Saul Goodman wrote:Our record this season with Gundogan starting is 53% while its 80% when he doesnt start.
There are of course other things (like opponent) to factor in but its an interesting stat
Sorry Saul. I mean no disrespect, but you know this is a mostly meaningless stat out of context that's red meat to all his detractors.
There are many other variables to consider....HOWEVER....
One cannot deny Gundo did not have his best season and we need better from him.
WhoScored.com says he had a 6.70 rating for the PL in 20 starts and 10 off the bench. That's ranked 17th for the entire team. That is below Angelino, Otamendi and Mendy.
That's poor for a potential starting player on a top club. He had 1 assist and 2 goals. Last season he was given MOTM 2 times. This? None. He fared far better in CL with their average of 7.33 in 7 appearances.
https://www.whoscored.com/Players/77464 ... 3%BCndogan
https://understat.com/player/314His xA (Expected assists) per 90 minutes dropped from last season to .13 from .21 despite his xA being better than the actual output.
However, it's worthy to note that what some of us who defend Gundo constantly bring up to defend him is also supported by the stats.
The graph shows how his skill in xBuildup per 90 min "build up play" and xChain per 90min (which is xG that came from possessions he was involved with) is evident.
His xBuildup is .68 per 90 compared to the average of .23 per 90.
His xChain per 90 was .86 to the average of .34
He actually improved slightly compared to 2018-19 in both xBuildup and xChain.
Even though his assists dropped his xBuildup stats remain amongst the best in the league.
The contention of some who defend him is that build up play comes from his ball retention skills but we don't often see so clearly and is underrated by the average eye test compared to those who contend it as vital to success.
Yaya was a master of it along with Silva and was why we had so many attacking situations.Now both are gone. Gundo is up there along with Foden and Bernardo who both have a ridiculous first touch, but more more rapidly and don't slow the play down as much when needed.
Oddly enough Silva's lack of respect for much of his City career was similarly maligned by the reasons we slate Gundo. Silva's turns and other attributes have made him loved, but we may need Gundo next season as a similar protector of the ball.
As some have said, playing Gundo with Rodri and I also contend Silva, plus our frantic defenders led all of their weaknesses to become more glaring than they should.
All of those three lack pace that clearly caused us all sorts of problems against a lot of opposition when we are already a side vulnerable to counter attacks given how high of a line we have and intent to attack.
He'll play more at the 6 next year and we will have more pace and stability in the back line. With that I suspect you will find his skills more useful.
Remember, his ball retention skills is one of the reasons he almost always plays against teams that press high.