Super Saver alternative league: Which keepers are worth keeping?
Tim Howard
Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas one and all. This is truly the most wonderful time of the year, and we have had quite a few presents so far. Our shots on target league, which you can view below, shows just how crucial some of the goalkeepers have been this season, and it may just highlight who will be hot property when the January sales, sorry transfer window, opens.
Jack Butland continues to show his importance to Stoke, despite a less than stellar weekend, while Tim Howard appears to be helping prevent Everton from sliding down the table. We can say that their clubs owe a lot to these super savers, maybe even a new contract or two…
Another club who would be struggling if it weren’t for their keeper, and he has been important for the past few seasons now, is David de Gea. The United shot stopper was the story of the summer, will he or won’t he go to Real Madrid. Thankfully for Manchester United fans he remains at the club and is almost single-handedly keeping them in the top five in the actual table. United’s miserable season could have been even worse if it weren’t for some of the tremendous saves he has made.
Without further ado, here is the alternative league table, and what a difference it still is to the actual league table.
| Team | W | D | L | Shots on target + | Shots on target – | Shots + / – |
Pts | League table + / – |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 3 | 1 | 107 | 55 | 52 | 42 | 3 |
| Man City | 12 | 3 | 2 | 110 | 47 | 63 | 39 | 1 |
| Arsenal | 11 | 3 | 3 | 100 | 62 | 38 | 36 | -1 |
| Leicester | 10 | 3 | 4 | 86 | 73 | 13 | 33 | -3 |
| Liverpool | 9 | 4 | 4 | 81 | 50 | 31 | 31 | 4 |
| Crystal Palace | 10 | 1 | 6 | 81 | 71 | 10 | 31 | 0 |
| S’hampton | 9 | 3 | 5 | 80 | 59 | 21 | 30 | 5 |
| West Ham | 8 | 2 | 7 | 76 | 76 | 0 | 26 | 0 |
| B’mouth | 7 | 5 | 5 | 73 | 70 | 3 | 26 | 5 |
| Watford | 7 | 2 | 8 | 68 | 65 | 3 | 23 | -3 |
| Man Utd | 6 | 4 | 7 | 61 | 58 | 3 | 22 | -6 |
| Swansea | 6 | 4 | 7 | 65 | 69 | -4 | 22 | 6 |
| Chelsea | 7 | 1 | 9 | 74 | 84 | -10 | 22 | 2 |
| West Brom | 5 | 3 | 9 | 50 | 70 | -20 | 18 | -1 |
| Newcastle | 5 | 3 | 9 | 57 | 96 | -39 | 18 | 2 |
| Norwich | 5 | 2 | 10 | 63 | 76 | -13 | 17 | 0 |
| Everton | 3 | 6 | 8 | 79 | 88 | -9 | 15 | -7 |
| Stoke City | 3 | 4 | 10 | 53 | 73 | -20 | 13 | -7 |
| Aston Villa | 3 | 1 | 13 | 51 | 86 | -35 | 10 | 1 |
| Sunderland | 2 | 1 | 14 | 58 | 106 | -48 | 7 | -1 |
The table above also reminds us that statistics can’t hide how badly some teams have been this season. Aston Villa and Sunderland have struggled all season, and their keepers don’t seem to be much help for them as the shots are ploughing in on goal. Perhaps Santa can give them a defence for Christmas to help stem the attack.
I will be back later in the week with my predictions, so you have one more dose of Bob Friendly before Christmas!