Astonishing Saint-Maximin stats prove he's our most important player - Look away, Steve Bruce
After yesterday's announcement confirming Allan Saint-Maximin will be sidelined for a month, I compared how we've done this season with AND without the Frenchman.
The results were alarming - especially when you consider the fact he's now highly likely to miss our next 6 games with a hamstring injury.
Here's the stats, comparing our results (and goals for and against) when he starts vs when he doesn't:
NUFC results when ASM does NOT start
Played 6 - Won 0 - Drawn 2 - Lost 4 - Goals for: 3 - Goals against: 13
- L: Arsenal 0-1
- L: Norwich 1-3
- D: Watford 1-1
- L: Liverpool 1-3
- D: Brighton 0-0
- L: Leicester 0-5
NUFC results when ASM does start
Played 10 - Won 6 - Drawn 2 - Lost 2 - Goals for: 14 - Goals against: 10
- W: Spurs 1-0
- W: Man Utd 1-0
- L: Chelsea 0-1
- D: Wolves 1-1
- W: West Ham 3-2
- W: Bournemouth 2-1
- L: Aston Villa 2-0
- D: Man City 2-2
- W: Sheffield Utd 2-0
- W: Southampton 2-1
If this doesn't prove that he's our most important player right now, I don't know what could. He may have only scored once and bagged one 'official' assist, but his influence has been huge.
The difference is quite incredible, not just from a win/points perspective, but when looking at how many goals we score - and how much less we even concede when he starts.
Considering he's likely to miss games against Burnley, Palace, Man Utd, Everton, Leicester, Rochdale/Boston (FA Cup) and Chelsea over the next month, this makes pretty damning reading for Steve Bruce!
He's been the secret ingredient that has finally got Steve Bruce's side ticking. Not only does he scare the life out of full-backs, give us a genuine threat on the counter and allow us all to believe something could happen from nothing, his threat going forward makes opposition players reluctant to attack down his side.
Whether it's Atsu who comes in or Joelinton who is given a chance out wide, it's fair to say Bruce (and the player who replaces him) has a huge task to produce the goods in his absence!
