Cole Palmer

[Rammy Blue]

Exactly. I mean, say Palmer stayed and did well enough to become a permanent fixture. Then maybe it's Bobb that decides to move on, and suddenly we have this exact same thread but for him instead

I think more the point is that for Palmer to have flourished at City the chances are it would have been at the expense of our Phil, very unlikely a club of our standing would have 2 youngsters fighting to play centrally at the same time.

I know which one I prefer…

 

[bluenova]

He’s not the penalty taker though and he hasn’t got 20 goals and a load of assists, so that’s a bit irrelevant really.

But was Palmer "the penalty taker" when he took that first one, or just in the right place, in a team with no-one else on the pitch ready to step up.

Palmer is having a brilliant season, but all I'm suggesting is that it's likely lucky that it was Broja rather than Jackson on the pitch when the penalty was awarded. That sliding doors moment, means he's the one up there with Erling at the top of the scoring charts. Had Jackson, as centre forward, been there to grab the ball, he could be challenging for the Golden Boot.

 

[Cheadle_hulmeBlue]

The point about penalties being stat-padding given the league conversion rate (meaning the difference between the best and worst penalty takers is nominal) is very much relevant. That is ignoring that he didn’t earn most of the penalties he took, as well, which for me is another reason they probably shouldn’t be included in direct comparisons of goal scorers.

I don’t agree. Scoring penalties is a skill itself. Most players who get large amounts of penalties haven’t scored 9 in a season, especially in some of the biggest games. Take away the penalties his stats are still pretty good as awll

 

[bluenova]

I don’t agree. Scoring penalties is a skill itself. Most players who get large amounts of penalties haven’t scored 9 in a season, especially in some of the biggest games. Take away the penalties his stats are still pretty good as awll

I agree his record is great without the penalties.

But Chelsea have had 12 in the PL this season, which is the most - unusual for a team that's not doing brilliantly. City have had just 6.

Scoring all 9 is great, but the average is 8 out of 10, and in the Premier League this season it's over 9 out of 10. That means that a good penalty taker is worth maybe a goal or two a season in most teams, compared with an average one. So, good to have, but the biggest difference it makes is to the stats of the person taking them.

 

[SebastianBlue]

I don’t agree. Scoring penalties is a skill itself. Most players who get large amounts of penalties haven’t scored 9 in a season, especially in some of the biggest games. Take away the penalties his stats are still pretty good as awll

It is a skill, but the difference between a great penalty taker and a good one in the PL is negligible, otherwise we wouldn’t be seeing a 90% conversion rate.

Only one player has missed more than one penalty this season, and that was Salah.

So trying to compare goal scorers based largely on a set piece that penalty takers will put away 9 times out of 10 (that the penalty takers most often didn’t even win themselves) is misguided.

And that’s before we get in to the implications of one goal scorer’s team receiving twice as many penalties in a season as another.

 

[jimharri]

I agree his record is great without the penalties.

But Chelsea have had 12 in the PL this season, which is the most - unusual for a team that's not doing brilliantly. City have had just 6.

Scoring all 9 is great, but the average is 8 out of 10, and in the Premier League this season it's over 9 out of 10. That means that a good penalty taker is worth maybe a goal or two a season in most teams, compared with an average one. So, good to have, but the biggest difference it makes is to the stats of the person taking them.

They seem to get a lot of penalties. Which clearly helps his stats, as it would with any penalty taker. Ludicrous to suggest otherwise. It's also crazy that Chelsea have been awarded twice as many as us, given the respective positions in the table. The widely held belief is that teams at the top get given more penalties (and benefit from more favourable refereeing decisions). Which obviously isn't the case re us and penalties. Take Palmer's spot kicks away from him and, while the season will still be very good, it won't be the outstanding one it seems on first impressions.

 

[SebastianBlue]

They seem to get a lot of penalties. Which clearly helps his stats, as it would with any penalty taker. Ludicrous to suggest otherwise. It's also crazy that Chelsea have been awarded twice as many as us, given the respective positions in the table. The widely held belief is that teams at the top get given more penalties (and benefit from more favourable refereeing decisions). Which obviously isn't the case re us and penalties. Take Palmer's spot kicks away from him and, while the season will still be very good, it won't be the outstanding one it seems on first impressions.

For comparisons sake, below is the top 20 based on non-penalty goals scored.

Palmer is 10th, which is still an achievement for him, but nowhere near as impressive as Watkins and Solanke, especially the latter, who plays in arguably an inferior squad which employs less gong-ho attacking tactics. And neither the Bournemouth or Villa striker are given the levels of freedom that Palmer enjoys at the London club, which further restricts their chances. Add to that Watkins has one more assist than Palmer and him leading the non-penalty G/A table is exceedingly impressive.

I mean, Chris Wood is even above Palmer — yes Wood plays as a striker and Palmer as an CAM/RW, but this should still add some perspective.

I think Haaland’s tally is actually pretty impressive, as well, given he is not actually given that much freedom in his role in our side and every team we face is basically setup to stop him specifically from scoring (which Pep exploits to allow others to have space to score), yet he is still 3rd in non-penalty goals scored.

Foden being 5th in the table is also stellar, especially when you consider he is one better than Palmer in non-penalty G/A (Haaland is level with Palmer).

I think it is fair to say Palmer is having a great season, but some of the discourse around him—especially on here—is a bit OTT when subjected to scrutiny, for many reasons.

 

[B\connellblue]

I predict palmer will be a season wonder.

 

[jimharri]

For comparisons sake, below is the top 20 based on non-penalty goals scored.

Palmer is 10th, which is still an achievement for him, but nowhere near as impressive as Watkins and Solanke, especially the latter, who plays in arguably an inferior squad which employs less gong-ho attacking tactics. And neither the Bournemouth or Villa striker are given the levels of freedom that Palmer enjoys at the London club, which further restricts their chances. Add to that Watkins has one more assist than Palmer and him leading the non-penalty G/A table is exceedingly impressive.

I mean, Chris Wood is even above Palmer — yes Wood plays as a striker and Palmer as an CAM/RW, but this should still add some perspective.

I think Haaland’s tally is actually pretty impressive, as well, given he is not actually given that much freedom in his role in our side and every team we face is basically setup to stop him specifically from scoring (which Pep exploits to allow others to have space to score), yet he is still 3rd in non-penalty goals scored.

Foden being 5th in the table is also stellar, especially when you consider he is one better than Palmer in non-penalty G/A (Haaland is level with Palmer).

I think it is fair to say Palmer is having a great season, but some of the discourse around him—especially on here—is a bit OTT when subjected to scrutiny, for many reasons.

Great post. No one's denying that he's had a very good debut season as a regular PL player, albeit for a very average Chelsea side. It's just not as outstanding as the "he's level with Haaland" headlines would have you believe (and that's without taking into account the games Haaland missed through injury). Now; Watkins and Solanke. THEY have had outstanding seasons. Particularly Solanke, who's playing in a lower mid table side. 17 goals (only 1 of them a penalty) is a fantastic return.

 

[BringBackSwales]

They count, but Palmer's only scoring those penalties because he's at Chelsea. People are acting like he'd have 23 goals for City this season if we'd not sold him when the fact of the matter if he would barely be making a difference. He definitely wouldn't be able to push his teammates out of the way and be allowed to get away with it.

Don’t see what he did wrong, he’s the penalty taker for Chelsea, it’s the other 2 who acted like cunts