04 Apr 2026 07:23:00
It's not complicated, my responses yesterday were a bit snippy but has got me thinking about these annoying stats. Would it actually be better to show chances created as opposed to assists to reflect a players performance? Assists depend on others actually taking that chance.
You could be playing amazing creating multiple chances but if the striker fluffs it then it doesn't show. Similar if the Strikers job is to hold it up for the Midfielder and they mess up it won't show. Assist stats aren't really a fair reflection on performance.
04 Apr 2026 09:42:34
Mate, my life was stats until I moved into upper management. You can manipulate any state to suit an agenda or create an argument.
Stats can point you in a direction, but without context or meaning, they are just numbers on a report / spreadsheet.
04 Apr 2026 10:02:12
100% agree, Dado. And they tend to be the main source of arguments too.
04 Apr 2026 10:12:49
You are not wrong, Dado.
But even when there is context, there is argument. It is the beauty of science and mathematics.
For example, the debate around goalkeepers.
I had physically seen 2 play, watched 1 play via television, and never seen Munn play.
So, with the exception of Munn, I had formed an opinion on the other 3 goalkeepers.
Using stats, it helped me quantify the players' performances and gave me confirmation on my opinion.
04 Apr 2026 11:35:31
Assists are a joke. Messi ripping 3 defenders to bits before putting it on a plate for Suarez to tap in is an assist, and Kevin De Bruyne playing an inch perfect thru ball to the striker is an assist most definitely, but players who lump a long free kick or corner into a crowd of bodies, and a big centre half rises and bullets a header, also get an assist.
The minute the ball leaves the player's boot at a corner, for me it becomes a 50/50, and in no way should be credited with an assist. I agree with chances created being a more important stat than assists because only when the striker scores does the player who created get the credit.
04 Apr 2026 11:40:39
I disagree entirely with that Gal.
You might as well say that any player who scores a penalty or an open goal shot should not be credited with a goal.
04 Apr 2026 11:42:19
Bang on about manipulating stats, Dado, Moore a good example of this, his stats nothing great, but seems to lift the full team and causes havoc in opposition's formations with direct running.
04 Apr 2026 11:44:04
Never mind assists.
Who's assisting the assist. ?
04 Apr 2026 12:16:55
Aphelion, a goal is always a goal, but putting a corner kick into a crowded box and getting the same credit as a player who actually creates a chance isn't the same for me. An assist for me is when the "assister" has done a good percentage of the work, not just pumping a corner or long free kick into the box where someone would still have 99% of the work to do to score.
Just my opinion and it won't change lol.
04 Apr 2026 12:26:51
Totally agree Kaiser/Dado. Off the top of my head, 2 signings coming and going to our club, Matondo/Chemitti, 100% didn't get signed for their stats. There's so much more to factor in than stats.
04 Apr 2026 12:50:17
Gal, that's the biggest load a nonsense I've ever read on here in the years I've been here.
Total nonsense
So what about Beckham's one touch crosses? Are they n out the same either?
04 Apr 2026 14:13:30
Good for you, Stevie, why don't you just scroll past, then I don't need your approval. Beckham's one touch cross was picking out someone who had made a run or a move into space. A corner kick into a crowded box is a completely different thing.
Should James Tavernier or Engels at the other mob get the same credit for taking a corner than Beckham gets for a precision cross or pass, I don't think so. Apples and oranges.
04 Apr 2026 15:07:01
I didn't manipulate stats. It's easy to replicate. You go to ChatGPT, you ask it to load all football data across all available sites for the 2025/2026, then you ensure it can use as much data as possible, basically you reprompt it to make sure there isn't any available data, I didn't decide any of that data but I can run it, give me a second, and then you get it to aggregate it, you'd get the same outcome
You think it's fudged because you cannot believe that Moore and Chermiti are equal in performance while one is 2-2.5x more expensive, Chermiti player of the season for me if we win a title.
04 Apr 2026 15:12:05
I didn't say u needed my approval.
Why would I scroll past? So if I disagree with something I've to scroll past it?
Kind of defeats the purpose of a forum. Only reply if I agree then?
And the answer is yes, all assists should be given the same credit, as they are.
Not really into this new system you're proposing where u only get an assist credit if u do something magical. ?
04 Apr 2026 15:41:21
Something magical. ? I just don't think they deserve the same credit. If I were to reply to every comment I thought was nonsense and be disrespectful then I would have jumped all over your one about Steven Gerrard being your favourite Rangers player ever.
You can disagree with someone, but to say my opinion is the biggest load of nonsense you've ever read is a poor comment.
04 Apr 2026 16:18:56
That was tongue in cheek, gal. Clearly he's no ma favourite Rangers player. That was a drunken joke, mate.
An assist is an assist, and taking corners or free kicks as an assist can require same skill as it takes for a dribbler to give an assist, all skill sets suited to different players.
Apologise if it was a poor comment.