A season of improvement

[Eric the Half a Bee]

A selection of stats to back up, or otherwise, that statement.

Home form - from W10 D5 L8 to W12 D8 L2 (with one to play). An obvious improvement. To lose only 2 home games all season is good going, mainly because we've conceded over 10 goals less at home than last season. There'll be much disappointment with many of the draws though, with 6 happening against the bottom 8.

Away form - from W6 D9 L8 to W5 D8 L10. Clearly gone backwards, mainly because we've scored less goals away this season than we did last.

Form against teams in the top 8 - 0.69 pts a game last season, gone up to 1.21 this season. Improvement. With only 4 teams in the division with a better record against the top 8 we've been a match for the best.

Form against teams in the bottom 8 - from 1.5 points a game last season to 1.69 this season, due to one more win. An improvement of sorts but still well below average for our league position. An area we desperately need to strengthen.

Goals scored - 57 last season, 55 this so far. Clearly no improvement. Even if we were to overtake last season's tally on the last day of the season it would hardly be an impressive total. Only once have we managed to score less than 55 in this division since promotion in 2003.

Goals conceded - 61 last season, 50 this so far. Slightly better, in the main because our home defensive record has been so much better.

This season we've won 11 games by a single goal and 5 by 2. Last season we won 11 games by a single goal and 5 by 2! Testimony to our attacking prowess.

Last season we opened the scoring 48% of the time and won 2.14 points a game when we did. This season we've opened the scoring 49% of the time and won 2.27 points a game. This season, surprisingly, we've held onto a lead slightly more successfully.

Resolve after conceding first. This season we've won 0.63 points a game after going 1-0 down, up from 0.53 points a game last season. This is maybe a little misleading as we won 2 and drew 4 this season and last after conceding first, just we lost 3 more games after going a goal down last season.

We've conceded nearly half the goals this season that we conceded last season in the first half. However, we've conceded more second half goals this season than we did last season.

Last season we spent nearly 22% of our games trailing, reduced to nearly 13% this season. However, last season we spent 4% more time leading matches than we did this season.

We scored more equalisers last season and scored 7 more goals to increase a lead. We conceded more equalisers this season but less teams took a lead against us and teams were almost half as likely to increase their lead against us than they were the season before.

If you're still awake at this point, you can find free porn here.

Maybe you can't, but it suggests that we've been a more solid side than we were a year ago, but less spectacular, less attacking and less cut-throat.

[thehumblegringo]

The one stat I found interesting is that we conceded more second half goals this season.

Now considering under Ole we supposedly had the fitness of Andy Fordham this stat amazes me!