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Sturridge v Suarez: A Statistical Analysis

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Liverpool strikers Suarez & SturridgeLIVERPOOL FC completed the signing of 23 year old England international Daniel Sturridge for £12m from Chelsea FC on January 2nd 2013.

I have been analysing his previous statistics to see if this is likely to prove money well spent.

In the Premier League in 2011/12, Sturridge:

• Scored eleven goals, all from open play, which was the joint 13th most (with Luis Suárez amongst others).

He was also ranked 13th on a ‘minutes per goal’ basis, with one every 206 minutes.

• Was less reliant on one body part to score than all but two other players (Dzeko and Holt) who scored more goals than him, suggesting he is a good all round finisher.

• Scored 82% of his goals inside the box; Brendan Rodgers spoke of needing more players in the box who can score goals.

• Converted 15% of his shots – the joint 17th best rate in the league (for players who attempted at least 50 shots), and better than any Liverpool player managed.

• Was coincidentally ranked 17th for clear-cut chance conversion (with 38% converted), which was again better than any Liverpool player (again, with a minimum of 50 shots attempted).

• Scored with both feet and his head – 4 with his right foot, 5 with his left, and 2 with his head.

• Was joint 20th for accurate through balls per game.

As well as this, despite not seeing too much pitch time this season (last played in November before joining us), with just one start under his belt in the league, he is the player with the most frequent shots on target figure in the Premier League in 2012/13. This is partially reflected in this diagram below which illustrates that Sturridge’s shooting accuracy since the start of 2010/11. It is similar to Suárez, and his conversion percentage is better too.

In the statistical graphical analysis below, the top table shows ‘Shooting Accuracy’. Daniel Sturridge is represented by the blue line, Suarez, the red.

The lower table represents ‘Shot Conversion’. Again, Sturridge is blue, Suarez is red.

Goalcoring comparisons of Suarez & Sturridge

Before I start painting Sturridge as the saviour for all Liverpool’s ills though, his statistics weren’t all positive last season.

For instance, of the twelve players who scored more goals than Sturridge, only two created fewer chances for their teammates per game. Is this evidence of his supposed selfish nature of playing?

Similarly, he was ranked joint 10th in the Premier League for shots per game, but only joint 120th for key passes per game. These figures do not paint a picture of a player who is looking for a team mate when in the box.

Whilst he is now the tallest player in the front two-thirds of the pitch for Liverpool, at 188cm tall (6ft2in), it’s unlikely he’ll be used as a target man, as he only won one of the fifteen aerial duels he attempted last season.

He also probably can’t be relied upon to retain the ball as much as some in the Reds’ squad, as Sturridge was dispossessed the joint 10th most times per game (2.4) during the last campaign.

In my view I don’t see these traits as being too problematic at Anfield though; Rodgers does not favour a target-man or direct football, and in truth Liverpool have a few players already who aren’t confident in the box, so Sturridge’s apparent lack of passing when well-placed could be very welcome – assuming he retains his finishing ability of course.

I think this move has the potential to be a successful one. Over to you, Daniel, and welcome to Liverpool.

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I am a lifelong Liverpool supporter from Huyton Liverpool just like Stevie G and go all over the world supporting my team I go the games in my wheelchair as I suffer from Cerebral Palsy however that does not stop me having a ball cheering on the World’s Best Team.
I write a weekly column talking about various topics whether that is tactical analysis of matches, opinion pieces, looking through the archives of previous matches, former players and current articles on Brendan and the first team.
It is great being part of the first class writing team at Live4liverpool.com and bucking the trend in being the first woman to write for the site.
Follow me on Twitter @MRSSG to keep up to date with my articles. Y.N.W.A

11 comments

  • Wilson Matilda says:

    Two heroes imo

  • segun says:

    He will do more better with the inclusion of sneijder to the team,it will be the best for lfc gerard sneijder,lucas suarez sturidge and probably either of sterling suso or downing.great team 4 ucl.

  • red says:

    Pointless analysis. And please stop the mindless praising for D. Sturridge. Hard core EPL supporters know who is D. Sturridge during his time at Chelsea.

    Sturridge makes me angry even he scores goals because I know he can’t do it regularly. When Borini came in as substitute, I even angrier because I don’t know why BR signed this totally useless player. Can’t shot, can’t dribble, poor header, can’t pass, no stamina, small size, poor linkage with the rest of players. The only reason I think is because Borini transfer $ is relatively low.

    The most depressing time as LFC supporter.

    • Finn says:

      Yes Sturridge is the cheap option (as usual) , Liverpool could have done better ….. but , he is here now , lets give him a chance and see what he can do .

    • Souey's 'tache says:

      U get angry when a players scores for us? What a supporter you are…

    • j75j says:

      You mean Chelsea’s joint top goal scorer last season something like 24 goals in his last 40 league games for Bolton, Chelsea and Liverpool mostly playing on the wing at Chelsea shows he has been scoring regular in the last 18 months or so and if it wasn’t for RDM benching him he would have scored more.

    • Liam Mc says:

      Red – If anything I would class it as an exciting time to be a supporter, you really need to adjust your expectations for the foreseeable future.

      We’re a club in transition, I would rather Sturridge come in and score 3 in 3 then score 0 and look terrible.

  • Finn says:

    Stats are totally useless and irrelevant . You can twist anythin with stats

    Facts are – they both played well , they both scored , job done

    • murt says:

      Finn,correct & right,there is no pleasing some people on this site,lets give them a chance to gel f.f.s. I expect S & S to form a lethal partnership once they get to know their individual traits.As regards Borini he will improve,like Hendo who is slowly starting to repay the faith.

  • Snake Plissken says:

    Sturridge is a good addition but i still think we need four top strikers to challenge at the top, so we still need two more. I’d offload Borini and FSG need to bring two others in but i wouldn’t expect it with these owners. The two Manc clubs have shown that 4 strikers breeds competition for places which we dont have. Also, Rodgers needs to play two up front in every game and scrap this ‘one striker’ system he’s tried all season.

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