Leon v Ki - A statistical comparison

Swansea stalwart Leon Britton

With yesterday's blog looking at how Ki and Jonathan De Guzman fare when their stats are compared, it seems only fair (and a few people have asked me) to look at how Leon comes out when all is said and done. With Ki seemingly being asked to play like Leon, it should be very interesting to see how this pans out. I'll throw JDG's stats in at the end for good measure too, for ease of comparison. 

It's Leon, so let's start with passes. Famously Europe's most accurate passer last season, he's so far found himself usurped in the pass completion department by his lanky South Korean counterpart. Leon has completed 91% of his passes (1359/1493) compared to Ki's 92.5% (1438/1554), and the Korean again comes out on top when you look at key passes, playing 1 a game compared to Leon's 0.3. I think we'd all agree that from what we've seen of Ki this season, his game is naturally more expansive than how Leon has played for the last few years, so this is likely an unsurprising statistic to most. That Ki plays on average 55.5 passes a game compared to Leon's 53.3, however, may surprise some given that Leon is still regarded as the central cog around which the Swansea team rotates, and when you consider Ki plays 5.8 successful long passes a game compared to Leon's 1.8, it seems that when it comes to shifting the ball on quickly (and accurately) the Korean is at least a match for the Swans' legend.

£5million man Ki Sung-Yueng

A look at defence now. While Leon is hardly a tough-tackler, Ki has been at the receiving end of criticism from fans for, ahem, deciding not to tackle (I promised to keep the language on this website child friendly...), so it's interesting to see that, even if this is true, they make almost an identical amount of tackles per game (Leon with 1.3 and Ki with 1.2), however Leon does come out on top when you look at interceptions, averaging 2.1 per game, edging towards double the 1.2 Ki manages, and also makes more blocks - stopping 0.5 shots a game to Ki's 0.3. Interestingly, Leon get's dribbled past almost once a game (0.8) whereas Ki is clearly a tougher man to get past, averaging exactly half that, and Ki also makes more clearances, with 1.3 to Leon's 0.8, and given that the defensive role is new to Ki I'm surprised at the level of criticism he's received for supposed defensive failings.

The similarities continue; both midfielders attempt 0.4 dribbles a game, are dispossessed once a game (ish - Leon is 0.8 and Ki 0.9) and draw one foul a game, however Leon actually gives away possession twice as often - 0.8 times per game as opposed to Ki's 0.4. There is definitely an element of splitting hairs going on here; I get the feeling that if I was to compare, say, the central midfielders at another mid-table club (West Brom, Fulham etc) the statistics would vary a lot more from player to player, although I'd imagine on the whole the attacking statistics would be a little more impressive. Ki has two assists while Leon has none, and while the 1.4 shots per game attempted by the Korean isn't a huge amount it dwarfs the 0.3 attempted by the diminutive Londoner. That neither have managed a goal this term is no surprise.

I'm not alone in expecting Leon to pass regardless of the goalscoring opportunity that's presented itself, and slightly tenuously it gives me a chance to stick a quality video in.. I'll never forget the Playoff Semi-Final - Leon received the ball from a short corner, nipped past Marcus Tudgay and let fly with his left foot, leaving Lee Camp with no chance and putting the Swans 1-0 up. Epic stuff, that, but the excitement was definitely heightened because not one Swansea fan would have expected Leon to shoot from there - the little man himself was probably as surprised as anyone to see the ball end up in the top corner! The noise in that video is special...

As suggested in yesterday's blog, I don't really see these two players as having to compete for the same place, even though there's likely to be increased competition next year (press reports indicate we've agreed to sign Jose Canas, who operates as a defensive midfielder). With two defensive berths in the midfield against "bigger" teams (ie. Leon & Canas) and a dedicated attacking midfielder ahead of them (Ki or De Guzman) it would give us more balance than we've had of late (I still don't like Michu at attacking midfield as I feel it disrupts the normal rhythm). Against "lesser" teams, the three wingers formation should work a treat with a bit more practice/player recruitment, and I like the idea that we'll have two variations to our midfield, with interchangeable personnel. That kind of dynamism and fluidity could prove crucial when/if the fixtures pile up due to continued European involvement, and Laudrup has previously stated he'd like to have two players for every position.

There is, of course, the possibility that Canas is being lined up as a replacement for Leon. Let's not think about that eh...

Full stats for Leon Britton, Jonathan De Guzman & Ki Sung-Yueng

De Guzman vs Ki - a statistical comparison

With the Swans rumoured to have agreed a deal for Real Betis midfielder Jose Canas, it appears there will be increased competition in the Swansea midfield next year, and with De Guzman yet to sign permanently, I thought it would be interesting to have a look at some statistics to see what kind of effect Ki & JDG have had on the team.

Ki Sung-Yueng

It would be easy to just go with the obvious and leave it there. Ki still tops the Premier League charts in terms of passing accuracy, while JDG is the Swans' second top scorer, so you'd be forgiven for thinking that Ki is obviously a more defensive player while JDG has excelled in attack, and while both are partially true I feel there's more going on than meets the eye.

Of late, I've felt De Guzman's performances haven't been up to the standard he set earlier in the season, and some fans are questioning his work-rate - saying that he doesn't seem to harry the opposition as much as he should. While I can't say I feel that's true, I do think that De Guzman drifts around the field too much when playing alongside Leon (or whoever else) in a deeper midfield role, and that in turn creates problems in terms of defensive organisation.

When you play football like the Swans do, being heavily reliant on team shape to maintain a solid defensive footing, it's imperative that the defensive midfielders hold their position; Leon seemed to be dragged around the field an awful lot against Southampton and given how out of character it appeared it must have been to do with those around him distorting the team shape. When Michu plays attacking midfield as opposed to centre-forward I feel this exacerbates the problem, but I do feel that when Ki plays alongside Leon it gives the Swans a lot more balance.

At present, I still prefer a midfield trio of Leon, Ki, and JDG in front of them, but if there was only one "defensive" midfield berth to play for, should it go to Ki or De Guzman? With all stats only relating to PL games, first up let's look at ball retention. Ki  has completed 92.5% of his passes (1438/1554 - 6th in Europe in terms of passing accuracy) against De Guzman's 88.4% (1527/1727) and while JDG has played more passes in total he's also started nine more games than his Korean counterpart. Ki averages 55.5 passes completed a game to De Guzman's 54.4, so not much to choose from there, but it would seem that, given the smaller amount of starts enjoyed by the Korean, he's a little busier in terms of moving the ball around the field.

Jonathan De Guzman

De Guzman has clearly created more in attack, with six assists to Ki's two, and they average 1.6 and 1 "key pass(es)" [excuse the pun] respectively - in fairness to Ki though he's consistently been employed in a more defensive role than he'd previously been used to and I feel his natural game would see him play further forward which would in turn see him create more opportunities (as well as finally getting his first goal). A demonstration of this was when well placed (again) against Southampton, Ki opted to pass instead of shoot - as anyone who's watched Youtube videos of him can testify, the guy likes to shoot and has scored lots of goals, and I think his reluctance to shoot is due to the distinct awareness that to comply with his role in the team, he's to retain possession in situations whereby otherwise he would have had a pop.

Ki averages 5.9 successful long balls per game against JDG's 3.8, further drilling home the accuracy with which the Korean dispatches the ball. I love watching Ki play as everything seems to be done with an exaggerated movement in an effort to connect perfectly, and I think sometimes it's easy to mistake it for the Korean being ponderous - the stats show this isn't the case as he's only dispossessed 0.9 times per game (against De Guzman's 1.2) and attempts the same amount of dribbles as the man on loan from Villareal (0.4). Interestingly, the Dutchman wins the ball back twice as often, with 0.9 "turnovers" per game (as opposed to Ki's 0.4), but they attempt an almost identical amount of shots (Ki with 1.4, JDG with 1.5).

Ki manages over twice as many clearances per game (1.3 to 0.6), while they both complete the same amount of interceptions (1.2) and almost the same amount of tackles (Ki with 1.2 & JDG with 1.3). I think this is starting to show that some fans view that JDG is (marginally) more combative is possibly far from the mark, as it seems in terms of defensive contribution Ki  is just as effective. It obviously can't be ignored that with 5 goals and 6 assists, De Guzman has been massively more potent in attack when compared with Ki's 0 goals and 2 assists, but I do feel that if Ki had enjoyed a more attacking role throughout the season the figures would be a lot more even. As mentioned above, I get the distinct impression that Ki's natural game is more attacking than we're currently seeing, and I'm hoping the arrival of Canas remedies this, as I'd love to see him start banging them in from 30 yards.

Should we sign De Guzman permanently? Reports had previously put the price at £8million, but recently it seems that's been revised and £5million would be nearer the mark. Originally I thought that still sounded a lot, given that we're likely to have paid his wages all year and, possibly, a fee to take him on loan in the first place, but after speaking with a friend I came to the conclusion that if there was a midfielder of JDG's quality at a Premier League club who were getting relegated, and he'd scored 5 goals and got 6 assists that season, I'd be saying we should sign him up, especially if the asking price is only £5million. For a central midfielder who can clearly cut it in the Premier League, and is likely to kick on again next season, that seems a bit of a bargain, and with plenty of games to go round next year both Ki and JDG could enjoy lots of playing time in the CAM role - whether that happens though is another thing.

For now, I'd like to see Leon and Ki deep, with JDG ahead of them, but if we sign Canas (and he's as good as we hope) then at present I'd still like to see Ki given a run in the team in a creative attacking role. Sure, it'll take a while for him to get out of the "pass, pass, pass" train of thought but I think ultimately it'll be worth it. Check out the video above for a demonstration of what I mean. In a cop out similar to the one at the end of the Neil Taylor v Ben Davies comparison, I'm going to say that realistically they are both important members of the Swansea squad who we can expect to improve next year, and I'd love to see De Guzman sign permanently. For £5million, anyway...

Swansea announce pre-season tour of South Korea!

Swans look to maximise marketing opportunities in Asia

Ki: Helping to promote The Swansea Way

This is the news that during the close-season Swansea City will be embarking on a tour of South Korea, in the latest effort to expand the Swansea brand. Increased overseas interest is the result of a continued rise to prominence, and the signing of Ki Sung-Yeung, followed by the Capital One Cup win, will have further strengthened any foothold the Swans had gained on the other side of the world.

Michael Laudrup: “It’s massive for us and shows the progression of the club that we are probably going to play in the Far East. It’s a long way to go to play friendlies, but there is huge interest in the whole of Asia for the Premier League. It’s a great chance for us to promote the league out there.”

As reported previously, interest in Ki in South Korea is massive, with some fans labeling him "The Korean David Beckham". While that may seem a stretch for some, the possibilities afforded by having a player of Ki's international standing playing for the Swans should not be ignored. Before the Capital One Cup final there was obvious global interest in the Swans, but Korean news in particular were keen to find out how their leading light was getting on in South Wales. Before the final there was a South Korean film crew filming in locations such as Swansea Castle, Mumbles & Three Cliffs Bay and it's obvious that there is currently an appetite for all things Swansea City in this corner of the Far East, and it's unlikely to fade unless Ki moves on.

Ki has gone about his job quietly this season, and this is highlighted when you look at his passing statistics, which have largely gone unheralded. Last season Leon was held up as the epitome of "The Swansea Way" with the highest pass completion in the league - this year he sits seventh with 91.1% (1246/1368 passes completed), while his lanky South Korean team-mate occupies second spot - bettered only by Mikel Arteta - with a pass completion rate of 92.3% (1327/1437). Granted, his confidence in front of goal seems to have drained slightly but if you want to see examples of just how well he can strike a ball have a look at the video below. Ok, the standard of the league isn't the same but the boy really does have a cannon.

There are some belters in there, aren't there?

The impact gaining a foothold in South Korea could bring shouldn't be underestimated. Swansea are, due to geographic, economic (and other) reasons always likely to remain a small fish in a big pond, however clever marketing and continued exposure on the world stage could start to counteract that. Realistically, with Wales being a small country and the Swans potential fanbase limited in this respect, we can't expect to compete with certain "powerhouses" of the British game, at least not on home soil, so any extra income derived from an international fanbase will be welcomed with open arms. A quick look at some statistics tells me that not only is South Korea part of the G20, it also has the 15th highest GDP in the world and ranks 12th in terms of purchasing power, and with a population of 49 million there will be a lot more football fans there than there are in Wales. Now, I'm no mathematician, but I have a sneaky feeling that if we get our marketing right we could end up selling more replica shirts in Korea than we do in South Wales...

The announcement that we are looking to spend time in Korea over the close-season is the latest in a line of sensible business decisions from the Swans, but we've come to expect that haven't we? No doubt they'll be looking at other ways of maximising marketing opportunities in that corner of the globe, and I'm surely not alone in awaiting further developments with interest.

Whether many local Jacks will decide to make the trip to Korea with the small matter of Europa League qualifiers coming soon after is, however, a different matter...