Swans Shooting Positions by Player

As we've now had 9 games I've started to have a look at some overall season stats for the league and the first one I've looked at is shots.

There's a ton of stats out there but couldn't find anything looking at shots across a season by player rather than individual matches so have put some together myself.

These are available in an interactive presentation here (requires flash) but thought it also worth going through some of the main players in a bit more detail.

Overall, Swansea are 10th in terms of shots per game (120 so far, averaging 13.3 per game), in terms of location, it's a mix of the sensible good quality opportunities for Michu/Bony and then the more speculative from Shelvey (and a couple of once in a lifetime attempts from Chico).

One of the things that stands out is De Guzman's goal (the black circle about 25-30 yards out) being the only one outside the box and that almost all the goals come from pretty central inside the box, the only other exception being Shelvey's goal vs. Liverpool (to the right hand side of the goal).

Overall League shots (the two own goals vs Sunderland aren't included)

Michu has most shots so far with 27 overall, most tend to be in good positions, it's rare for Michu just to have a punt for the sake of it:

Michu's Attempts: Michu's shooting style is quite unusual as he often seems to get lots of power with little backlift which gives goalkeeper's less time to adjust

Next is Bony with 20 attempts, positions have generally been good (1 of the goals was a penalty and the other the good finish vs. Man Utd), 6 of the 20 were headers, and his aerial ability combined with that of Michu offers something extra this season.

Bony's attempts, think we'll see more made of his aerial ability as the season goes on

Next is Shelvey with 13, Jonjo certainly isn't afraid to have a shot (his original miskick that started his goal against Liverpool isn't classed as an attempt).  In terms of positions there's not many in great locations, the two on the right hand side of the box are from his goal vs. Liverpool and most are either from distance and/or not a great angle.

Shelvey arguably the Swansea player most willing to 'have a go' which has brought mixed results so far this season but at least provides something different

Fourth on the list in terms of number of attempts was a bit of a surprise as it's Chico with 12 which is actually as many as Dyer (8) and Routledge (4) combined.

Only 3 of the 12 were from headers and include 3 attempts that you'd describe as 'hopeful' if you were being generous, one day maybe one of these long range thunderbolts will go in (Sunday?) and he'll be able to dine out on it for the rest of his life but are the kind of shots that if you were looking for the 'optimum action' you'd look to keep possession which is where the dilemma comes in between doing the 'best' action and just having a bloody go.

Chico's Attempts: Chico isn't lacking in confidence and certainly has the ability to hit a good shot, his volley vs. Spurs was superb

There's a fine balance between being patient and retaining possession in hope of a better opportunity to come (it also stops the opposition from having the ball) and procrastinating and avoiding having a shot. Cardiff have concede the highest number of shots so far in the league this season (174: 19.3 per game compared to 12.1 by Swansea who are 14th highest) so the game on Sunday will hopefully give us some target practice.

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