Swansea vs Newcastle: Key Players - Shelvey vs Colback

Key Players

 

A new feature in the preview this year, I'll be using statistical radars to show two of the key attacking threats on display

This week I thought I'd break up the preview normally released later in the week, and give us all some information to contemplate in the buildup to the match. First up, let's have a look at player radars! If you haven't seen these before, it's a way of graphically representing a player's statistical performance, in a way which makes it very easy to see who's performed well. A "full" radar - ie. one which is entirely red - is, statistically, a perfect player in that position. A tiny dot in the centre is... you get the idea.

So who will be the key performers this weekend? Resisting the urge to just look at centre-forwards, the battle is likely to be in the centre of the park, so I thought we'd look at Jonjo Shelvey and compare him with Jack Colback. This had nothing to do with the fact I'd already produced radars for both players. Honest. There are two different templates you can use to produce these radars - one for defensive contribution and one for attacking. As Shelvey & Colback are players expected to provide a contribution in both areas, we'll look at both sets of radars.

First up are their radars for defensive contribution. 

 

Jonjo Shelvey vs Jack Colback - Defensive contribution (2013/14)

As you can see, the only notable spikes on Colback's radar are for not losing possession and passing the ball accurately. He gives away lots of fouls, doesn't make many tackles, and (contrastingly with Jonjo) he isn't making up for defensive frailties with attacking output. Ok, he makes slightly more tackles and interceptions than Jonjo but given how few he makes in the grand scheme of things, it's hardly something to write home about.

On to attacking output, then.

 

Jonjo Shelvey vs Jack Colback - Attacking contribution (2013/14)

 

 

As you can see, Shelvey once again comes across as a much more rounded player. The only spikes on Colback's radar are (again) not being dispossessed and passing the ball accurately, while the amount of tackles and interceptions he makes comes across more favourably when plotted on the attacking radar. What's noticeable though is that his attacking output is essentially not there - ok, when he does actually take a shot his shooting and conversion are very good, but he gets into shooting positions so infrequently that it doesn't warrant writing about further.

Shelvey, on the other hand, fares rather better. His dribbling, goals, shots per game, assists, key passes and through balls are all a lot better than Colback's, and at this point I'm wondering just how much irony the "Ginger Pirlo" nickname came loaded with. 

To me, and it isn't just stats which lead me to believe this, I think it's ludicrous Colback was called up for England while Shelvey's good form last season has clearly gone unnoticed. Proof the England setup pick players at "big teams" over more unfashionable sides? I don't think proof is needed any more, to be honest.

 

Back to midfielders, and I think Shelvey will get the better of Colback this weekend. Not least because of the midfield unit he'll find himself in. I'm confident of a Swansea win, and if Newcastle play anything like they did at Stoke on Monday night our midfield will tear theirs to pieces. Try as he might, and assuming there isn't a drastic improvement in Newcastle's fortunes, there won't be anything Colback can do about it. 

Stay tuned for the rest of the in-depth preview later in the week!