiny.cc/03xgm

Do the England players fear wearing the England jersey? - http://tiny.cc/3gg73

Why this season will distinct if Avram Grant is a good manager or a bad manager

Avram Grant, good manager or a bad manager? It seems people are still unsure of what they make of Grant. His days at Chelsea were deemed to some (and most importantly Roman Abramovich) as a failure. Even though he took Chelsea to their first European Cup final in 2008. But of course, they lost on penalties. But they were virtually one kick away from glory. Maybe if John Terry scored that penalty Grant would be seen as a fantastic manager? Who knows. Grant should also be praised for keeping the squad together after they were left shocked and disillusioned by the departure of Jose Mourinho. He also lead the team to a League Cup final in his short tenure at Chelsea. But again they were defeated on penalties. Some call his reign at Chelsea as unlucky, while others call it a simple failure.

Avram Grant’s reign at Portsmouth last season, dramatically contrasted to the situation when he was at Chelsea in 2008. As Portsmouth was a debt ridden club, who were on the brink of extinction, let alone the fear of relegation. Some will argue, Portsmouth’s off the field matters meant the club were certain to be relegated. Due to their 10 point deduction because the club went into administration. So Grant was a manager in a losing battle, one which he had little control over. Yet some disagree, if Portsmouth hadn’t had 10 points deducted they would have still finished bottom. This is very true. But it has to be considered that this Portsmouth team at times weren’t even paid by the club. This must of had a serious effect on the player’s performances and desire. Seeing as footballers nowadays are in the luxury culture of lucrative contracts and consistent pay. Let’s also put this into perspective, if you weren’t getting paid for your job, your commitment and drive towards the job would decline considerably. It’s the same for footballers too.

Furthermore, in the summer of 2009 and the January 2010 transfer windows, Portsmouth sold their prized assets. The likes of Peter Crouch, Glen Johnson and Niko Kranjcar were all sold. The number of dramatic changes to the first team would have affected the confidence and ambition of the squad. As Portsmouth were now a selling club.

Yet, Avram Grant did achieve a fantastic feat whilst at Portsmouth. Amongst all the adversity off the field. Avram Grant managed to take his team all the way to the FA Cup final. They beat Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham side in the semi-final. A day most Portsmouth fans will never forget.

The final was a closely matched affair against Chelsea. Kevin Prince- Boateng missed a penalty which would have given Portsmouth the lead. And a minute later, Dider Drogba scored from a free kick to give Chelsea the lead. Again, the fate of penalties for Grant was the difference.

So Avram Grant left Portsmouth as a heroic figure, making the club dream of cup glory even if the long term future looked bleak. But, most were still unsure of whether Grant was a great manager or a fortunate manager.

Most saw the appointment of Grant to West Ham as a good move for both sides. Yet, things have been tough for Grant and the Hammers. West Ham started the season off poorly. In fact it was West Ham’s worst ever start in the Premier League. Hardly inspiring stuff. And Grant’s future has been continually called into question. But the team’s form gradually improved. They picked up useful wins such as; three points away at Fulham and a vital win at home against fellow relegation candidates Wolves.

But again, like at Portsmouth off the field matters have continuously a casted shadow over Grant. By January the 15^th it seemed as if Martin O’Neil was set to take the reigns at West Ham. The story was rumoured to be true, expect O’Neil rejected the offer. The behaviour by the West Ham owners was disgraceful. Simple as. They showed no respect towards their manager.

Even after the mess regarding Martin O’Neil. No one can deny the board haven’t backed Grant in the transfer window. In January, Grant signed, 5 players. Most of them are very decent acquisitions too. The signings of Wayne Bridge (on loan), Robbie Keane (Loan), Demba Ba and Gary O’Neil are all good deals.

Furthermore, some will argue, Grant inherited a poor squad when he joined the club. I agree, some of the players at West Ham are very poor. And aren’t Premier League standard. But there are some quality players the too. The likes of Scott Parker, Charlton Cole, Mathew Upson, Robert Green and Victor Obinna are all good players. The January signings will only add more quality to the side. Especially the signing of Robbie Keane. An experienced, yet potent Premier League striker.

One issue is will the players develop an understanding between themselves. This is the risk Grant has taken by signing so many players in January. It’s up to him to try and help his players develop an understanding of his methods of play. Arguably the lack of understanding has recently cost them in their last few matches. The defeat against Birmingham at Upton Park springs to mind. And the 3 all draw against West Brom. The West Ham’s defence was utterly woeful. But it’s up to Grant to bring the players closer as a unit and as a family in order to develop an understanding on the pitch.

When Grant was poorly handled by Karen Brady and the two West Ham owners over the O’Neil saga, I leapt to the defence of Grant (here’s the piece.) But Grant has been backed by the owners in January. Of course they haven’t thrown millions at him. But they have allowed him to capture good footballers.

Most managers after their dismissal or when their really under scrutiny argue, they ‘weren’t given enough of a financial backing by the owners.’ The owners have sufficiently backed Grant. It’s now up to Avram Grant to prove he is a decent manager and save West Ham from relegation. Yes his treatment at the club hasn’t been great. But he has been given the resources to do a good job.

By the end of the season, we will see the real credentials of the Israeli.