Caesar

I analysed 3 of the main DEFCON defenders: Muharemovic, Vuskovic and Silva, to understand whether they're capable of maintaining this level. Possibly the nerdiest content I've ever made. But if you find this enjoyable or helpful in any way, please let me know. Antonio Silva What triggered DEFCON? Cross — 29.5% Long ball — 11.3% Ground pass — 9.3% Shot — 9.1% Teammate's mistake — 6.9% Through ball — 5.9% Set piece — 5.8% Own mistake — 5.0% No clear trigger — 4.4% Data quality: DEFCONs not on TV — 7.9% Shouldn't have been classified as DEFCON — 4.9% Other factors: Gave the ball away — 11.1% I thought he would stop hitting DEFCON after looking at what triggered his actions after GW5. But he still faces a lot of terrible crosses and continues to get on the end of clearances that could easily fall to someone else. He's also making a lot more mistakes than he was five weeks ago, which has helped him maintain that DEFCON level. One of my biggest preseason misjudgements. My head still tells me he shouldn't be able to keep this up, but he keeps getting away with it. I also think the number of mistakes and possession losses is a bit too high for him not to occasionally be dropped for Diakhite. Tarik Muharemovic What triggered DEFCON? After his own mistake — 15.9% Long ball — 14.1% Cross — 14.1% After teammate's mistake — 10.5% Set piece — 9.1% Shot — 7.4% Pass — 6.1% No clear trigger — 4.1% Through ball — 2.8% Data quality: DEFCONs not on TV — 10.2% Shouldn't have been classified as DEFCON — 5.7% Other factors: Gave the ball away — 13.3% Tarik is a freak. He clears the ball not only when the situation requires it, but often when it doesn't. Sometimes he even clears it over his own teammates' heads. The data backs it up. He's top for clearances, but also for hoofing the ball under no pressure. Sadly, a very large percentage of his defensive actions weren't even shown on TV. Vuskovic What was behind the actions? Long ball — 18.1% No clear trigger — 12.2% Set piece — 12.1% Pass — 9.1% Cross — 9.1% After his own mistake — 8.9% Through ball — 8.8% After teammate's mistake — 8.5% Shot — 5.9% Data quality: Shouldn't have been classified as DEFCON — 4.1% DEFCONs not on TV — 3.2% Other factors: Gave the ball away — 6.6% He's doing a bit of everything, but the main concern is that his teammates aren't making enough mistakes to give him as many opportunities for last-ditch actions as he had at Hamburger SV, for example. Brighton aren't particularly afraid of receiving central counters, but they're still quick and good enough on the ball to prevent a lot of those dodgy situations from developing. That's why I expect his DEFCON numbers to be lower than those of the first two. #FPL