Who are Celtic's most valuable players?

OBV has been designed by our data provider StatsBomb to "objectively and quantitatively measure the value of each event on the pitch”. 

They do this by assessing the change in probability of a team scoring and conceding as a direct result of an event (such as, for instance, Callum McGregor playing a through ball to an onrushing Jota or Giorgos Giakoumakis shooting when Liel Abada was available for a pass. You get the picture).

Readers familiar with statistical jargon will know there are already metrics used to give a sense of involvement in general play (such as assists, xG Assisted, and xGBuildup) but the difference between these and OBV is that OBV assigns a value to every action and seeks to identify the ones that were more important towards the creation of a chance and reward those players rather than simply acknowledging their involvement.

It also takes into account that some players take more risks than others in build-up play - think the difference between a square pass between the centre-backs and a line-breaking ball from centre-back to right wing - and that this should be recognised along with where on the pitch things happen and how much pressure a player is under at the time.

For a full breakdown, see the StatsBomb website. For now, we move on to our updated lists for each of the main five outfield OBV categories (you can check the last round-up here)...

Overall OBV

In the last update there were four Celts in the league’s top 10; in this one there are four in the top six.

Jota’s influence comes to the fore here as he challenges Rangers captain James Taverneir for top spot after not making the top 10 in November. Kyogo Furuhashi moves from fourth to third with Aberdeen defender Calvin Ramsay slipping to fifth after sitting pretty in second a few months ago. Anthony Ralston moves up one to fourth and Liel Abada falls to sixth having been third.

The last update shone a light on the importance of full-backs in the Scottish game with seven of the top 10 for overall OBV playing in the position. This is slightly less obvious this time, but there are still five full-backs in there.

Limit the data to Celtic players only and David Turnbull – who returned from a lengthy injury against Ross County before the international break – rounds off the club’s top five, which is the same quintet as November but in a slightly different order.

Passing OBV

For passing OBV, it’s worth noting that it’s not enough to simply play in a possession-heavy team.

Again, there are four Celts in the top 10 for this category, although just the one - Ralston – in the top five this time.

The top six league-wide are all full-backs, with creative midfielders such as Jota, Turnbull and Barrie McKay of Hearts all in there too. Matt O’Riley cracks the top 10 despite only making his Hoops debut on January 26.

In terms of changes from the last update, Abada has dropped out of the top 10 altogether while Jota has entered it. Ralston moves down one to fifth and Turnbull the same to seventh.

Abada, in fact, has fallen far enough that the Parkhead-only top five includes not he, but Stephen Welsh alongside Ralston, Turnbull, Jota and O’Riley.

Dribbles and Carries OBV

Abada makes his triumphant return here by claiming fifth spot in the dribbling and carries OBV top 10 almost totally made up of wingers.

Remember, this metric isn’t just about the volume or success rate of dribbles and carries but giving credit for where they take place and how penetrative they are too.

Jota, who is sixth, is the only other Parkhead player in the top 10 while the Celtic-specific top five adds James Forrest, Turnbull and Josip Juranovic with Tom Rogic notably absent after making the league-wide top 10 back in November.

Shooting OBV

Kyogo hasn’t played too much since the last update but nonetheless retains his place as the runaway leader in shot OBV.

Unsurprisingly given his recent clinical form, Giorgos Giakoumakis enters the top 10 by going straight into second spot. Abada is the other Celtic player in there, ranking eighth.

The other spots in the list are predictably occupied mostly by strikers, with winger and league top scorer Regan Charles-Cook the main exception in third.

There was a considerable drop-off between Kyogo and the rest of his team-mates last time out, which Giakoumakis has filled. Abada improved his own shot OBV from 0.08 to 0.11 while the rest of the Celtic top five sees Jota join new entry Reo Hatate as Ralston and surprise package of November Cameron Carter-Vickers drop out.

Defensive Action OBV

Like the November update, no Celtic players touch the league-wide top 10 for defensive actions OBV. The list, as it was last time, is populated by players from the Dundee sides, County, St Johnstone, Hibs and Hearts.  

Limiting the data one last time to just Parkhead players, Greg Taylor leads the way with McGregor and Daizen Maeda also in there ahead of defenders Carter-Vickers and Ralston.