Your conclusion that stats are not a good judge might be true. But tour reasons are probably wrong. It's simpler than that.Despite what Pep has said in the past (ahem), that is the one thing he does coach regarding tackling. The standing tackle, while seen as boring and “half-arsed” (at best) by most English spectators, is actually the most tactically advantageous method of winning back the ball because, even if you fail, you are still on your feet to recover and (at the very least) pressure the opposition player that still has the ball. It also allows players to hunt the ball in packs, even past first or second phases of play.
As soon as you leave your feet you have become a binary statistic (either having won the ball/given away a foul or taken yourself out of play completely) and if there is one thing Pep hates is a binary state—his ideal universe is the ‘infinite dimensions’ theory. ;-)
Jorginho also seems to have the Dinho ability of closing down channels, which is much more valuable than tackling, anyway. Good DMs win the ball back through high energy, aggressive tackling or interceptions as the ball is played. The great DMs stop the ball from being played in the first place by taking up positions that cut off passing channels and/or force the opposition to give away the ball themselves before it can be played to a teammate (press) or dribbled forward.
It’s the ironic bit of assessing the DM/CM position via statistics—often the players with the most tackles won/interceptions are good but not quite as good as the truly top echelon players in that position who can only really be assessed by watching them, since there are no “took up position that stopped a counterattack in its tracks because there was no where for the opposition player in possession of the ball to pass” or “pressed player in to making a bad pass which lead to turnover of possession” metrics... at least not yet—I have not gotten quite enough seed funding for my startup just yet.
Your conclusion that stats are not a good judge might be true. But tour reasons are probably wrong. It's simpler than that.
Possession reduces opportunity:
If you have the ball 65% of the time you simply have fewer opportunities to showcase your tackling and intercepting skills. Compared to someone who's team gas the ball 35% of the time.
That said, you can take teams at the upper end of possession and compare the stats of their players. As it suggests that disparity in opportunity is greatly reduced.This doesn't erase all the variables; nothing does. But you can make good assumptions by examining the stats in light of watching the players.
Frankly perusing statistical comparisons make you see better when you actually watch the players. You are less likely to overstate one great or terrible play, while understating 50 okay plays that have a greater overall effect.
Would expect Guardiola will look at stats but will decide on which players he wants by watching them in games and that's what he will make his mind up on, what he sees with his own eyes..Watching live, still has some benefit.
What a player does when not in possession, i:e for 89 minutes is reasonably important. At least in my humble opinion.
Not seen the not in possession of the ball stats.
What you do in possession is a function of what you do out of possession. If a player constantly touches the ball 90 times regardless of the team he plays for, you can tell from inference, what he does our of possession.Watching live, still has some benefit.
What a player does when not in possession, i:e for 89 minutes is reasonably important. At least in my humble opinion.
Not seen the not in possession of the ball stats.
Would expect Guardiola will look at stats but will decide on which players he wants by watching them in games and that's what he will make his mind up on, what he sees with his own eyes..
Interesting post.
I always thought that Javi Garcia was underappreciated at City because he focused on closing spaces rather than sliding around on his arse.
Don't remember the last Italian who was successful in premier league, Heinze maybe