Thread by @rbecks17

One of the fiercest debates amongst #ncfc fans throughout the season was, who deserved to start at LB? I decided to have a look into the data and settle it myself.

Data from top 5 league LBs with a minimum of 750 mins

Dimi Giannoulis = Yellow
Brandon Williams = Green

(Thread)

The more traditional view of judging a fullback is to first look at how they can defend. Due to Norwich being one of the weakest sides in their league their defenders were tasked with completing a large number of defensive actions so this was a vital metric for performance.

Surprisingly for many, DG came out on top for successful defensive actions per 90. This is perhaps due to the bias of fans to see BW throwing himself and being committed in duels to skew their impression of defence. DG quietly was more effective in his actions be it marginally.

Next, I decided to look at their ability in build-up. This again is skewed by Norwich's lack of quality and the fact a coherent structure for effective build-up out the back was completely lacking.

This viz shows that BW was perhaps safer on the ball whilst DG offered greater progression in his passing at the cost of his accurate passing. My eye test has always been DG was more assured on the ball and offered better quality in his passing but was more wasteful on the ball.

Then, I decided to look into the other aspect of progression, progressive runs and dribbles per 90. This was a vital component of both Farke and Smith's systems.

The data shows they are good at this skill. They are both above the median set by top 5 LBs. I would say they are different in their approach in this aspect with BW being more aggressive and physically dominant whilst DG shows off better technical quality in his dribbles.

Finally, I looked at their final third quality and to do this I looked into the accuracy of their crossing and the amount they are able to do per 90 to show off whether they are getting into good positions to make crosses.

DG is far better at crossing and this is a real area BW needs to work on. This is mainly due to BW being right-footed so he has to check back to complete a cross taking away from the time he has. DG technically is also far superior in this aspect offering much better quality.

In conclusion, I believe DG was the much better option at LB. He offered a better defensive output and better quality in the final third. He was also even in progression through carries and slightly better at progressive passing (needs to improve accuracy).

DG is a classy footballer and will offer so so much at a championship level where Norwich should be dominating games. He is also really underrated as a defender. I think he will be a massive player for Smith next season offering desperately needed quality.

That's it! Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this thread please leave a like, RT and give me a follow as I plan to be doing more analysis based on #ncfc. Please let me know who you think was the better player and I hope you all have a great evening!