The Edouard Dependency
Plotting Expected Goals and Expected Assists for midfielders and forwards gives us a view on not just goal threat but creativity too.
The chart below is xG and xA per 90m in all competitions for Celtic. Only includes players with > 450 minutes.
For me, the main take-aways are:
Reinforces how vital Edouard is. With the lack of adequate cover for him, Celtic are highly exposed as the League Cup Final showed.
Elyounoussi has been a miss. Hopefully he is back after the break as his all-round play has been an energising plus so far.
All numbers (including Christie) include xA from Open Play only. Christie’s numbers would be way higher if set play passes were included.
The 1st choice front four is clear from this diagram.
People need to catch Forrest a break.
Griffiths has regressed to “greedy” mode in the few minutes he has had.
Johnston’s numbers are a disappointment after a promising start to the season. This further highlight the lack of depth in quality but not quantity currently on the wings.
Hayes numbers are to be tempered by his defensive role in many games.
Brown, McGregor and Ntcham are where I think they should be by these numbers. Pack passes and secondary assists would be a different view and better show their worth.
But Edouard needs cover!