Premier League half-term awards

We’re almost halfway through the Premier League campaign and it feels like a good time to be picking out the performances that have stood out for us so far. Rather than just rattling through a laundry list of stats, we thought that dishing out some awards - admittedly imaginary ones - would better illustrate the players and teams who have already made this season one of the more interesting in recent years.

Constant threat: team award

The first award is for the team that keeps on asking questions of their opponents’ defence. In third place with an average of 15.3 shots per match, Spurs look to be finally evolving into a credible top-four contender after repeated false dawns. Mauricio Pochettino’s side are actually the most accurate finishers in the division, getting 40.4% of their shots on target, but there are two sides who take aim at goal more often. In second place are current title favourites Manchester City with 17.1 shots per match, and Manuel Pellegrini’s men also get the most shots on target, averaging 6.5 per game so far this season. They are pipped to a first gong here though by a resurgent Arsenal who have racked up a whopping 17.3 attempts at goal per match.

Constant threat: player award

Arsenal’s transformation into their current shot-happy selves owes much to Arsene Wenger’s recruitment of the seemingly tireless Alexis Sanchez. The Chilean star has led from the front since moving to London and comes in third here with an average of 4.42 shots at goal for every 90 minutes he has played in the Premier League this season. Second is a much more familiar face: that of Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero, who has averaged 4.69 shots every 90 minutes but struggled to stay on the pitch once again. Coincidentally it is the injury problems of another player that have seen our winner top this category: Philippe Coutinho has stepped up for Liverpool during Daniel Sturridge’s latest absence, firing in an average of 4.72 shots per 90 minutes.

Sharpshooter: team award

So far we’ve focused on quantity, but what about quality? Our next award highlights the teams who have made the most of the chances that fell their way rather than just peppering the goal with shots. In third we have West Ham, who have started much more brightly than expected after last season’s forgettable campaign and converted 12.7% of their attempts on goal. The Hammers, though, fall some way short of the two most clinical sides in the division: in second we have an Everton side, spearheaded by the prolific combination of Romelu Lukaku and Gerard Deulofeu, that has found the net with 14.7% of their shots. Just edging them are current leaders Leicester with 14.8%: the Foxes are the only top-flight side to have scored in every one of their competitive matches his season.

Sharpshooter: player award

For the player version of this award we have excluded penalties from the analysis to make it a bit fairer, as being your side’s regular spot-kick taker confers a massive advantage. In third we have the man who is both showing his worth to Everton and making Chelsea look foolish for letting him leave: Lukaku has netted with 11 of his 50 shots this season for a conversion rate of 22%. Ahead of him is one of the few players who cannot be blamed for Swansea’s dreadful season so far. Andre Ayew doesn’t shoot that often - with 24 shots he has fired in less than half of Lukaku’s total despite both players spending an almost identical amount of time on the pitch - but his six goals give him a 25% conversion rate. Way out in front is another star performer seemingly surrounded by ineptitude: Newcastle’s Georginio Wijnaldum has scored seven times from just 22 attempts, which equates to a 31.8% conversion rate. Without his goals there is a feeling that Steve McClaren would have already been hounded out of St James’ Park.

Formidable barrier: team award

It is one thing to batter down your opponents’ defences, but we have to acknowledge the less glamourous role of stopping them from doing the same to you. Spurs’ resurgence this season owes much to their back line, which has soaked up an impressive average of 14.6 shots for each goal conceded. There is an even more dogged defence operating south of the River Thames however, with an average of 16 shots required to breach Crystal Palace. Edging past the Eagles to claim this award though are Mark Hughes’ Stoke with 16.2. Having kept both Chelsea and Manchester City out this season, confidence is clearly high among the Potters’ rearguard.

Formidable barrier: player award

This one’s for the goalkeepers - specifically any custodian who has made 10 or more appearances in the Premier League this season - and we’re judging them based on the percentage of shots on target that they have saved. In third we have Arsenal’s only summer signing, Petr Cech, who has already proved an astute hire after adding a much-needed dose of dependability between the sticks with 74.5% of shots saved. In second place, Jack Butland’s bid to take the place of Joe Hart in the England side continues to go well: Stoke have him to thank for winning the previous award and he wasn’t far from picking up a gong of his own here after dealing with 77% of shots fired at him. In first place sits perhaps the only beneficiary of Manchester United’s boring new look: David De Gea. The Spanish keeper - seemingly destined for Real Madrid in the summer until a bizarre episode of administrative incompetence saw the deal fall through - has kept out 78.4% of the few goal-bound shots that have found their way past United’s ‘safety first’ tactics.

Bruiser: team award

While outperforming your opponents in either attack or defence is one way to win a game of football, we can’t ignore the celebrated English tradition of kicking the other side into submission. They aren’t out-shooting many teams this season, but Manchester United have racked up 183 fouls: the third most in the top flight. Marginally ahead of them are Alan Pardew’s Crystal Palace, whose players are clearly emulating their manager’s combative approach with 187 offences but thankfully stopping short of trying to headbutt anybody. Neither can hold a candle to Tottenham’s 202: Spurs have committed more fouls than their opponents in 11 of their 15 games so far - the highest of any Premier League side - and have also received the most bookings with 34.

Bruiser: player award

For the player version of this award we’ve looked at who is committing fouls the most often and only considering players who have been penalised at least 20 times this season. In third place is Morgan Schneiderlin, who has upended an average of 2.44 opponents in every 90 minutes spent screening Manchester United’s defence. Over at old rivals Liverpool, Lucas Leiva is demolishing attackers at a slightly higher rate of 2.54, but neither is keeping referees busier than our surprise winner. You would not think it from looking at him, but the award goes to Erik Lamela - the most prolific source of all those Tottenham fouls - with 2.97 per 90 minutes.

Victim: team award

There is no such thing as a victimless crime in football, so it is only fair that we consider the other side of the fouling equation. West Ham secure another bronze medal here, having suffered 187 fouls so far this season and having only out-fouled their opponents twice in 15 games: the lowest in the division. Ahead of them are Swansea with 191 who, like the Hammers, have seen four opposing players sent off this season: the joint highest. Given his new-found love of statistics, Jose Mourinho will be delighted to see Chelsea take the award with 202 fouls suffered. While this appears to lend weight to one of his many conspiracy theories, his side have seen their opponents booked more than any other side, with 41 yellow cards dished out for fouls on the Blues, so there has been some justice meted out at least.

Victim: player award

As we did for those doing the fouling, when we’ve totted up the award for the most regularly fouled player we’ve only looked at those who have already drawn at least 20 blasts from the referee’s whistle this term. In third place is Newcastle’s Aleksandar Mitrovic, who has been carded more times than he’s hit the back of the net so far this season, but also drawn an average of 2.95 fouls per 90 minutes. In second we have Southampton’s mercurial Sadio Mane, who has been upended at a rate of 3.25 times per 90 minutes, but our winner is some distance ahead. It is no surprise that Dwight Gayle is spending a lot of time on the treatment table: the Crystal Palace striker has been sent sprawling a whopping 4.56 times for every 90 minutes spent on the pitch: that’s around once every 20 minutes!

Data correct as at December 11 2015