Super Saver: Why it pays to have a good backup keeper

Bob Friendly
By Bob Friendly Posted in Super Saver
March 9th, 2016

super-saver-hugo-loris-tottenham

Just nine more games to go. Nine! It is such a nerve-racking time of the season, unless you are stuck in mid-table mediocrity. This is looking to be one of the tightest fought Premier League seasons ever. Certainly I struggle to remember a more exciting, exhilarating time, and I have been around the game for far too long.

You have to feel sorry for anyone who plays Tottenham and its super saver Hugo Lloris (pictured). According to our stats they are averaging nearly seven shots on target a game. Good job Arsenal had super saver David Ospina in the net, especially with Petr Cech injured. The Colombian saved nine shots at the weekend, helping earn the Gunners a point, and keep them in the title race. If it wasn’t for their keepers, they wouldn’t even be in the Champions League spots just now.

If only the teams at the bottom had these keepers saving their bacon. Only Stoke can really be thankful for their shot stopper. Newcastle in particular won’t be impressed with the performances of all of their keepers. Our stats show they have helped cost the Magpies four league places, and as a result are sitting in the relegation zone with not very many games left to play.

How the alternative league table works

Here at Scottish Friendly we thought we would highlight just how important keepers are to a team, after all they are savers in their own right! We imagine each game without keepers and take the number of shots on target by each team as the result. By looking at it this way, we can see which goalies have been busy winning their team points, while also finding out which ones are holding their team back.

Team W D L Shots on target + Shots on target – Shots
+ / –		 Pts League table
+ / –
Tottenham 23 3 3 196 84 112 72 1
Man City 19 4 5 162 86 76 61 2
Liverpool 18 4 6 138 92 46 58 4
Leicester 17 4 8 139 114 25 55 -3
Arsenal 16 5 8 158 122 36 53 -2
Southampton 15 5 9 126 98 28 50 3
West Ham 14 4 11 131 128 3 46 -2
Bournemouth 13 6 10 117 112 5 45 6
Chelsea 14 2 13 127 126 1 44 1
Man United 11 6 12 108 100 8 39 -4
West Brom 12 3 14 86 114 -28 39 0
Crystal Palace 11 2 16 116 126 -10 35 3
Swansea 9 7 13 104 125 -21 34 3
Everton 9 6 13 134 132 2 33 -3
Newcastle 10 3 15 103 144 -41 33 4
Watford 9 4 16 98 116 -18 31 -3
Stoke 8 4 17 95 124 -29 28 -9
Norwich 8 3 17 96 130 -34 27 0
Sunderland 6 3 20 105 171 -66 21 -2
Aston Villa 6 2 21 90 144 -54 20 0






The information provided in this article was accurate at the time of publishing and should be read in the context of the date it was published. Views in this article are those of the author alone and do not necessarily represent the view of Scottish Friendly. No advice has been provided by Scottish Friendly. If you are in any doubt as to whether a savings or investment plan is suitable for you, you should contact a financial adviser for advice. If you do not have a financial adviser, you can get details of local financial advisers by visiting www.unbiased.co.uk. Advisers may charge for providing such advice and should confirm any cost beforehand.