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How important is Fowler to Liverpool's strikeforce?

Robbie Fowler has played in 12 Premiership matches this season and completed only 90 minutes once, averaging just 28 minutes per appearance. Since his return he has played just 1444 minutes which is the equivalent of just over 16 full games at an average 47 minutes per appearance.

Fowler Minutes Played

MinutesGoalsAppearancesg/a
Full 90 6 4 1.500
60-89 6 12 0.500
10-31 0 9 0
0-9 1 6 0.167



 

 


- Most of Fowler’s goals have come when he has played 60+ minutes – 12 out of his 13 overall (92.31%). He has scored 6 goals in the 4 appearances where he has played the full 90 minutes and 2 goals in 2 appearances where he’s played 80+ minutes.

- When given less than 33 minutes Fowler scores just 1 goal in 15 appearances compared with 12 goals in 16 appearances at 0.750 goals per appearance when he plays 60+ minutes. The obvious conclusion is Fowler should be playing 80+ minutes more often and while resting him frequently is a good idea, he is being underused.

Liverpool Strikers - Overall Records

#PlayerGoalsAppearancesg/a
1 Fowler* 13 31 0.419
2 Crouch 26 87 0.299
3 Kuyt 10 37 0.270
4 Bellamy 9 34 0.265










*Since Fowler's return last season

Fowler has much less opportunity and no run of games to speak of. Despite some saying he is past it and despite limited chances, Fowler has a pretty handy scoring record not far off a goal every other game since his return. The other three strikers average less than 3 goals for every 10 appearances.

Scoring Records Vs Teams By Current League Position
 
Premiership Top 4

#PlayerGoalsAppearancesg/a
1 Kuyt 2 6 0.333
2 Fowler 1 3 0.333
3 Crouch 2 16 0.125
4 Bellamy 0 6 0.000










Premiership 5-10

#PlayerGoalsAppearancesg/a
1 Fowler 5 9 0.556
2 Kuyt 4 10 0.400
3 Crouch 4 20 0.200
4 Bellamy 1 6 0.167










Premiership 11-20

#PlayerGoalsAppearancesg/a
1 Bellamy 6 12 0.500
2 Crouch 10 26 0.385
3 Fowler 4 13 0.308
4 Kuyt 4 13 0.308









 
Other (Europe/Rest Of World/Lower Divisions)

#PlayerGoalsAppearancesg/a
1 Fowler 3 6 0.500
2 Crouch 10 25 0.400
3 Bellamy 2 10 0.200
4 Kuyt 0 8 0.000










- Crouch has played each and every one of the other current Premiership clubs, scoring 16 goals in 62 appearances (0.258 goals/appearance).

- Fowler's 3 games against Top 4 opposition all came against Arsenal. Remember of course Fowler's Premiership appearances have been pretty brief in general, which makes the above even more remarkable.

- Bellamy has yet to score against Chelsea, Arsenal or Man Utd.

- Kuyt has scored against Chelsea and Arsenal but has yet to score in Europe in 7 appearances.

Home And Away


Home

#PlayerGoalsAppearancesg/a
1 Fowler 7 16 0.438
2 Kuyt 8 19 0.421
3 Crouch 13 45 0.289
4 Bellamy 3 14 0.214
 








Away

 
#PlayerGoalsAppearancesg/a
1 Fowler 6 15 0.400
2 Bellamy 6 20 0.300
3 Crouch 10 38 0.263
4 Kuyt 2 18 0.111








- While Liverpool’s away form has been at best inconsistent it appears clear that the pecking order is questionable. All bar Bellamy have a good scoring record at home, away from home Kuyt looks as though his lack of goals may have some bearing on Liverpool’s away form.

- Crouch has played 4 games at neutral venues including the Club World Championship, scoring 3 goals in 4 appearances – including a brace against Deportivo Saprissa.

Liverpool Results When Strikers Play

#PlayerPWDLFAWin %Lost %
1 Fowler 31 21 4 6 60 29 67.77% 19.35%
2 Kuyt 37 23 4 10 61 26 62.16% 27.03%
3 Crouch 87 53 15 19 144 74 60.92% 21.84%
4 Bellamy 34 19 6 9 53 28 55.88% 26.47%










When X scoresPlayedWonDrawnLost
Crouch 21 20 1 0
Fowler 11 8 1 2
Kuyt 9 8 0 1
Bellamy 8 6 1 1


  







- Crouch has a remarkable record that Liverpool never lose when he scores, however 26 goals in 87 games is too thinly spread for that to be too significant a statistic and a lot of his goals come against opposition Liverpool would have beaten anyway.

- Liverpool lose around 1 in 10 games when Kuyt plays, eight of those losses coming against Top 10 Premiership opposition and five of those against the Top 4. However his scoring record of nearer a goal every four games than a goal every three games is worrying.

What Happens When They Don’t Score?

If you don’t score you can’t win, obviously midfielders and defenders can score, but the primary job of your strikers is to score goals.

When X played and didn't scorePlayedWinDrawnLostW%L%
Crouch 66 33 14 19 50% 28.79%
The team failed to score 22 times (33.33%) and lost 13 times (19.70%)
Fowler
20 13 3 4 65% 20%
The team failed to score 5 times (25.00%) and lost 3 times (15.00%)
Kuyt
28 15 4 9 53.57% 32.14%
The team failed to score 10 times (35.71%) and lost 6 times (21.43%)
Bellamy
26 13 5 8 50% 30.77%
The team failed to score 7 times (26.92%) and lost 4 times (15.38%


- Fowler’s figures will invariably be affected by the limited appearance time he gets, coming on when the game is all but done a lot of the time.

- The other strikers have a fairly consistent record that when they don’t score then Liverpool lose 3 in 10 and win 5 in 10. Of course with two strikers on the pitch if one doesn’t score then it doesn’t mean the other can’t. But if neither striker scores then you have a problem.

- The four strikers between them have scored 58 goals - 50 scored during wins, 3 in draws and 5 scored in defeat. While statistics may not tell the whole story they also don't lie. Top quality strikers will have good records and not so good strikers will have poor ones.

- Fowler's stats show how his decent scoring record is maintained despite being fourth choice and without the time on the pitch to improve it.

Copyright - Alex for LFChistory.net

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