Cluster 3- Creators

Nov 04, 2021

Creators: What makes them different?

We’ve made it to cluster 3, my favorite cluster: creators. These players are creation hubs for their teams, yielding high numbers of shot-creating actions, xA, and key passes per 90. On top of their ability to create for teammates, they thrive at creating for themselves. They’re excellent dribblers (with the highest number of players dribbled past per 90 of all the clusters), seemingly able to create chances out of thin air with their threat off the dribble and monumental gravity, making them a constant danger to opposing teams both on and off the ball.

To top it all off, creators are excellent goal-scorers as well, using their self-creation and ability to get into dangerous areas to rack up the second most npG per 90 (on average) of all the clusters. The only knock on these players is their below-average defensive activity. They have both subpar press attempts and tackles won per 90, which is to be expected based on the load they carry for their teams on the offensive end. It’s also important to note (as mentioned in the cluster 1 article) that these numbers can be slightly misleading as pressures can be influenced by style of play and other factors.

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. If you are subscribed to the newsletter and the email isn’t reaching your inbox, you may want to add my email (dcsajdak@gmail.com) as a contact to prevent it from going to spam or promotions.