No Game? No Problem. More Numbers!

Hurray for ridiculous international breaks. After only three games it’s hard to use this break to say anything definitive about Everton’s season so far. But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to try anyway. So after the jump, a whole bunch of stats about how Everton’s stack-up in any number of categories. Spoiler alert—They stack up pretty awesomely.

Before we get started, just a quick note. All these charts are from the people over at EPLindex.com. Hopefully I’ll be using more of their stuff in the coming weeks. It makes a handy companion to some of the graphs I’ve been throwing your way. Ok, now onto the numbers. I’ve been focusing a lot on offense this year, and I’m not stopping today. Everton is a very good defensive team. It’s a Moyes hallmark. But this year, through three games their offense is something to behold (despite being shutout against West Brom). That’s made even more remarkable when you consider that in three games the boys have played Manchester United at home, and then gone on the road twice. Generally speaking that would be a recipe for good old fashioned Moyes conservatism, but not this year. So, first lets look at passes in the final third.

#	Club	Player Name	TP	TDP	DA%	TAP	AA%	FTP	FT%	PD%	PA%	FH%
1		Santiago Cazorla	242	54	96.3	188	83.51	88	87.5	22.31	77.69	36.36
2		Gnegneri Yaya Touré	301	109	97.25	192	86.98	87	79.31	36.21	63.79	28.9
3		Samir Nasri	194	47	97.87	147	82.31	86	87.21	24.23	75.77	44.33
4		Eden Hazard	159	36	86.11	123	86.99	83	89.16	22.64	77.36	52.2
5		Carlos Tévez	135	19	84.21	116	80.17	76	82.89	14.07	85.93	56.3
6		Tom Cleverley	219	76	93.42	143	89.51	74	90.54	34.7	65.3	33.79
7		Shinji Kagawa	170	49	93.88	121	88.43	72	86.11	28.82	71.18	42.35
8		Steven Pienaar	140	21	95.24	119	78.99	71	78.87	15	85	50.71
9		Luis Antonio Valencia	183	49	91.84	134	69.4	69	85.51	26.78	73.22	37.7
10		Glen Johnson	184	86	94.19	98	71.43	68	70.59	46.74	53.26	36.96

As you can see Pienaar comes in 8^th in the league in passes attempted in the final third of the field. That’s striking for a number of reasons. Obviously he’s in some pretty elite company. Only players from the two Manchesters, Chelsea and Arsenal are ahead of him. But, if we dig into the stats further there are some interesting trends to look at. Of the players in the top ten it’s Pienaar and City’s Carlos Teves who have attempted by far the highest percentage of their passes in the attacking half, at over 85%. Now, from a center forward like Tevez that’s probably to be expected, but from Pienaar, who plays on the wing it’s a somewhat surprising development. The numbers are another reminder that Everton are relying extremely heavily on playing long balls to Fellaini and having him lay the ball of to Pienaar and Baines to initiate attacks. When you also consider that Fellaini is tied for second in shots in the EPL this season and it really highlights that in many ways he is playing as a second striker this season, staying high up the pitch, offering himself as an outlet and then getting into the box to finish.

So, it will come as no surprise to see how dominant Fellaini is at winning possession of the ball in midfield and attacking areas. The stats below speak for themselves. Fellaini is 7th in the league at total possessions won (and in an interesting side note, Darren Gibson just missed being on the graphic, he's at 11). The big Belgian wins the ball the 6th most frequently in the attacking third of anybody in the league, and combines that with winning it the 16th most frequently in the midfield. Darren Gibson also featured prominently on the midfield list, winning the ball in those areas the 5th most frequently in the league.

#	Club	Player Name	MPD	TA	MPT	TPW	MPW	MDP	MMP	MAP	MPI	MLP
1		Benoit Assou-Ekotto	270	3	1.1	31	8.71	11.74	38.57	270	54	4.82
2		Vassiriki Abou Diaby	249	3	1	29	8.59	24.9	15.56	83	35.57	4.7
3		Youssuf Mulumbu	270	3	1.38	27	10	16.88	27	270	54	6.75
4		Joe Allen	270	3	1.24	26	10.38	22.5	19.29	0	27	15
5		Jonás Gutiérrez	266	3	1.53	25	10.64	26.6	17.73	0	66.5	7
6		Mark Noble	270	3	1.21	24	11.25	54	19.29	54	135	7.94
7		Marouane Fellaini	269	3	1.38	23	11.7	53.8	19.21	67.25	134.5	5.98
8		Ashley Cole	270	3	1.27	22	12.27	16.88	54	270	30	11.74
9		Nathan Dyer	257	3	1.27	22	11.68	23.36	23.36	0	257	4.67
10		Adam Lallana	259	3	1.33	21	12.33	28.78	25.9	129.5	23.55	5.08

So, what have we learned? Well, first and foremost, through three games Everton have been excellent at executing their game plan. And that's great. But, over the next month or so it is pretty apparent that defending Fellaini will be opposing team's number one goal. That raises two questions. First, will Fellaini be able to rise to the occasion, and thrive despite the added attention? And second, what is David Moyes' plan B. Does the team have another line of attack if the Fellaini focal point is dampened? If the answer is no, we're liable to see a lot of listless performances. If they answer is yes, well then Everton could be a very very good team.