Stumbled over something interesting (to me at least) regarding young Baz. We all have our opinions, is he good? Is he rubbish? Does this photo add to the post? Or is it unnecessary? And so on.
But looking here
http://www.squawka.com/players/barry-bannan I was horrified to discover this simple key fact.
Of the 24 appearances Barry made last season - he created 34 chances. A nice simple stat that. But it gets more concerning when you look at the rest of the Villa's mighty midfield.
Westwood the wizard managed to create 33 chances from 30 appearances. Delph's numbers are 13 chances from 24. Charlie N'Zog made 22 from his 21. And Kareem managed only 13 from his 20.
If you are so inclined - there are stats for everything - you can look at miles run - pass success rates - number of headers - times ball played with left knee and so on and so on.
But I am a simple man. And this simple stat of chances created tells me Villa are about to sell the very player for whom so many are calling. A creative number 10.
For instance - Mikel Arteta - surely we can all agree he is a fine creative player? His figures - 25 chances created from 34 games. Less than Baz.(LtB)
What about Ryan Giggs? 24 from 22. LtB.
Super Frankie Lampard? 31 from 29. LtB.
I don't care if you are a Bannan fan or a Bannan hater - the numbers do not lie. If Bannan is to go - then we need a creative midfield player who is at least his equal in creating chances to come in.
Barry is a handful.
To illustrate my points - both of them - here is a picture.
What would Villa be like without the double B?
