We were genuinely shocked to see an article this morning slaughtering Scott Arfield as ‘letting Steven Gerrard down’ and suggesting he’ll be dropped for the next one.
It was a sponsored article, in truth, promoting a stats site, and the author was determined to find negative stats and put a spin on them to indicate how ‘rotten’ he was.
On the lad’s 33rd birthday, this really was misguided, and plain wrong.
So at Ibrox Noise we’re going to right that wrong and demonstrate how great he was yesterday, and how his presence made all the difference in Rangers’ vastly superior performance.
For a start, he rarely wasted a pass – 88% passing rate for a mobile mid constantly linking up is a stunning return and shows how few times he lost the ball.
The article also claimed he won few duels and few aerials, when that has never been Arfield’s key strength anyway.
Furthermore, the claim was made that he was weak defensively, when in fact he made the joint top number of interceptions in a Rangers shirt, and worked hard at closing down, committing a few fouls.
He was also apparently rotten as an attacking force, despite one shot and one dribble, and not being dispossessed once in the whole 90. He didn’t waste the ball a single time.
Last but not least he was whined at for just a 50% long ball accuracy, when many in the side were way worse and only a few were better.
But the key stat here is not the numbers, it’s the intangible stat of ‘impact’.
Scott Arfield’s presence clearly lifted everyone on that pitch – even those who didn’t have such good games still looked more energised by Arfield and players who have been off the pace (Davis, Kamara) looked 10x better for his movement, his leadership, and his sheer aura.
We’re not saying Arfield is the world’s best player, but his importance to Rangers cannot be understated, and sites using stats to portray him as dreadful really aren’t showing the true picture.
No Surrender Scotty, and Happy Birthday.
What a lot of bollocks that is. Granted, his contribution on the ball wasn’t up to much in the first half, but we have badly missed that movement. First game I’ve seen this season where the midfield moved as a unit, pressed together and constant passing in triangles. Neither of which have been evident in Scottys absence. Davis and Kamara had their best games this season next to him.
After dropping points to the sheep, I was anticipating a tough season with septic up our arses, but their bubble has been burst again, get it right up them!!
The difference Arfield makes is always really noticeable not just for what he does but ho he allows freedom for others with his clever movement. All the stats you quoted point to a player who had a pretty decent return for his efforts and that is him after a few cameos all season. The fact that he was given a start in a match that was a potential banana skin shows that Gerrard had every faith in selecting him despite a lack of minutes. I’d love to see him more involved because he loves the club and knows what it means to wear the colours and would be happy to see him get another year though that seems unlikely.
Stats are a load of nonsense. I could stand in the middle of the pitch and pass the ball backwards and sideways (as we often do) all day and get 100% pass rate but do absolutely nothing for the team. The performance, the pace, the forward movement, the attitude were all very much better. That may just be a coincidence but I for sure want Arfield in the team next week. Don’t forget he was well short of match practice and will only get better. And at his best and playing every week he’s probably good for 10 goals a season. I’ve always thought Arfield was written off too soon by many.
Bang on the money.
Good article.
Comments are closed.