Fans have been slow to warm to the iron-thighed Ivorian, can his stats help win people over?
First off (as any regular readers of the blog will know) I'm a massive fan of Wilfried Bony. For me, ten goals in thirteen starts is more than enough to warrant any striker retaining his spot in the team, but as I say it'd be interesting to see how "similar" players stack up statistically.
Bony has 4 Premier League goals in ten PL appearances (although he's only started five times). That gives him 533 minutes on the field of play, which works out to 133.25 minutes per goal. In all competitions his rate actually gets even better, with ten goals in eighteen appearances (thirteen starts) at a rate of a goal every 118.1 minutes. Not bad for a player some have accused of...well...just about everything negative you can shout at someone you're supposed to be supporting.
When compared with other strikers (and you include assists in the build up to goals), Bony is involved in a goal every 106.4 minutes (17th best in the league) - and honestly, the players with better figures than that are unsurprising in their stature. Directly above him are Giroud, Negredo, Lukaku & Sturridge, while the list is topped by others such as Podolski, the Ox, Suarez & Aguero. If you filter out players who've made minimal appearances (Podolski, Lamela, Oxlade-Chamberlain and, remarkably, Pablo), Wilfried Bony rises to 13th best in the PL. Not bad considering the competition, and the amount of stick he's been receiving.
Furthermore, Bony is dispossessed on average once a game, and gives it up through poor control on average twice per ninety minutes. When compared with Sturridge (2.9 & 2.5), Suarez (2.3 & 2.8) and Aguero (2.8 & 2.6), it really isn't that bad, and fans should get off his back if he attempts a flick which doesn't come off. He's got the ability, but if he's berated any time he tries anything other than to retain possession with a five yard pass he's unlikely to score many goals, such will be his reluctance to actually try to create something.
Ok, so I've plucked some random stats out and if I really wanted to make an argument for Bony to improve based on numbers I could probably have done so, however his statistics back up what I've been saying for a while - he's doing alright. Once properly "Premier League fit" and bedded into the side, he will score lots of goals. My main concern is he will get fed up of the vocal minority who clearly don't understand his game, and sling his hook in the summer - my gut instinct tells me that next season will be his break out season and I for one want him to spend it in SA1.
Wilfried Bony - understated, underrated and under-appreciated. I quite like that...