Cluster 2- Poachers
Where We Left Off:
Poachers: What makes them different?
Players from cluster 2 are exactly as they sound: poachers. Aside from scoring goals (which they are quite good at), these players don’t offer much in terms of creation, build-up play, or defense. Their shot-creating actions, progressive carries, key passes, players dribbled past, xA, and touches per 90 all shed light on their lack of involvement in possession/build-up and inability to create for both themselves and others (with the ball at their feet). However, their high number of progressive passes received and touches in the attacking penalty area per 90 could signal an ability for these players to create with their off-ball movement and why they seem to always be in the right place at the right time.
Disclaimer
All the statistics used can be found on fbref. Keep in mind that specific players’ key stats and age may have changed slightly since the writing (not publishing) of this article.
Strengths (cluster rank):
npxG per 90 (2)
npG per 90 (3)
touches (att pen) per 90 (2)
progressive passes received per 90 (3)
Weaknesses (cluster rank):
progressive carries per 90 (16)
players dribbled past per 90 (11)
touches per 90 (18)
shot-creating actions per 90 (8)
xA per 90 (8)
key passes per 90 (10)
Notable Cluster 2 Players
Paco Alcacer
Team: Villarreal CF
FBREF Position: FW (Forward)
Key Stats:
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
Team: Arsenal FC
FBREF Position: FW-MF (Forward)
Key Stats:
Martin Braithwaite
Team: FC Barcelona
FBREF Position: FW-MF (Forward)
Key Stats:
Notable Young Talents (u23)
Kasper Dolberg
Team: OGC Nice
FBREF Position: FW (Forward)
Age: 23
Key Stats:
