Questioning the Numbers- Post Chivas Look at Stats

No RSL fan can really complain about the result that came from the Home Depot Center Sunday night. A blowout 4-1 win and 3 points on the road is really all that could have been hoped for.

The match does offer an interesting case study into my team goals stat that I have been using. The basic theory behind my stat is that everyone one on the field should get credit when the team scores a goal, not just the players that get the goal or the assists. The stat should show how well the team plays while that player is on the field.

My problem comes from the play of Luis Gil. Now I won't say that he played really bad, it was more to the fact that he was invisible to me on the field. Other than the one break away that he and Robbie Findley handled so poorly, I can't really tell you much more of anything that he did. The stats show that he had 21 completed passes as well as a shot on goal but none of that stands out in my memory. But he was on the field for three of the four goals scored. His minutes per team goal (MpTG)  number dropped from 104.75 to 83.82.  Does this show a flaw in my stat where the team scored despite Gil not playing great? Or does it prove my stat where Gil was contributing by doing the little things that I didn't notice to help the team to score three times? Those are questions that I will have to ponder.

Here are some other interesting stats coming out of the Chivas match

• The team is now averaging a goal every 68.82 minutes. After the L.A. match that number was at 115.71.
• The Plata/Sandoval forward pairing has played the most minutes together at 310. Their MpTG is now at 51.67 which is fourth for all forward pairings on our team. The Saborio/Findley paring has played the second most minutes with 224. That pairing has not scored a goal together yet.
• Going into the match, Findley's MpTG was 328. By being on the field for the last two goals, his MpTG has dropped to 118.33.
• Sandoval still leads the team in MpTG. It dropped again going from a goal every 50.22 minutes to a goal every 46.82 minutes. He is now third among the forwards in minutes played behind Plata and Saborio.
• Both Grabavoy and Beckerman have been on the field for 15 of the team's 17 goals.