Football
Tomas Soucek just below the top ten in the Premier League! On what metric is he one of the best players in the league?
West Ham are in 7th place in the English Premier League with one round to go, which ensures their participation in the European Cup. Tomas Soucek is also an important link in manager David Moyes’ well-functioning machine.
West Ham are in 7th place in the English Premier League with one round to go, which ensures their participation in the European Cup. Tomas Soucek is also an important link in manager David Moyes’ well-functioning machine. He has more or less become a respected player, which he confirms with his steady performance and indispensability. Where does the Czech national team captain surprisingly excel?
The Hammers are currently assured of a Europa League Conference qualifier, but in case Manchester United lose at Crystal Palace and West Ham win at Brighton. Then David Moyes’ charges could look forward to the Europa League group stage.
Now to the Czech national captain. He has started 34 games in the English top flight this season and played a total of 2,972 minutes, which means he will break the three-thousand mark if he plays the full match against Brighton.
He scored 5 goals and assisted one in the Premier League from his position as a defensive midfielder, which are still excellent numbers. By comparison, Rodri, playing for leaders Manchester City, has scored only one more goal than Soucek from the same position.
Tomas Soucek also boasts an excellent average rating. He holds a 7 grade from the prestigious statistics site WhoScored before his last game.
If we compare Soucek to his own teammates, he is West Ham’s third best player in the Premier League this season. Ahead of him are only the glowing Jarrod Bowen (7.19) and Declan Rice (7.09).
Tomas Soucek is reviled by most experts and fans for his passing. But the statistical numbers show that, for example, he is almost among the top 10 players in the league in accuracy of long passes, currently 11th.
It’s important to note that only players who made at least 110 long passes in a season are counted in the stats. This excludes a lot of players from the Premier League’s leading teams that play mostly through short passes and a progressive attack.
Sources: WhoScored, Livesport, TheOther14