Since it's the hot topic and there are many new fans around due to the World Cup, we're going to do a short thread about Finishing Skill.
The very best players in the world score on about 20% or 1 in every 5 of their shots. (Seems low, doesn't it?)
The very best players in the world score on about 20% or 1 in every 5 of their shots. (Seems low, doesn't it?)
On average, players score goals about in line with their Expected Goals (xG) numbers. They can score more or less over short periods of time, but in most cases they "revert to the mean."
Example: Raheem Sterling scored 17 non-penalty goals last ssn, xG expected about 15.5.
Example: Raheem Sterling scored 17 non-penalty goals last ssn, xG expected about 15.5.
Now this is football, which means strange things sometimes happen.
Remember when Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world's greatest goalscorers, could not score for half a season?
Remember when Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the world's greatest goalscorers, could not score for half a season?
Then things went back to normal and Ronaldo once again returned to being one of the world's greatest goalscorers.
He was never washed up or could no longer finish, it's simply that football is a very difficult game and Ronaldo went through a weird patch.
He was never washed up or could no longer finish, it's simply that football is a very difficult game and Ronaldo went through a weird patch.
Yeah, sure... whatever. That's Ronaldo!
Okay, the same thing was said about Zlatan Ibrahimovic a year earlier. Manchester United fans were horrified, and everyone thought he couldn't finish in EPL.
Spoiler: He reverted to being great almost immediately.
Okay, the same thing was said about Zlatan Ibrahimovic a year earlier. Manchester United fans were horrified, and everyone thought he couldn't finish in EPL.
Spoiler: He reverted to being great almost immediately.
Yet another player who fans often said can't finish, but who regularly is among the world leaders in scoring goals is Edinson Cavani. Which is really weird for a guy who "can't finish."
He seemed to do very well in the World Cup.
He seemed to do very well in the World Cup.
Finishing genuinely is a skill, but most players who are forwards in top leagues are already very good at it, and small samples can fool people into thinking any number of things that have no attachment to reality.
Expect @TheM_L_G to have a great piece on this later in the week
Expect @TheM_L_G to have a great piece on this later in the week
