With Giorgos Giakoumakis leaving, I thought I’d share the numbers on goals and expected goals (xG) per 90 minutes. The Greek scored 26 goals in 52 appearances and was an excellent fit for the requirements of a striker in Ange Postecoglou’s system. Fanfare over, here it is (data from this season – all competitions): Note … [continue reading]
Goals
Christie Leads The Scoring, But For How Long?
With 41 goals in 13 matches, Celtic have started the second Lennon era in spectacular fashion. As I covered in The (Partial) Death of Possession Football, Lennonball involves more shots, a bit of regression back towards the xG mean, slight increase in chance creation and a whole lotta conversion rate joy! Let’s look at the … [continue reading]
Eight In A Row: League Goals Compared
How do the eight in a row champions compare season by season as far as goals for and against are concerned? This season’s tally of 77 saw the second lowest of the last eight years. And the lowest was last season. Which followed the highest, 106, all under Rodger’s watch (mainly). Rodger’s managed Celtic for … [continue reading]
The Larsson Benchmark
We all know Larsson was a world class talent and the greatest forward Celtic has seen since Dalglish. But how can we show this using statistic? Advanced in game data is only available relatively recently, but using simple goals and assists (i.e. attacking productivity) allied to minutes played we get overall scoring contribution rates. The … [continue reading]
Comparing Strikers Since Strachan
Celtic have a history of great strikers. How does the current crop compare to recent incumbents? Data on goals and assists is available from 2005, the start of the Strachan era. This is a useful starting place as it marks the beginning of a more prudent transfer policy post O’Neill and record fees. Data is … [continue reading]
Goals and Assists – November 2018
After 27 matches in 4 competitions, Celtic have already used 27 players. Here are the Goals and Assists tables. Goals No one has yet scored in all 4 competitions. Last season McGregor scored in all 5 competitions Celtic entered. Edouard, McGregor or Ntcham need to score in the League Cup Final to have a chance … [continue reading]
5 Star Celtic
Celtic have scored 23 goals in their last 5 domestic matches (4.6 goals per game). That has only happened ten other times since 1945. But it isn’t the best run of Scottish goal scoring. With thanks to the imperious Celtic Wiki we can place this achievement in context. October & November 2003 – 24 goals … [continue reading]
Delivery Failure
There can be no denying Celtic’s current form is poor compared to previous trophy-laden seasons. I will look at a range of key performance indicators to see where it might be going wrong. I have plotted each metric per game back to the start of last season (2017/18). I did not include the 2016/17 season … [continue reading]
The 300
Griffith’s dramatic winner against BK Rosenborg, the first winner Celtic have scored past the 80th minute since Rogic’s glorious treble winner against Aberdeen at Hampden, was also Rodger’s 300th goal as Celtic manager. It’s a numbers landmark. It’s a numbers site. What to do? Landmark Goals From the first to the 300th, here are the … [continue reading]
Thumbs Aloft
On 30th August Leigh Griffiths became the 29th Celt to score 100 goals. The 4th direct free kick of his Hoops career saw him join many Celtic greats like McGrory, Lennox, Larsson, Dalglish, Murdoch and more. Opponents Griffiths scored in his second appearance for Celtic on 22nd February 2014, away to Heart of Midlothian in … [continue reading]