Blocked shots don't typically make the highlight reel. Of course, they don't, you might say - they're a non-event. Well, they are, and they aren't. They're an event that wasn't of much consequence in the scheme of things. But they are still "events" in the way that that the good folks at companies like Opta think about them.

During the past year, I have compared teams across the Big 4 leagues (Bundesliga, EPL, La Liga, Serie A) with regard to various performance indicators. With the Bundesliga about to get underway tonight, I thought it'd be interesting to see where they all ended up by the end of the season, and to find out what we may expect for next year.

In the next installment of "what happened last season in the Premier League?", here are season totals on teams' defensive prowess. Much has been made of Arsenal's inability to defend well and its need to improve defense during this transfer window. But the numbers tell a slightly different story - at least in part.

It's that time of year again when I start going through my data from last year to make sure everything is up to date and accurate before the new season begins. In the (tedious) process of coding and cleaning data sets, I try to have a little fun and benchmark a couple of things for the upcoming campaign.

While some goals are certainly more beautiful than others, do some actually matter more than others? I've been trying get a bead on this question in part by comparing the relative value of goals created in different ways. My earlier analysis of Guardian Chalkboard/Opta data for the Premier League from the 2010/11 season suggested that open play goals had a stronger statistical connection with points or wins than set piece goals did (The Guardian defined set piece goals as resulting from penalties, free kicks, and corners).

If you've been reading this blog these last few weeks, you know that I've been spending way too much time digging through data on shot creation in the Premier League with the help of the Opta/Guardian chalkboards. But I can't quite help myself, so here's yet another installment; this time it's on the (relative) uselessness of free kicks.

A few days ago, I took a look at the origins of goals in the first half of this year's Premier League season to see what we can learn about the connection between different match situations (defined as open play, corners, fast breaks, penalties, and free kicks) and goal creation.
In case you didn't have the time or inclination to read the details, here's the upshot: Keeping in mind that teams scored on average 1.

Goals don't just happen - they are made. Both on offense and defense, teams control how they deploy their resources (speak: players) on the pitch, and they make tactical choices about how to attack and defend. Some rely more on fast breaks, while others try to create or avoid chances from open play. So this means that goals are created and allowed.

When Hernandez scored for Manchester United in the first minute of play against Chelsea today on a fast break after a beautiful pass from Park, it reminded me of the high value such shots have for teams. Mind you, these kinds of opportunities don't come along all that much in the average match: I have previously noted that teams actually create relatively few shots from fast breaks.

Here's another analysis of shot creation in the Premier League. This time, I'm looking into the creation of accurate shots from one specific kind of situation: open play.
From the earlier analyses, we already know the following basic facts from the first half of this year's EPL season, based on data from the Opta/Guardian chalkboards.

Here's another analysis of shot creation in the Premier League. This time, I'm looking into the creation of accurate shots from one specific kind of situation: open play.
From the earlier analyses, we already know the following basic facts from the first half of this year's EPL season, based on data from the Opta/Guardian chalkboards.

I've been spending a few posts looking at shot creation in the Premiership. One of the things I haven't spent much time on is differences across teams in in terms of who has been creating the most and least shots from different kinds of situations. These situations are open play, corners, free kicks, fast breaks, and penalties.

I've been spending a few posts looking at shot creation in the Premiership. One of the things I haven't spent much time on is differences across teams in in terms of who has been creating the most and least shots from different kinds of situations. These situations are open play, corners, free kicks, fast breaks, and penalties.

In an earlier post, I took a closer look at shot creation in the Premier League to see what number and proportion of shots are created from different match situations. The numbers, courtesy of the Opta/Guardian chalkboards and covering the first half of this year's EPL season, showed that most shots were generated from open play (11 on average per team/match).

In an earlier post, I examined shot creation in the Premier League to see what number and proportion of shots are created from different match situations. The numbers, courtesy of the Opta/Guardian chalkboards and covering the first half of this year's EPL season, showed that most shots were generated from open play (11 on average per team/match).

Lots of talk in the aftermath of Arsenal's defeat at Camp Nou has centered on Arsenal's inability to generate any meaningful chances. Guess what? Arsenal aren't alone. Their performance this year and last has been astonishing, and you don't need to know numbers to understand this; all you need to do is watch Messi & Co in action.

Since my last report about conversion and shot records for various teams in the EPL, I've been wondering how things were looking so far this season on the shot frequency/conversion front. But instead of analyzing one league at a time, I thought it'd be interesting to compare several leagues together.

Following up on my post about shot creation versus shot conversion as measures of offensive production (see also the On Football post), here's a quick and dirty analysis of Premier League teams' ability to degrade opponents' shot frequency (measured by shots allowed) and shot accuracy (the ratio of shots on target to shots allowed).

I have occasionally written about defensive production in terms of how many goals, shots, or shots on goal teams allow in a match. One of the best of these measures, so far as I can tell, is whether a team allows their opponents to place accurate shots on goal. If you think about it, allowing an opponent to shoot is one thing - anyone can sling the ball in the general direction of the other side - but only accurate shots have a chance of actually crossing the goal line.