Re: Clotet vs Monk – is it really better or worse?
HantsbluenoseMoseleyBlueFWIW thought I’d try and put some much needed facts into this debate.
FTP here – so I hope you don’t mind the long stats overload.
Here goes… This season vs last season to date – 31 games, same weekend, up to and including two great away wins (Bristol this season and QPR last season). Clotet head coach vs Monk manager…
-Points: Clotet 40 Monk 46
-Wins: Clotet and Monk both 11; losses Clotet 13, Monk 7
-Goals: Clotet for 40 against 48; Monk the reverse, for 48 against 40
-Possession: Clotet 47% Monk 39%
-Total shots: Clotet 401 (12.9 a game) Monk 376 (12.1 a game)
-Shots on target: Clotet 120 (3.9 a game) Monk 137 (4.4 a game)
-Minutes with the ball to get a shot on target: Clotet 11 minutes Monk 8 minutes
-Shots on target against us: Clotet 115 Monk 140
-Average gates to date (15 home games): Clotet 20,359 and staying there; Monk was 22,179 at the same stage but rising – this is the first season gates have actually gone down since Clark left.
Monk has it on all the important measures – points, goals for and against, shots on target, minutes per shot and gates. Only overall shots and possession have gone up this season. By my reckoning that extra 8% possession under Clotet has used been used up passing it around in front of the other team or having a few more long shots that don’t threaten. And the defeats number rings true as well, we’ve clearly not been as good tactically in avoiding defeat this season.
Actually I reckon Monk has it a lot more, because Clotet has had better players to pick from despite Monk’s obvious “you’re in or out the tent” mentality; and the gates don’t lie.
This season hasn’t been the full-on brilliant silky football we’d been promised, and that some of the players (Crowley, Sunjic etc) are clearly capable of. We've had the odd superb half of football (Luton home 1st half, Reading 2nd half stand out), but it’s clear it was better last season.
We got the ball forward quicker, we created more goal scoring chances, we scored more goals in front of more fans, and we were harder to beat. With players that on paper, on average, weren’t as good.
Up to this point.
Actually I was a big Monk fan but 31 games is a good point to do these stats. Monk lost the next two after QPR and we dropped off the last 15 games, only 15 points. Can we carry the momentum from the league since Wigan and finish better this season?
442, more solid midfield, more pace up front, and Camp back in goal have been a big difference in the last few weeks. In the league at least. All very… last season.
There you are. Some facts to inform the ‘Clotet as head coach’ in or out debate. As I say hope you don't mind.
The more Clotet sets it up like last season (or the players overrule him to do that – if that’s true), the brighter it looks.
The facts don’t lie. It's not been as good this season but if Clotet and the players can channel their inner Monk (not the end of the season version), we might yet finish strongly.
The two noticeable factors are :-
1) Che Adams ...... more shots at goal under Clotet but less on target and less goals.
2) Goalkeeper errors ..... less shots conceded under Clotet but conceded more goals.
Che Adams was a big loss
Huge loss !! ????????