Applying NHL Goalkeeper stats to the English Premiership

In the English Premiership, goalkeepers often face the most scrutiny and pressure. It's a simple truth of football that custodians need to maintain concentration during long periods of inactivity and then make a save, clear a ball or claim a cross. When they fail, often it costs their team a goal. In short, to have a reliable man between the posts is the foundation of a solid defence.

There are many methods of evaluating goalkeeper efficacy such as Goals Conceded and Saves but rarely with this position do stats tell the full story. As with statistical application across all sports, much depends on interpretation. The only GK stats readily available don't take into account things such as howlers (for which Tottenham's Gomes must be very thankful), nor aspects of defending which usually fall to the 'keeper such as communication, marshalling a defence or their (in)ability to deal with crosses. The one stat however which doesn't appear is Save Percentage.

Save percentage in football doesn't fully measure a goalkeeper's efficiency but it can provide some small insight into how the goalkeeper for each team performs. Often GKs are exposed to "no win" situations due to the size of their goalmouth, their defences' positioning and the skills or pace of an opposition player. Save percentage and Goals Allowed Average are key indicators as to an NHL custodian's performance, even though they still don't fully reflect a backstop's value.

To port those NHL numbers across to the Premiership makes for interesting reading. The following table is arranged by Goalkeeper Save Percentage. It shows (perhaps) why Fulham's David Stockdale got such big raps while covering for Mark Schwarzer earlier in the season and that Joe Hart's slight slip in form this year since returning to City from Birmingham is perhaps overstated.

For the full analysis, visit the Goalkeeper Stats page.

Top 15

Team	Goalkeeper	Games	Saves	Conceded	GAA	Save %
Fulham	David Stockdale	7	26	6	0.86	0.81
Tottenham	Carlo Cudicini	7	21	6	0.86	0.78
Man City	Joe Hart	36	107	33	0.92	0.76
Stoke City	Asmir Begovic	27	93	31	1.15	0.75
Tottenham	Gomes	30	115	39	1.3	0.75
Chelsea	Petr Cech	37	98	32	0.86	0.75
Man Utd	Edwin van der Sar	32	80	30	0.94	0.73
Bolton	Jussi Jaaskelainen	34	118	47	1.38	0.72
Fulham	Mark Schwarzer	30	91	35	1.17	0.72
Arsenal	Wojciech Szczesny	14	42	17	1.21	0.71
West Ham	Robert Green	36	154	66	1.83	0.7
Wigan	Ali Al Habsi	33	112	49	1.48	0.7
Sunderland	Craig Gordon	15	50	21	1.4	0.7
Arsenal	Lukasz Fabianski	14	36	14	1	0.7
Liverpool	Pepe Reina	37	96	43	1.16	0.69

Bottom 5

Team	Goalkeeper	Games	Saves	Conceded	GAA	Save %
Newcastle	Tim Krul	19	47	32	1.68	0.59
West Brom	Boaz Myhill	6	18	13	2.17	0.58
Blackpool	Paul Rachubka	1	6	5	5	0.55
Man Utd	Tomasz Kuszczak	5	6	5	1	0.55
Wigan	Chris Kirkland	4	5	12	3	0.29

Image of Mark Schwarzer courtesy: free-football.tv

Image of Carey Price courtesy: leshabitantssontmagnifique.wordpress.com