Fantastic Bedtime Material
A whole host of data from a league season that lasted forever and a day
The league campaign is finally over, and the data can now be assessed. Below, we’ll take a look at some of the key outcomes for both the team and individual players across the season. So, let’s see where Celtic find themselves when everything is laid out:
The Team:
Finished: 1st (Champions)
82 points which is our joint lowest with 2017/18 as worst points total over the last 10 years (excludes Covid seasons) – It’s also the total I said would 100% win the title back on March the 3rd, hooray for calculators.
Goals scored - 73, the same as 2017/2018
Goals conceded – 41, our worst tally in the last 10 years
Home record – 15/1/3 with 43 goals for and 15 against = 46 points & +28 gd
Away record – 11/3/5 with 30 goals for and 26 against = 36 points & +4 gd
xG total 100.22 vs Goals scored = -27 goals
Yellow Cards – 78 (6th in the league) – Livi top with 91 and Dundee bottom with 53
Red Cards – 2 (10th in the league) – Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs and Killie top with 5 and Rangers and Falkirk bottom with 1
Our rankings vs rest of the league (OPTA data):
Expected points – 1st
Goals for – 2nd (Rangers 1st)
Goals against – 3rd (Hearts 1st)
Possession – 1st
Open Play xG – 1st
Open Play xG against – 1st
Shots taken – 2nd (Rangers 1st)
Shots faced – 1st
Passes Per Defensive Actions (PPDA) – 2nd (Rangers 1st)
High Recoveries – 1st
High Recoveries Against – 7th (Hearts 1st)
Passes into the opposition box – 1st
Set Piece xG – 3rd (Rangers 1st)
Set Piece xG against – 4th (Hearts 1st)
Clean Sheets – 3rd (Motherwell 1st)
As a team there are plenty of positives in terms of where we rank, but there are also some clear concerns, many of which were obvious even without looking at the data.
For me, one of the biggest issues across the season was how often we lost the ball in our own defensive third. We all know there’s an inherent risk there because of the desire to build out from the back, but giving up just under four possessions per game in that area, especially for a side that struggled for clean sheets, is too much.
One of the key things to solve next season is how we tidy up our build-up play and, more importantly, how we become a stronger defensive unit overall.
We ended the season with 13 clean sheets (12 for Schmeichel and 1 for Sinisalo), while Motherwell topped that chart with an incredible 18. Sinisalo played his part for us in the end, but I’m not sure he’s done enough to cement the number 1 spot but that’s a discussion for another day.
Now for those of you who’ve read my posts, and even some of you who’ve had the good or mis-fortune of knowing me, you’ll know I never judge a team or player on data alone….
I’ve always said it’s a good indicator, and it’s great for killing opinions based on nothing more than perception and bias, something I’ve seen and heard a lot of this season from people who support various teams. But even with that, I still put a high value on those two little things rolling around in your head, and the two bits on the side of it that helped Dumbo fly. Incredible things, great for adding colour and sound to the black-and-white outlines that data gives you. That being said, my piece covering our overall performances and my Celtic player rankings will come out later.
This is just purely about the numbers….. so, if you aren’t a numbers person I’d tap out here or read the rest to help you nod off at bedtime. If you are a numbers / data person then I hope you enjoy.
Anyhoo, that little ride off into a little tangent is over, so what about our players, how did they rank in some of the key areas vs the rest (all based on a minimum playing time of 900 mins).
Who was the top marksman and who was shooting blanks….
Top Goalscorer:
League: Tawanda Maswanhise - 17 goals in 35 appearances (Motherwell)
Celtic: Benjamin Nygren – 16 goals in 28 appearances (3rd in the league)
Top Scorer per 90 mins:
League: Youssef Chermiti – 0.68 per 90
Celtic: Benjamin Nygren – 0.58 per 90 (5th in the league)
Goal Conversion (minimum 5 goals+):
League: Ben Broggio and Jeremy Bokila – 33.33% (Falkirk & Livingston)
Celtic: Kieran Tierney – 20.69% (6th in the league)
xG:
League: Daizen Maeda – 15.47 (Celtic)
Others: Tawanda Maswanhise – 14.61 (Motherwell)
Goals vs xG (biggest positive difference):
League: Lawrence Shankland - Goals16 / xG 10.47 = +5.43 (Hearts)
Celtic: Benjamin Nygren - Goals 16 / xG 11.05 = +4.95
Shots on target per 90:
League: Youssef Chermiti – 1.64 (Rangers)
Celtic: Benjamin Nygren – 1.35 (5th in the league)
Shots on target % (30+ shots attempted)
League: Amar Fatah - 53.19% (47 shots - Dundee Utd)
Celtic: Daizen Maeda - 44.78 (64 shots)
Touches in the box per 90mins:
League: Claudio Braga – 5.26 (Hearts)
Celtic: Daizen Maeda – 5 (2nd in the league)
Big Chances missed per 90:
League: Daizen Maeda – 0.76
Others: Youssef Chermiti – 0.64 (Rangers)
Penalty Takers – Goals (Success %):
League: Apostolos Stamatelopoulos – 5 (100% - Motherwell)
Celtic: Arne Engels – 2 (100%)
Lots of positives for Benjamin Nygren, and a surprise inclusion of Tierney in the goal conversion data for players who had scored at least 5 goals.
What is interesting (and on trend as football goes) is that some of the most of the prominent players in this area are not out and out strikers. Maswanhise and Maeda spent a lot of time as wide players, and Nygren was somewhere between a midfielder and secondary striker. I guess that leans into the fact that both Celtic and Motherwell fans at various times across the season bemoaned the lack of a good out and out striker.
It’s not noted above, but a player who featured prominently at the high end of the attacking data regularly was a striker, Tyreece John Jules at Kilmarnock, a player who I recall giving us real issues before he got injured against us.
So, what about the passing and creative side of the game. Who were the creators, the dribblers, players with most touches, best passing….and who was the one losing the ball?
Assists:
League: Calvin Miller – 9 (Falkirk)
Celtic: Kieran Tierney – 8 (Joint 2nd in the league with Slattery & Kyziridis)
Assists per 90mins:
League: Callum Slattery – 0.31 (Motherwell)
Celtic: Kieran Tierney – 0.28 (2nd in the league)
Big Chances Created:
League: Alexandros Kyziridis – 15 (Hearts)
Celtic: Kieran Tierney and Daizen Maeda – 11 (8th in the league)
Big Chances Created per 90 / Chances Created per 90:
League: James Tav-Pen-ernier – 0.53 / 1.83 (Rangers)
Celtic: Luke McCowan – 0.51 / 1.74 (2nd in the league)
Chances Created:
League: Alexandros Kyziridis – 56 (Hearts)
Celtic: Benjamin Nygren – 44 (5th in the league)
Dribbles Complete / Success %:
League: Ibrahim Said – 59 / 55.66% (Motherwell)
Celtic: Sebatsian Tounekti – 41 / 41.48% (8th in the league for amount of successful dribbles)
Dribble Success % (players with over 20+ successful dribbles):
League: Thelo Aasgaard – 34 successful dribbles / 73.91%
Celtic: Benjamin Nygren – 24 successful dribbles / 47.06%
Passes Into The Final Third:
League: Liam Scales – 362
Other: Brad Spencer – 330 (Falkirk)
Touches x Passing and Succss %
League: Liam Scales – 3469 touches, 2992 successful passes (91.48% success rate)
Others: Elliott Watt – 3281 touches, 2729 successful passes (85.64% success rate)
Pass Success Rate % x Key Passes:
League: Will Ferry - 66.06% / 80 Key Passes
Celtic: Benjamin Nygren – 82.83% / 58 Key Passes (5th in the league)
Pass Success Rate%:
League: Nasser Djiga – 93.01%
Celtic: Callum McGregor – 92.75% (2nd in the league)
Received Passes per 90
League: Kieran Tierney – 51.03
Others: Stephen O’Donnell – 46.59 (Motherwell – 3rd in the league after Callum McGregor)
Progressive Passes per 90
League: Kieran Tierney – 13.62
Others: James Tav-pen-ernier – 11.75 (Rangers)
Crosses Per 90 (accuracy %)
League: Nicky Cadden – 8.03 (37.74%)
Celtic: Kieran Tierney – 5.27 (40.38%)
Dispossessed:
League: Callum Slattery – 67 (Motherwell)
Celtic: Daizen Maeda – 40 (14th in the league)
Dispossessed per 90:
League: Callum Slattery – 2.59 (Motherwell)
Celtic: Luke McCowan – 2.47 (4th in the league)
Again, we see some areas where we had success and others where we need improvement. Our dribbling success rate is a particular sore point for me, despite Tounekti having a good volume of successful dribbles, his 41% success rate is well off the likes of Aasgaard and Ibrahim Said, and we all know his end product leaves a lot to be desired.
Touches and passing provided no real shocks, with Liam Scales having more touches than anyone in the league and more passes than anyone into the final third. McGregor being above 90% in passing success also doesn’t come as a shock.
Ex-Celtic player Calvin Miller topped the assists chart with 9, and like many Falkrik players had a season that will no doubt attract interest this summer.
In terms of losing the ball, it shows just how much Motherwell were willing to commit in attack when 4 of their players made the top 10 for being dispossessed (Slattery top, Said 2nd, Just 8th and Maswanhise 9th). Some people would view that as a bad thing but they still managed to top the clean sheet table, so it goes to show that a balance between the speedy exciting attack and stubborn defence can be found if you get the correct player profiles and have your tactical setup right.
Last but not least, my favourites, the defenders / defensive minded players, the heid cases between the posts and the dirty buggers who foul for fun.
Clean Sheets (GKs):
League: Calum Ward – 17 (Motherwell)
Celtic: Kasper Schmeichel – 12 (3rd in the league)
Saves Made:
League: Jon McCracken – 131 (Dundee)
Celtic: Kasper Schmeichel – 60 (9th in the league)
Saves per 90:
League: Kelle Roos – 4 (Kilmarnock)
Celtic: Kasper Schmeichel – 2.46 (13th in the league)
GK Assists:
Shamal George (St.Mirren) & Jerome Prior (Livingston) – 1 assist
Successful Tackles:
League: Cammy Devlin - 113 (Hearts)
Celtic: Callum McGregor – 59 (14th in the league)
Successful Tackles per 90mins:
League: Cammy Devlin – 4.25 (Hearts)
Celtic: Kieran Tierney – 2.09 (16th in the league)
Interceptions total / Per 90:
League: Cammy Devlin – 58 / 2.18 (Hearts)
Celtic: Liam Scales – 40 / 1.16 (14th in the league)
Duels Won:
League: Luke Graham – 271 (Dundee)
Celtic: Liam Scales – 204 (12th in the league)
% of Duels Won:
League: Billy Koumetio – 74% (Dundee)
Celtic: Auston Trusty – 66% (6th in the league)
Aerial Duels Won:
League: Craig Halkett – 160 (Hearts)
Celtic: Liam Scales – 148 (3rd in the league)
% of Aerial Duels Won:
League: Billy Koumetio – 77% (Dundee)
Celtic: Auston Trusty – 70% (7th in the league)
Clearances Per 90:
League: Billy Koumetio – 9.62 (Dundee)
Celtic: Auston Trusty – 6.70 (17th in the league)
Most Fouls / Fouls Per 90mins
League: Nicolas Raskin – 65 / 2.10 (Rangers)
Celtic: Daizen Maeda – 58 / 1.84 (3rd in the league)
Yellow Cards:
League: Robbie Deas – 13 (Kilmarnock)
Celtic: Liam Scales – 12 (4th in the league)
Red Cards:
League: Grant Hanley and Auston Trusty – 2 (Hibs & Celtic)
This section really highlights a few things. First is that Schemichel was probably not as bad as many people would like to admit this season, albeit not anywhere near his best.
It’s also clear that Trusty and Scales stood up to the task pretty well in a season where we faced more pressure than usual.
Cammy Devlin for Hearts had an unbelievable season as a ball winning midfielder, especially when you consider that he missed a good chunk of games. It will be interesting to see if he stays at Hearts or moves on for free this summer.
Other Notes:
Liam Scales was 1 of 8 players to concede 2 penalties.
Djeidi Gassama and Tawanda Maswanhise both won 3 penalties, the most any Celtic player won was 1.
Motherwell received the most penalties (8) and had a 100% success rate. We had 6 with an 83% success rate, and Kilmarnock had 1 with a 0% success rate.
Kilmarnock conceded the most penalties – 11 (saved 4) and we gave away 6 (0 saved) and Hearts conceded 1 (0 saved)
17 year old Rocco McColm (Motherwell) was the youngest player to play in the SPFL this season. Colby Donovan (18) was our youngest player.
Benjamin Nygren scored goals that won us 15 points over the season, Daizen Maeda helped add 12 points with game winning goals.
Hearts players scored 20 headed goals this season (Claudio Braga and Stuart Findlay topped the league tally with 5 each). Maeda scored 3 for us.
Tyreece John Jules was top per 90 for Non penalty goals + assists (0.66) and Benjamin Nygren was our top performer in 5th place (0.60).
4 Hat-Tricks were scored in the league, none by a Celtic player.
xA per 100 passes was topped by Cameron Congreve – 1.08 (Dundee), and our best was Daizen with 0.68.
Celtic had 5 players in the top 10 for backwards passes per 90mins.
Most minutes played: Jerome Prior – 3731 (Livingston) and no shock that Callum McGregor topped our minutes played with 3451.
Martin O’Neill is the 2nd oldest manager to win the title. He finished the league season with a 82.61% win ratio (23 games & 19 wins), and averaged 2.57 points per game. Marvellous, just marvellous.
And that is that ladies and gentleman. There is a gazillion more layers of data but I’m goosed. I’ve tried my best to give you the stuff that is interesting enough for you not to lose the will to live whilst reading this.
If anyone wants anything specific that’s not on here then you can pop it in the Substack chat and tag me, and if I have time and the access to the information then I’ll try to get back to you asap.
Last, but by no means least…. It’s been a long, long…. LONG season, and at times really hard to discuss Celtic without feeling like your head was going to explode with all the negativity and issues that had to be endured over the last 9 or 10 months. However, through the good, more often bad…. and at times downright ugly performances….
We got there in the end.
Champions, Champions again… 5 in a row
Hail, Hail…..
RH
Top work Ross,, so the old Rangers beat us to having the oldest manager so far,,,
Good work Ross - some very interesting stats in there. Also perhaps a couple of players we should be looking at that haven't appeared on our shopping lists yet