Blog Post 7: Prince Harry (MW 30)

Throughout every Premier League season, there are many players who surprise people by how well they perform. Last year there was Luis Suarez, who had high expectations, but outplayed his expectations by shattering many records despite his suspension for the season's first ten games. Last year there was also Adam Lallana, (who, this year, was purchased by Liverpool with a portion of the money gained from their sale of Suarez to Barcelona) who was a player struggling to find success at Southampton, but greatly outdid the small expectations put on him.

This year, Harry Kane has risen to the top of the Premier League, but much differently than Suarez or Lallana did last year. Kane, who is just 21 years of age, was not expected to do much for Tottenham this year. Despite this, he was still a player who was looked at positively because of the bright future he was thought to have. Kane has broken into the spotlight by averaging nearly a goal a game in the Premier League and earning himelf the nickname, "Prince Harry" as well as comparisons to Jesus.

Prince Harry (pictured as Jesus) as his Tottenham teammates and manager hail his goal-scoring ability

Player of the Week:

Harry Kane (Striker, Tottenham)

This week, Harry Kane finally put in his first Premier League hat-trick, which seems like it took a while because of the high rate he has been scoring at. He dominated lowly Leicester's back line to lead Spurs to a narrow 4-3 victory. I estimate his match rating should be between 9 and 10.

The responsibilities of a striker are very simple: to score and to set up goals. Without any defensive responsibilities, these are the only two things a striker is worried about on the pitch. These are the stats I think show how a striker's responsibilities are fulfilled (Kane v Leicester):

• Goals (3)
• Shots (4)
• Shots on target (3)
• Assists (0)
• Key passes (0)
• Passes (34)
• Pass completion percentage (73.5%)
• Dribbles (2)
• Dispossessions (7)
• Unsuccessful touches (4)

via WhoScored

To put each stat into a percentage, I grouped them into three categories: shooting, passing, dribbling.

Percentages (weight in formula):

• shots on target + goals(x2) / shot: 225% (40%)
• assist + key pass / pass: 0% (30%)
• pass completion percentage: 73.5% (10%)
• dribbles / dispossession + unsuccessful touch: 18.18% (20%)

Step-by-Step:

1. 225 X 0.4 = 90
2. 0 X 0.3 = 0
3. 73.5 X 0.1 = 7.35
4. 18.18 X 0.2 = 3.64
5. 90 + 0 + 7.35 + 3.64 = 100.99
6. 100.99 ÷ 10.5 = 9.6

Kane's Rating: 9.6

To verify:

Olivier Giroud (Striker, Arsenal)

After watching Arsenal's narrow victory over Newcastle, I feel Giroud's match rating should be between 7.5 and 9

• shots on target + goals(x2) / shot: 200% (40%)
• assist + key pass / pass: 2.6% (30%)
• pass completion percentage: 81.6% (10%)
• dribbles / dispossession + unsuccessful touch: 0% (20%)

Step-by-Step:

1. 200 X 0.4 = 80
2. 2.6 X 0.3 = 0.79
3. 81.6 X 0.1 = 8.16
4. 0 X 0.2 = 0
5. 80 + 0.79 + 8.16 + 0 = 88.95
6. 88.95 ÷ 10.5 = 8.47

Giroud's Rating: 8.47