Statistical Analysis Of Perth Glory Players For The 2022/23 Season
It’s been a very up-and-down season for the Perth Glory.
Undoubtedly, there were some cracking games where I’m sure the fans would look back on those memories with a fond sense of joy, given how brutal last season was.
However, this season has served as a stark reminder that while there has been progression and improvement in a few areas with the Glory, this is still a rebuilding phase.
With a lack of consistency across the board, whether it be player performances, results or not having a clear playing style, Glory never really got going on all fronts.
So in this piece, through the use of some WyScout data provided by Ben Griffis, a data analyst who’s been specialising recently in Asian Football, I’ll be taking a look at how our players have compared against the competition in a variety of key areas.
One of the main ideas behind this piece is to give fans a clear idea of understanding the kinds of players we’ve brought in, whether they’ll be successful and work in the long term, or perhaps whether we may need to look elsewhere to get this club back to the top again.
*note: the data accumulated for this piece is correct as of 17/4/2023
Goalkeepers
So the Glory this season initially had Liam Reddy as their number one, which was a continuation from last season the moment Ruben Zadkovich became the interim manager.
Now, this was a sensible move at least in my eyes, as I felt that Cameron Cook was inevitably going to replace Reddy, it was just a moment of finding the right time to transition him into the side
In fairness to the 41-year-old Reddy, his first game of the season was outstanding, as he made five saves, including a massive penalty save late on in the game.
However following that, his levels began to drop. Noticeably, his distribution was a fraction shaky and he was not as agile as he was in prior seasons.
Trying to involve Reddy in a system that involves building out the ball from the back, unfortunately, isn’t a recipe for success. Noticeably during Tony Popovic’s first season with the club, Reddy’s comfortability with the ball at his feet displayed numerous concerns throughout the season.
That in tandem with Reddy’s mistakes against Adelaide United during the first game of 2023, as well as calls from the fans to give Cameron Cook a go, saw the 41-year-old dropped to the bench.
Cook throughout this season has shown improvement. We have seen a much more confident keeper when it comes to areas such as high claims, an area he struggled with during his first few appearances of this season.
The key for the young gun, especially with Oli Sail coming to the club, is trying to find some consistency.
By in large, Cook is better protected than most goalkeepers in the league, as he only faces 3.94 shots per 90.
Comparing that to someone like Sail, his goal gets peppered every week, as he faces 5.04 shots per 90.
Cook’s shot-stopping ability will improve, as despite the fact he is expected to concede more goals than a fair amount of the other goalkeepers in the league, he’s doing an ok job concerning a metric like goals prevented.
I think in terms of our goalkeeping department, with Cook and now Oli Sail competing for the number one spot, it’s that old cliche statement but it is in very safe hands.
Wingbacks/Fullbacks
Predominantly this season, the Glory have functioned with wingbacks, whether the system was a 3–4–3 or a 3–5–2.
Now sometimes Ryan Williams would function as a wingback, but it’s clear he’s much better operating as a right winger or in a strike partnership with someone like Adam Taggart, but more often than not, the most commonly used fullbacks/wingbacks were Jack Clisby and Salim Khelifi.
This area is probably one of our weakest.
There are a couple of reasons for this, but more or less, the Glory don’t have a lot of defined fullbacks and/or the options there aren’t really of high quality.
So with Clisby, he’s more or less a stock standard A-League fullback, not exactly elite numbers for either the defensive or offensive roles for what is expected for a fullback in the modern game.
As for Khelifi, more or less during his time in Europe, he’s functioned as an advanced winger, but because he is multi-functional, Glory this season have utilised him as a wingback.
From a defensive perspective when analysing how those two in particular have compared with the rest of the competition, it’s clear to me that this is an area that should be strongly considered by the club as one to invest in.
By in large, they don’t engage in many defensive duels per 90, as Clisby averages 6.89 while Khelifi averages 6.72. Comparing those numbers to a top fullback like Melbourne City’s Jordan Bos, he averages 8.54 per 90.
Now it’s not just the lack of defensive duels that are slightly underwhelming, the success rate of those actions doesn’t bode much better either. Khelifi’s success rate is 61.54%, while Clisby’s is 56.82%.
On a broader scale, looking at purely successful defensive actions per 90, it’s clear that both Khelifi and Clisby are below average.
So for those wondering what constitutes a successful defensive action, Wyscout state that tackles, blocks, interceptions, clearances, aerial duels and recoveries are all examples of such.
Out of all fullbacks/wingbacks in the competition who have played more than 600 minutes this season, Jack Clisby averages the second least amount of successful defensive actions per 90, 7.98.
Khelifi is only a few places higher, as he averages 8.61 successful defensive actions per 90.
So what I’m trying to get at here is essentially our wingbacks from a defensive perspective haven’t been good enough.
Going forward, it’s clear to me that their predominant function is to cross the ball into the box, which was often tedious viewing as a fan given the lack of success from the significant supply from the wide areas.
Now overall, the crossing from the Glory has improved significantly since the start of the season, but relying on guys like Clisby and Khelifi from deep and wide areas isn’t exactly a recipe for success.
Both wingbacks are above average in terms of crosses per 90 (2.4 and 4.39 respectively) however their accuracy is quite clearly below average. For Clisby, it’s 26.09% whereas for Khelifi it’s 19.61.
Now, in fairness to the Tunisian, he’s been a bit unlucky in the sense that the Glory this season have been pretty toothless in front of goal.
This season, no fullback or wingback in the A-League has had more expected assists per 90 than Salim Khelifi (0.15 xA). This season he’s only had one assist, but the reality is, he deserves more.
As for Jack Clisby, he’s about average in terms of expected assists (1.23), but in terms of expected assists per 90, he is somewhat below average (0.06).
So the big thing for me to conclude from this; Khelifi should be deployed in more advanced positions for next season rather than being restricted to wingback, and Glory have got to look for very good fullbacks over the next 1–2 years.
Centrebacks
I think that most people who watch the A-League would agree that Mark Beevers has been one of the best centrebacks in the competition this season.
I remember when I first saw him up close against Western United at Macedonia Park, and he is massive. With a towering presence at the back, it is no surprise that Beevers has been one of the best in the aerial contest.
Beevers has one of the best success rates for aerial duels, when you factor in the number he engages in each game and the amount he subsequently wins.
Sure, guys like Marcelo and Nikolai Topor-Stanley average more aerial duels per game, but Beevers has a better success rate for the duels he competes in, 68.91% for 4.9 aerial duels per 90.
As for Darryl Lachman, he doesn’t compete for as many aerial duels (2.2), mostly due to the presence of Beevers, however, he still boasts a decent success rate of 62.26%.
When it comes to defensive duels, it’s also no surprise that Beevers and Western Sydney Wanderers captain Marcelo have very similar numbers.
The Englishman would have on average 4.86 duels per 90, winning 74.58% of them, while Marcelo on the other hand averages 4.82 duels per 90, and he’s won 74.74% of them.
Lachman’s numbers have been, again, decent but slightly below Beevers, as he would have 4.41 defensive duels per 90, winning 70.75% of them.
Expanding upon defensive duels and looking at successful defensive actions per 90, what’s been interesting is seeing the variance over where our centrebacks rank among the rest of the competition.
Interestingly, Johnny Koutroumbis averages the most successful defensive actions per 90, 13.41, out of any other centreback in the competition. Jacob Muir is second for the Glory, with 9.53, Beevers third with 9.4, Elsey fourth with 8.61 and Lachman fifth with 6.82.
In terms of distribution, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag from our main progressors of the ball.
We’ll start with progressive passes, and just quickly for those who don’t know what that stat means, it’s basically a forward pass that attempts to advance a team significantly closer to the opposition’s goal.
One thing that’s been pretty consistent over the last few years Lachman is very accurate when it comes to his distribution. As an example this season, only Curtis Good (71.1, 90%) averages more accurate passes per game than the Curaçao international (61.5, 91%).
Now Beevers this season has had more of a responsibility with progressing the ball, via his carries but we’ll get onto that in a bit, so he’s averaged more progressive passes than Lachman (7.05 to 6.28) however Lachman boasts a better accuracy (78.81% to 73.1%).
But interestingly, it’s Jordan Elsey who averages the most progressive passes out of any of the Glory centrebacks this season, as he averages 12 per 90, with an accuracy of 81.68%, which is actually pretty impressive.
Now what’s pretty clear with Glory’s centrebacks, is that they’re quite adventurous, in terms of their on-ball responsibilities and by that I’m referring to their ability to progressively carry the ball.
So similar to a progressive pass, a progressive carry is an action that involves a player dribbling with the ball forward that attempts to advance the team significantly closer to the opposition’s goal.
What’s clear is that with most of the Glory centrebacks, they are above average in terms of progressive carries per game. Surprisingly, Jacob Muir averages the most out of any centreback in the whole competition, with 2.17 per 90, followed by Beevers (1.32), Koutroumbis (1.31) and Lachman (1.25).
Jordan Elsey is the notable outlier, averaging 0.71 progressive carries per 90.
I’ll get into my overall conclusions of the squad at the end of this piece, but I must admit, I did not anticipate Darryl Lachman’s numbers dropping off by a fair bit this season.
Another concerning instance is the regression in the number of ground duels won per game as well. Last season, when it was so clear he was our best player, he won 2.3 ground duels per game, with a 71% success rate. The season prior, it was also of a similar level as well.
This season, however, he’s only won 1.5 ground duels per game, with just a 49% success rate.
Central Midfield
This is perhaps the area that we need to strengthen the most heading into next season, in my opinion.
It’s not necessarily a reflection that we have poor options in that department, but it’s clear we’re also missing key profiles in our midfield that would allow our current players in that position or other areas to blossom and subsequently play at their best.
First of all, it’s of no surprise at all that the Captain, Mustafa Amini, has been the Glory’s best midfielder this season.
When analysing all of the midfielders in the A-League and seeing on average the number of progressive passes and carries they make per game, Amini would probably be categorised as above average in the competition.
Due to the number of carries and passes he makes per game, he finds himself in and around the likes of Valon Berisha, Calem Nieuwenhoff and Richard van der Venne, some of the best midfielders this season.
Amini averages 1.22 progressive carries per game and 7.13 progressive passes per game.
Unfortunately, he’s the only midfielder at the Glory who performs well in both areas, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
Keegan Jelacic, who’s been a revelation for Ruben Zadkovich’s side this season, would be considered above average for the number of progressive carries he makes per game (1.27) but fairly below average for progressive passes (2.58).
As for the other players who’ve featured in the midfield for the Glory this season, the likes of Aaron McEneff, Luke Bodnar and Zach Duncan, it’s pretty clear that all three aren’t exactly the most progressive midfielders in the competition.
That’s not really an issue for players like Bodnar and Duncan who are more defensive and therefore conservative with their passing, but it is however a concern for a player like McEneff.
Glory throughout the season have often struggled to dominate and control games, as a result of our midfield essentially being quite weak from a technical perspective. Physically, I’ve never really had that many concerns, as all of our midfielders you could argue, are quite combative.
But back on our Irish midfielder, I’ve been somewhat critical of his efforts throughout the season, as I’ve been wanting to see more from him. I want to see him contribute more to our overall play.
Now he is above average in terms of successful attacking actions per 90 (2.55) which is decent — also worth noting Keegan Jelacic (3.19) is the fifth highest-ranked midfielder in the competition for this area too.
But again, we need players that can control and dictate games with their passing range. That’s been one of my concerns for this season. Take a look at, for example, how many progressive passes the likes of Luke Brattan, Clayton Lewis and former Glory midfielder Neil Kilkenny make per 90.
These guys are proper deep-lying playmakers, and we’ve often used McEneff in deeper roles this season. Lewis averages the most in the competition (10.97), followed by Brattan (10.7) and Kilkenny (9.97).
McEneff averages only 4.47 progressive passes per 90. So perhaps something we should consider is either a) deploying him in a more advanced role or b) moving him on for a different kind of midfielder in the upcoming transfer window.
Dribbles, however, is an area where Aaron McEneff is experiencing a relatively high level of success. I’d say his numbers are around the mean for most of the midfielders in the competition in that regard (1.64), but his success rate is pretty impressive, 77.78%.
But this area I wanted to analyse in particular was to see how young gun Keegan Jelacic is going and I must say, it’s looking very promising for Glory fans.
Only Ulises Dávila (5.38) averages more dribbles per game than Keegan Jelacic (5.27). This is a really good start for the young man, as part of his playmaking development, it’s imperative that his dribbling is of a decent level, which it is.
The critical objective for Jelacic should be improving his creativity by his passing, because if he can, then the Glory will have a really scary talent at their disposal for next season.
So looking at our midfielders from a defensive perspective, it’s been no surprise to me and I imagine a fair few Glory fans that Luke Bodnar has been our best in that regard.
It’s been almost criminal to me that the 22-year-old hasn’t 1) started more games and 2) hasn’t had more 90 minute games.
Bodnar has been one of the best-performing midfielders in the competition, particularly when it comes to successful defensive actions per 90, where he makes 11.1 each game.
This area also reinforces to me that McEneff is wasted in deeper roles in the midfield, where his defensive numbers must be of a decent level, as he is one of the lowest-ranked midfielders in the competition for this area, as he makes only 5.09 successful defensive actions per 90.
Defensive duels, as well as defensive duels won, is another area where a player like Luke Bodnar excels, as he engages in 8.17 defensive duels per 90, which is above average and he subsequently wins 68.54% of them.
I struggle to see why the Glory haven’t tried this season to have Luke Bodnar as the sole pivot in a midfield three, with Aaron McEneff and Mustafa Amini ahead of him, as it would make a whole heap of sense for several reasons.
Attackers
Glory’s forward line this season has been a work in progress, I think that would be the best description. There’ve been some great moments where it clicked really well and others where it’s been pretty barren and poor.
One of the shining lights in the forward line this season has undoubtedly been Ryan Williams.
There was a fair amount of anticipation for this move, as Williams, a Perth boy, had been in the UK for a very long period and was now finally back in WA playing for his hometown club.
Sure, he had a bit of a slow start, but as the games kept coming, he started to show his quality quite clearly. His athleticism is his greatest strength, and I think that’s pretty obvious to see.
In terms of accelerations per 90, he is one of the top performers in the competition, as he makes 1.38 accelerations per game. He’s also been one of the top performers for progressive carries, making 3.43 per game.
I think there’s more to come from Ryan, as the expectation for him will now be about having a more polished product in the final third.
Unfortunately for Williams, he works extremely hard to get into really good positions, but sometimes his finishing or poor technique with a cross can let him down. But I’m sure once we get a more settled front line, along with a more clear and defined structure we’ll see improvement from all of our forwards.
As for our strikers this season, the potency in front of goal has got to improve heading into next season.
Adam Taggart will come good next season I’m sure of it, but throughout this season, his finishing has been unfortunately a little bit underdone, which is a bit of a surprise given that historically he’s been a pretty sharp shooter.
At this moment in time, he has the highest npxG per 90 (so that just means the total expected goals minus expected goals from penalties) than any striker in the A-League, 0.722063.
That’s higher than the likes of Jamie Maclaren (0.6547916) and Jason Cummings (0.5092748), two of the league’s best strikers.
He’s also missed 7 big chances this season as well. It’s been frustrating and gut-wrenching to watch, as we’re desperate for him to do well. But I think a lot of it could be put down to him not being as fit as he can be and perhaps him still learning the dynamics of the team.
Overall Conclusions
So while the Glory have in all likelihood missed the finals, I think there have been some good signs and clear signs of progression that should give some hope to fans leading into next season.
But for me having had a look at the data, it’s clear what areas the Glory should look to target for next season.
In my opinion, and it is only my opinion, I believe one of Darryl Lachman or Aaron McEneff should be moved on for next season. The reason being, we’re more or less gonna need two visa spots to address a few key areas, at least in my mind.
But not just that. With Lachman, I understand he’s a fan favourite, I’ve got a lot of love and respect for ‘Big Daz’, but the reality is, there are a couple of factors not going in his favour at the moment; he’s aging, his levels have regressed and he’s taking up a visa spot.
We may be able to get more out of a player like McEneff if we brought in a good defensive midfielder, who could not only act as an anchor in a midfield three, protecting the back four but could also create play from deeper areas, getting to levels similar to the likes of Brattan and Kilkenny.
We probably also need a creative playmaker in the final third to help link the play to the final third. This should also help with giving the likes of Keegan Jelacic and Adam Taggart another technical player to work with, but also someone that could utilise an impressive passing range to find the runs of Ryan Williams.
Ultimately, there have been plenty of pros and cons to this season but there are clear areas where we can improve to finally make a return to the finals series for next season.
