Romelu Lukaku

Everton’s 2016/17 Statistical Summary

Bradley Cates Team Stats , , , , , , , ,
Home  Everton in the Premier League Away
43 Points 18
13 Wins 4
4 Draws 6
2 Losses 9
42 Goals Scored 20
16 Goals Conceded 28
8 Clean Sheets 5
277 Shots 225
111 Shots On Target 80
55% Shot Accuracy % 47%
21% Conversion Rate % 12%
209 Chances Created 185
13 Games Everton Scored First 6
6 Games Opponents Scored First 11
9 Leading At Half-Time 1
2 Losing At Half-Time 8
4/45 Points Lost From Winning Positions 7/21
11/21 Points Earned From Losing Positions 5/36

Shot accuracy and conversion rate exclude blocked shots.

Team Stats

  • Everton have won 13 home games in the Premier League this season – as many as the previous two seasons combined.
  • Everton have earned 43 points at Goodison Park this season – the most since 1989/90 (45).
  • Everton have earned 18 points away from home this season – the fewest since 2003/04 (10).
  • Everton have earned 25 more points at home than away – the biggest points differential between home and away records in a season since 1989/90 (31).
  • Everton scored only 25 league goals at Goodison Park in the whole of 2016. Everton had already bettered that tally in 2017 by scoring their 26th on April 9th.
  • Everton’s 4-0 win over Manchester City was the first time the club had two teenage goalscorers in a game (Tom Davies and Ademola Lookman) since James Vaughan and Victor Anichebe scored against Fulham in 2007.
  • January 2017 was the first time Everton went through an entire calendar month with a 100% record without conceding a goal in the league since November 2002.
  • Everton have scored 18 goals in the final 10 minutes of Premier League games – no other team has scored more.
  • Everton have conceded 6 goals in the opening 10 minutes of Premier League games – only Hull (7) have conceded more.
  • Everton have made 9 goalline clearances in the Premier League this season – more than any other team.
  • There is a 20-goal difference between Everton’s top 2 goalscorers in the league this season (Romelu Lukaku – 25, Ross Barkley – 5) – the biggest difference since there was a 21-goal difference in 1977/78 (Bob Latchford – 30, Duncan McKenzie – 9).

Player Stats

  • Romelu Lukaku has scored 25 league goals this season – more than any other Everton player in a single season in the Premier League era, and the most since Gary Lineker scored 30 in the 1985/86 First Division. It is also the 2nd highest tally in the Premier League this season (after Harry Kane, who scored 29).
  • Romelu Lukaku is the 6th player in Everton’s history to score 25+ goals in all competitions in successive seasons (after Bert Freeman, Dixie Dean, Tommy Lawton, Roy Vernon and Bob Latchford).
  • Romelu Lukaku is the 4th player in Everton’s history to score 20+ goals in all competitions in 3 consecutive seasons (after Dixie Dean, Roy Vernon and Bob Latchford).
  • Romelu Lukaku has scored more league goals than any other Everton player in the Premier League era (68).
  • Romelu Lukaku is the first Everton player to score two hat-tricks in a league season since Tony Cottee in 1992/93.
  • Romelu Lukaku has had 55 shots on target in the Premier League this season – only Harry Kane (58) has had more.
  • Romelu Lukaku has scored 24 goals excluding penalties in the Premier League this season – no other player has scored more (Harry Kane also 24).
  • Romelu Lukaku has scored 20 goals from open play in the Premier League this season – more than any other player.
  • Romelu Lukaku is the only player in the Premier League this season to score 5+ goals with his left foot, right foot and head (12, 7 and 6 respectively).
  • Romelu Lukaku has scored 9 goals in the final 10 minutes of Premier League games this season – 3 more than any other player.
  • Maarten Stekelenburg’s penalty saves against Manchester City made him only the 2nd goalkeeper in Everton’s history to save 2 penalties in the same game (after Tommy Fern against Sunderland in 1921).
  • Maarten Stekelenburg’s penalty saves came within the space of 27 minutes. He has made as many penalty saves in 27 minutes as 5 Premier League teams has made in the entire season (including Everton) and more than the other 15.
  • Maarten Stekelenburg has made as many goalkeeping errors leading to a goal as clean sheets in the Premier League this season (3).
  • Idrissa Gueye has made 136 successful tackles in the Premier League this season – more than any other player. It is also the 2nd highest amount of successful tackles in the top 5 European leagues (after Sporting Gijon’s Sergio Alvarez, who made 144).
  • Idrissa Gueye scored his first Everton goal against Sunderland – exactly like his namesake Magaye Gueye.
  • Ross Barkley is the first player to score Everton’s first and last home game of the season since Graeme Sharp in 1983/84.
  • Ross Barkley has created 84 chances in the Premier League this season – 24 more than any other English player.
  • Phil Jagielka was the first Everton defender to score in 3 consecutive games (against Manchester United, Leicester and Burnley) since Dave Watson (against Liverpool, West Ham and Manchester United) in 1991.
  • Phil Jagielka was the first Everton defender to score in 3 consecutive league games since Billy Cook (against Blackpool and Derby twice) in 1938.
  • Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s goal against Hull made him the first Everton player with a double-barrelled surname (i.e. hyphenated) to score in a game in any format since John Eyton-Jones scored in a friendly against Burnley in March 1888.
  • Morgan Schneiderlin’s goal against West Brom made him the first Everton number 2 to score in a competitive game since Steve Watson scored a hat-trick against Leeds United in September 2003.
  • Before this season, no player has scored multiple own goals for Everton in the Premier League. Now, there are two (Shay Given and Ryan Shawcross).
  • Leighton Baines’ goal against Southampton was his 23rd from a penalty – no other player has scored more penalties for the club (Trevor Steven and David Unsworth also 23).

Romelu Lukaku and His Critics

Bradley Cates Reports , ,

On February 25th, Romelu Lukaku became Everton’s joint-highest goalscorer in the Premier League by scoring in Everton’s 2-0 win over Sunderland. His tally of 60 goals equals Duncan Ferguson’s record. In recent months, Everton fans have been disputing who was the better player: Lukaku or Ferguson. But should there really be a dispute in the first place?

Pro-Ferguson fans have said Lukaku doesn’t have the passion Ferguson had and Lukaku is “lazy”. It’s not only pro-Ferguson Evertonians who have been criticising Lukaku – former teammate Leon Osman said before Christmas that Lukaku only wants to score goals.

Despite his critics, a lot of fans believe Romelu Lukaku is Everton’s greatest player in the Premier League era – and the facts back that up.

  • He has scored 10+ league goals in 4 consecutive seasons – the first Everton player to do so since Adrian Heath did it in 5 consecutive seasons (1982/83-1986/87), and the first Everton striker to do so since Bob Latchford, who also did it in 5 consecutive seasons (1974/75-1978/79).
  • He has scored 15+ league goals in 2 consecutive seasons – the first Everton player to do so since Graeme Sharp in the 1984/85 and 1985/86 seasons.
  • He has scored a goal every 2.15 games – the best goals-per-game ratio by an Everton player in the Premier League (minimum 10 goals).
  • His goalscoring tallies last season (18) and this season (17) are the two highest by an Everton player in a single Premier League season.

And here is a stats comparison between Lukaku and Duncan Ferguson.

  • Even though Lukaku and Ferguson have both scored 60 Premier League goals, Lukaku reached the tally in 110 fewer games than Ferguson.
  • Lukaku has scored 10+ league goals in all 4 of his seasons at Everton, whereas Ferguson only managed to do so twice in his 10-and-a-half seasons at the club.
  • Lukaku’s top three Premier League season goal tallies were 18, 17 (at time of this post) and 15. Ferguson’s were 11, 10 and 7.
  • Lukaku has scored a goal every 2.15 Premier League games for Everton whereas Ferguson scored a goal every 3.98 Premier League games.
  • In all competitions, Lukaku scored a goal every 1.95 games for Everton whereas Ferguson scored a goal every 3.79 games.

Duncan Ferguson will always have a place in Evertonians’ hearts, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be another Everton player better than him. Even if Romelu Lukaku isn’t as passionate as Ferguson was, does that really matter? Lukaku is only 23 as well, so if Everton manage to keep hold of him for a few more years, Everton will grow and grow. Despite his age, he has scored 77 goals in the Premier League. He can easily score 100 by the end of next season, and he could only get better from there if he carries on the way he has been playing. In fact, he has contributed to 102 goals in the Premier League – 77 goals plus 26 assists. And since the start of last season, Lukaku has contributed to 45 goals in the Premier League – 35 goals plus 10 assists. Everton are really lucky to have him.

For over 20 years, Everton fans have been yearning for a proficient goalscoring striker – and now we have one. So why are people complaining?

Koeman At 10

Bradley Cates Reports , , , , ,

When Ronald Koeman came to Everton, he had a big task on his hands. Morale was low, Everton were underperforming and fans were turning against their club. So, 10 games in, has he made any progress? The short answer is yes.

A Blistering Start

After a competent 1-1 draw against Tottenham, Everton won 5 consecutive games in all competitions. After last season, Everton fans couldn’t wish for a better start. In the Premier League, Everton earned 13 out of a possible 15 points, which (taking goal difference and goals scored into consideration) was their 5th best ever league start (adjusted to 3 points for a win). Also, the club’s 4 league wins showed promise for the future. Before this season, Everton won at least 4 of their opening 5 league games 10 times, eventually finishing in the top 2 seven times. The previous couple of seasons were already looking likely to be eradicated from Everton fans’ minds. And Koeman had seemingly already transformed the team.

martinez-v-koeman

A Slight Dip in Form

Following the League Cup defeat to lower-league Norwich, a defeat to Bournemouth and a draw against Crystal Palace, fans were unhappy with the club’s performances in those games. Some fans were turning against their own players again, and Koeman as well, in spite of a great start to the season.

It is inevitable that a dip in form would take place some time during the season. Ronald Koeman, his brother Erwin and Jan Kluitenberg amongst others had just joined the club, so Everton cannot be expected to be world-beaters overnight.

Because of that dip in form, before the game against Manchester City, fans were worried about how Everton would fare against greater opposition. Evidently, those fans weren’t aware that Ronald Koeman was in charge of a Southampton side that beat Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United the previous season. Nowadays, beating those five teams in a single season is incredibly difficult. Take into consideration as well that Everton earned a point against last season’s title contenders Tottenham when the players were “70% fit”. So Koeman knows how to play against the big teams. And he showed it again after Everton drew to Manchester City 1-1, despite Everton having only 28% possession. He relied on his defence and Stekelenburg and they made him and the fans proud.

The Defence

Last season, Everton’s defence was atrocious. They had lost 20 points from winning positions and conceded 55 goals, 22 of them in the final 30 minutes of the game. It was evident that poor defending and tactics played a massive contribution to Everton’s downfall. But then along came Koeman.

In the Premier League so far, Everton have conceded 6 goals, and the club hasn’t conceded more than one goal in a game. The defence is already showing phenomenal progress. One weakness, however, is aerial defending. 4 of the 6 goals Everton have conceded in the Premier League this season have come from header. In fact, Everton have lost 6 points from winning positions so far this season, all because of conceding headed goals. Since the start of last season, Everton have conceded more headed goals than any other team in the Premier League – a very high 18 goals. So this is a problem Ronald Koeman has to sort out sooner rather than later.

That being said, aerial defending is the Everton defence’s only weakness. One statistical quirk is that Everton have yet to conceded a single goal from a kicked shot inside the area in the Premier League. Overall, they have conceded only one kicked goal in the 8 games in the Premier League so far. So, when the ball is on the ground, Everton’s defence is almost impenetrable.

Statistic Amount PL Rank
Goals Conceded 6 19th
Shots On Target Faced 22 18th
Interceptions 90 17th
Clearances 243 2nd
Shots Blocked 38 5th
Crosses Blocked 28 =1st
Passes Blocked 79 5th
Tackles Attempted 280 2nd
Tackles Won 180 2nd

The stats show that Everton have become more aggressive this season. Last season, they have been a bit soft. In fact, last season, they attempted the second-fewest amount of tackles in the Premier League. So, some aggression was badly needed and, so far, it has paid dividends. Also, Everton have made just one defensive error all season. At this stage last season, they made 7 defensive errors.

 

The Signings

Paul Pogba cost over £90 million. N’Golo Kante cost £30 million. Idrissa Gueye? A measly £7 million. Who has had the better season? Gueye by an absolute lightyear.

So far, Idrissa Gueye has won 43 tackles in the league this season. No player in the top 5 European leagues has won more. The only other player who won as many is Nantes defender Lucas Lima. And Lima played one game more than Gueye! Idrissa Gueye has been everywhere, as shown by his touch maps below.

idrissa-gueye-touch-maps

Ashley Williams has made a bit of an impact, too. His experience, leadership skills and strong defending helped Everton improve their backbone and made him more than just a John Stones replacement. He made 54 clearances (joint-10th highest in the Premier League), and his partnership with Phil Jagielka has become one of the most defensively solid partnerships in the Premier League.

Yannick Bolasie, so far, is a question mark. He has 3 assists to his name (all for goals scored by Romelu Lukaku), however that didn’t stop fans questioning his ability. In the past two games, Yannick Bolasie made 14 crosses, but only one has been successful. In total, only 11 out of 46 crosses have been successful. After Everton paid around £25 million for the winger, one would expect him to be a better crosser.

When Maarten Stekelenburg signed for Everton, fans thought he was going to be the number-two goalkeeper. However, apart from a youngster from Oldham, Everton didn’t sign another goalkeeper. Fans were wary about Stekelenburg, in spite of his experience. He had a bit of a quiet start. However, his own goal didn’t help if he wanted to silence his critics (although, in Stekelenburg’s defence, he was fouled). He did silence his critics in the end by performing a goalkeeping masterclass against Manchester City. He saved two penalties (only the second time ever an Everton goalkeeper saved two penalties in the same game) and two goalbound fingertip saves helped Everton earn a brilliant point. That performance will undoubtedly boost his confidence.

Deadline Day signing Enner Valencia has yet to make much of an impact yet. However, given how well Romelu Lukaku is doing, it is unlikely that he will do.

The Resurgence of Romelu Lukaku

Before this season, Romelu Lukaku had a poor 2016. 3 goals in 18 Premier League games was an abysmal record for a striker. He wanted to leave Everton, however over time, it seems apparent that this was largely down to his strained relationship with Roberto Martinez. But once Everton signed his best mate Yannick Bolasie, he was happy again.

So far, Lukaku has scored 6 goals in the Premier League – only Diego Costa scored more with 7. His 11-minute hat-trick against Sunderland was the fastest by an Everton player since 1980. And he is one goal away from becoming the third Everton player to score 50 goals in the Premier League. He is happy at Everton again, and thanks to Koeman and Bolasie, it looks like he will be staying at Everton for a little while.

Conclusion

A solid start for Everton. Ronald Koeman, Idrissa Gueye and Ashley Williams instantly made themselves at home, while Maarten Stekelenburg has just finished decorating and Yannick Bolasie is still deciding on which wallpaper to use. Everton’s tally of 15 points after 8 games is their joint-best tally in the Premier League era. Which season did they also reach that tally after 8 games? The 2013/14 season, where they ended up with a record-breaking 72 points.

The signs are looking good. Let’s hope the players keep their heads screwed on and there won’t be any bad injuries.

How Important Is Romelu Lukaku?

Bradley Cates Reports ,

Romelu Lukaku’s future at Everton is uncertain as he has told the media that he would like to play for a club that can win trophies and play in the Champions League. So how important is he for Everton? Here is a statistical analysis of Romelu Lukaku in the Premier League in the past three seasons.

2013/14 Season

2014/15 Season

2015/16 Season

Summary

Other Key Stats

  • Everton’s top goalscorer in the past three seasons.
  • Scored in 7 consecutive matches in all the 2015/16 Premier League – the most in the league since Bob Latchford scored in 7 consecutive matches in the 1975/76 First Division.
  • Scored against 11 different teams in the 2015/16 Premier League – the most by an Everton player since Paul Rideout scored against 12 in the 1994/95 Premier League.
  • Romelu Lukaku has scored only 3 goals in his past 18 league games.
  • Romelu Lukaku has scored 18 goals in the league and 25 in all competitions in the 2015/16 season – the most since Gary Lineker scored 30 and 40 respectively in the 1985/86 season.
  • Romelu Lukaku has scored 61 goals in 127 games in all competitions – a goals-per-game ratio of 0.48 (joint-fifth highest with Bob Latchford).

Judging by the stats given, Romelu Lukaku is Everton’s most important attacking player. Without him, it is very likely that Everton would have been in dire straits, particularly as Everton did not have another striker in the same league as him and they also had a very weak defence. So if Romelu Lukaku does leave Everton, the club needs to sign a well-renowned striker with a great goalscoring record in one of the top 5 European leagues as soon as possible. Otherwise, relegation is on the cards. Ross Barkley and Gerard Deulofeu, to name a couple, are great players and can play a key part for Everton, but without a reliable striker, none of that would matter.

However, this all depends on who the next Everton manager will be and/or whether Romelu Lukaku will change his mind and wants to stay. The 2016/17 season will definitely be Everton’s most important season in a very long time.