Hello again! This third installment of this “preparing our radars” miniseries is the midfielder radar. Last time, we looked at defenders and covered 12 different metrics covering the defensive arts. Another 12 will be considered here as well. These metrics are all taken from fbref and are adapted to adjust for playing time (per 90) and converted to percentiles (that’s the whole point of this project after all!).

The midfielder radar

Midfielders are responsible for linking together and supporting the defensive and attacking units of the team. As such, styles of midfielder can vary, some excelling in defensive phases, other being creative outlets or even wide midfielders offering skill and dynamism on the flanks. To capture the variety of styles, these metrics will be fairly well-rounded. Let’s take a look!

Metric 1: Core defending

This was a metric in the last post on the defender radar, but the usage here is slightly different. This time, we’re looking at the percentage of dribblers successfully tackled and interceptions per 90. Defensive midfielders need to block passing lanes for attackers, close down opponents and make strong physical challenges to maintain control of the middle of the pitch - as some say, the match is won in the midfield. It should be noted that defending in midfield and defending from out-and-out defenders is somewhat different and so as an example, I would argue, that more emphasis (but not too much more) should be place on interceptions for midfielders than for defenders.

Metric 2: Shooting

Midfielder can often find or create space for themselves in attacking situations, giving them room to attempt shots on goal. Goals per 90 speaks for itself as an indication of a midfielder’s ability to contribute offensively. Expected goals per 90 gives us an indication of how many goals we would have expected to see the player score were we to simulate the shots they took many, many times over. Thus, exceeding or under-performing one’s expected goals gives some indication of how well the player converts their opportunities to score. That being said, factors such as shot volume, tactical style or type of shots will bias this metric.

Metric 3: Creativity

As with the defender radar, the same 3 metrics of assists per 90, expected assists per 90 and shot-creating actions (SCA) per 90 help to paint a picture of how influential a midfielder is in being a source of goal-creation for their team. As eluded to before, defenders and midfielders relate to these metric somewhat differently. I would argue that SCAs is more important for midfielders than for defender’s creativity, but this can vary based on individual player’s style of play or team tactics.

Metric 4: Passing

Potentially one of the most important attributes of any midfielder is passing ability. The percentage of passes completed gives a view of overall passing accuracy, but for attacking midfielders this metric may be inherently deflated as attacking midfielders often attempt riskier passes in a bid to unlock defenses and create opportunities. Progressive passes per 90 help to show if a midfielder tends to just keep possession (lower progressive passes) or instead seeks to create chances or progress to the final third more often with their passes (higher progressive passes). To capture final-third passes directly, final-third passes per 90 comes in as the last metric in this category.

Metric 5: Defensive mistakes

Midfielders can also be susceptible to making costly error that hurt their team. Fouls committed per 90 give an indication of whether the midfielder tries to stay on the right side of the law or is involved in the dirty work that potentially crosses the line (intentionally or not). Fouls committed also can work as a sort of proxy for whether or not the midfielder is a defensive or attacking midfielder as more often than not, the defensive midfielder will commit the fouls in the middle of the pitch - but this can vary, especially if a midfielder’s team likes to press their opposition intensively, therefore requiring more tackles to be attempted by attacking players. As with all of these metrics, it is important to remember football is a team sport and basically none of these metrics exist outside of that team-based context.

Conclusion

Whilst many more metrics could be included for midfielders, having too many would render a percentile radar fairly useless. These hopefully capture some of the attributes important to midfielders of all styles and I hope you enjoyed reading along. Next time, we end this miniseries with the attackers radar, see you there!