2012/13 Premier League: Team Shot Differential (6-10)

So here's what we do with shots differential: Instead of simply listing a raw number I am going to use the rolling shot differential number over 38 games. Why do this? I think it displays the trends and peaks and dips in performance throughout the season in a more easily accessible way. Naturally teams shot differential will be affected by injuries or exceptionally tough runs of fixtures or.........bad managers.

KEY

Total = the total shots differential

Close = the shots differential at Close game state (behind by a goal, Tied and up by a goal)

Tied = the shots differential at Tied Game State (only shots when the game was tied)

Shots Differential: League Positions 6-10

6) Everton

Everton were a pretty good shots team at Close and Total, they consistently outshot the opposition save for one notable blip close to the end of the season. The curious thing about Everton's chart is their stagnation at Tied game state which is free of score effects. Everton's shots +/- number at tied is as close as you can get to a pure statistic and it shows that Everton reached  a certain level (+60) and then proceeded to neither out-shoot or be out-shot for the remaining 18 games of the season. Strange.

7) Liverpool

Two things happened with Liverpool: Coutinho's arrival (Sturridge too) coincided with Liverpool really picking up their shots +/- at Tied and Close; secondly, after a tough start Liverpool were a pretty good Total shots +/- team. Game 15 seems to be the point when Liverpool began to hammer the weak teams. Liverpool's superiority at non-crucial game states is evident in how superior their Total shots +/-  is when compared to Close. There was an element of the flat track bully to Liverpool. Coutinho and Sturridge improved this team.

8) West Brom

Liverpool were the last positive shots differential team in 2012/13. It's all negative differentials from here on out. That probablytells us something about the quality gap between the top 7 and the rest.. West Brom's rolling differential is a little bumpy but it was always in the range of 0 to -60. That huge dent in every one of West Brom's shot differential lines is caused by Tottenham and Gareth Bale's Blitzkreig

9) Swansea

Schizophrenia. Swansea's chart is just all over the place. Peaks and falls throughout the season. This may be caused by injuries to certain players or it may be simply due to Swansea's that Swansea were overmatched by certain quality opposition.

10) West Ham

These aren't great shots differentials for a team who finished in the top half of the table. I gues we could say Tied shots +/- at least stabilized in the second half of the season. West Ham's Close and Total shots +/- were, more or less, on the slide all season which suggests that they were consistently outmatched against established PL teams. If West Ham strengthen they should be able to stem the bleed that happened on the above chart.

Up Next: The rest of the league