When we talk about 'creativity' in football, many think of generating chances to score.
Players like France legend Zinedine Zidane, World Cup winner Cesc Fabregas and Celtic maestro Paul McStay come to mind; purveyors of aesthetically pleasing through balls leading directly to goals.
The proliferation of data in football allows us to expand the definition of this trait to allow a much wider appreciation of what players contribute on the pitch towards making goalscoring opportunities.
Who doesn’t love a 50-yard ping from the left-centre-back to the right winger? It isn’t just for show, didn’t it take the team closer to the goal?
That barnstorming run from left-back that leaves half the opposition recovering towards their own goal can surely be bracketed as a creative move too?
The answers to these questions are of course 'yes'. We can measure such contributions in a variety of ways that show creativity is not purely the domain of the number 10 but is an art form of egalitarian nature, open to rambunctious centre-back and slaloming winger equally.
In the first of a three-part series into this notion, we will tackle ball progression as creativity.
This is mainly indicating progressing the ball forwards from deeper (i.e. your own defensive third).
The below chart plots ball carries (running with the ball at least 10 yards in the opposition half plus a forward run that takes out at least one opponent) as well as the volume of pack passes per 90 minutes (the number of forward passes completed that take at least one opponent out of the game).
This view results in players clustering around their positions in the main. However, there are some interesting outliers to focus on.
Notice firstly how Stephen Welsh is the standout defender as regards passing and ball-carrying from the back. The other centre-backs are clustered closer together with little real differentiation.
It will be interesting to see how Welsh is utilised given the imminent arrival of Yuki Kobayashi as a left-sided centre-back. Ange Postecoglou believes there is a player in Welsh and a substantial bid from Italian side Udinese was knocked back in the summer. The centre-back positions are certainly an area of intrigue.
In terms of the full-backs, we see Josip Juranovic is more successful in progressing the ball on the run while Anthony Ralston has a higher pack pass completion rate. Greg Taylor, lacking the pace of either the Croat or new signing Alexandro Bernabei, has a much lower ball-carrying rate.
One would suspect this is an area Postecoglou feels can still be improved. The central midfielders are similarly bunched.
There is, however, a slight gulf between Callum McGregor and Matt O’Riley, which highlights the added value the captain brings to the pivot role. The Dane is more voluminous in defensive actions and continues to be more of a goal threat in that role than the Scot. But ball progression, and the speed of it, is McGregor’s special skill.
Note Aaron Mooy, like Taylor is not the quickest over the ground, and has a lower ball progression rate but a higher pack passing rate than O’Riley and David Turnbull.
The wingers are in the bottom right and have quite a stretched-out set of profiles. Sead Haksabanovic looks to be emulating Jota’s high-end ability to take the team up the park. It is early days but his data does include minutes at the Champions League level which tends to depress most people’s numbers.
James Forrest’s declining powers are evident here, while Daizen Maeda continues to be an oddity. He profiles more like the strikers who don’t generally get involved in ball progression yet most of his minutes have been on the wing this season.
This is a critical area for a team strategy that involves getting the ball forwards quickly and accurately (for instance, putting the opposition on the back foot while maintaining control of the game).
There are clearly some areas where the profiles are not optimal. Both full-back spots and the depth of wing play beyond Jota and Haksabanovic are the main examples.
It is likely the manager would prefer to see the other centre-backs' numbers look more like Welsh’s in this regard.
Finally, this emphasises again that Celtic lack a true McGregor clone and that O’Riley’s numbers will probably improve too when the captain is back.
The manager has spoken about the need to be more aggressive in recruitment and increase churn in terms of both incomings and outgoings. Keep an eye on ball progression data as one area where improvements may be sought.
READ MORE FROM THIS AUTHOR:
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here