An assist

[No Ney Never]

Where build up play has led to a goal, why is the player who passes it to the goal scorer the only one who is classed as assisted?

[Rileybobs]

Because it’s the only sensible way to credit an assist.

[daveisaclaret]

It's a really useless stat.

[Bosscat]

It's a really useless stat.

Not for the player who gets a bonus for an assist its not

[Buxtonclaret]

Sorry...
Whoever it was crossed/passed/headed-on...blah blah on for him to score , l still come out with, 'he made it' in subsequent yapping after the match.

[Spijed]

Basically it's whoever it touches last, before the goal scorer. That's what an assist amounts to. So any deflection, no matter how small, counts as an assist.

[CoolClaret]

Assists can be a bit misleading, metrics to judge creative players on such as 'big chances created' or xA i(Expected assists) is 'better' if you will

[No Ney Never]

What about a goal where every player touches the ball leading up to the goal, why is there no recognition in the stats of all those players who assisted in achieving the score? Why only the last player to touch it before the scorer?

[Rileybobs]

What about a goal where every player touches the ball leading up to the goal, why is there no recognition in the stats of all those players who assisted in achieving the score? Why only the last player to touch it before the scorer?

Because that would be impractical.

[houseboy]

I still say ‘made’ too. I actually don’t know why so much is made of it anyway, it’s just another made up thing for the stat fanatics. We really are heading too much toward the American sporting model, like so many other things.

[No Ney Never]

Because that would be impractical.

Not really, why name an individual player as an assist?
Why is the the stat not a 7 player assist for example?

[Rileybobs]

Not really, why name an individual player as an assist?
Why is the the stat not a 7 player assist for example?

Because that would be impractical.

[basil6345789]

We used to have schemers and goalmakers

[superdimitri]

In NHL Hockey they have a 1st and 2nd Assist.
Dean Marney was often a 2nd Assist.

[Lip]

It should be called "aiding and abetting " for any team that scores against the Clarets.

[2 Bee Holed]

I'll never know how football existed before we had assists.

[boatshed bill]

I don't understand why Maatsen wasn't credited with one on Monday, yet Tella was??

[Commy]

I don't understand why Maatsen wasn't credited with one on Monday, yet Tella was??

Tella's went straight to Guddy but Maatsen's was headed out to Guddy by their defender.

[LONDONCLARET23]

Winston White I'd say

[Shappie]

In NHL Hockey they have a 1st and 2nd Assist.
Dean Marney was often a 2nd Assist.

Dean Marney played NHL Hockey ?!

[No Ney Never]

Because that would be impractical.

What says more about a goal;
Tella 37mins (assisted by Brownhill)
Or
Tella 37 mins (7 player assist)?

[boatshed bill]

Tella's went straight to Guddy but Maatsen's was headed out to Guddy by their defender.

Thanks, still seems a bit daft to me So can a goalkeeper deny an assist by getting his hand to a cross, despite it still reaching the goalscorer?

[Rileybobs]

What says more about a goal;
Tella 37mins (assisted by Brownhill)
Or
Tella 37 mins (7 player assist)?

Well a full description of the goal from start to finish says more about a goal but it's not exactly a concise overview.

[distortiondave]

Thanks, still seems a bit daft to me So can a goalkeeper deny an assist by getting his hand to a cross, despite it still reaching the goalscorer?

Yes. An opposing defender cannot assist an attacker. They play on different teams, you see.

[No Ney Never]

Well a full description of the goal from start to finish says more about a goal but it's not exactly a concise overview.

It's not, but which of the two says more about a goal?

[Rileybobs]

It's not, but which of the two says more about a goal?

I would say that naming the assister says more about a goal than giving the number of players involved in the build up.

[No Ney Never]

I would say that naming the assister says more about a goal than giving the number of players involved in the build up.

Would you mind explaining how?

[boatshed bill]

Yes. An opposing defender cannot assist an attacker. They play on different teams, you see.

Wow.

[Rileybobs]

Would you mind explaining how?

Because we know who made the decisive pass which led to the goal, rather than knowing how many players were involved in the build up which is quite irrelevant as many times they wouldn’t have played a key part in the goal.

[No Ney Never]

Because we know who made the decisive pass which led to the goal, rather than knowing how many players were involved in the build up which is quite irrelevant as many times they wouldn’t have played a key part in the goal.

A key is what opens, the last pass isn't necessarily the key to creating the goal, that could have been any action that opened the opportunity anywhere on the pitch.
Who made the decisive pass and who was key to the creation of the goal can be completely different, hence my questioning the validity of the assist stat.

[Im_not_Robbie_Blake]

1 What should we call someone who assists an assist etc etc etc?

2 The person doing the assisting could wear a special uniform and ask,
"Please may I assist you, sir?"

3 What if you have a cyst on your bum?

[No Ney Never]

1 What should we call someone who assists an assist etc etc etc?

2 The person doing the assisting could wear a special uniform and ask,
"Please may I assist you, sir?"

3 What if you have a cyst on your bum?

1. An assisting player.
2. Not really, they would be wearing Claret and Blue.
3. Then it would not be amiss to say that I'm not Robbie Blake is an a cyst.

[RammyClaret61]

Who cares who touched the ball last before someone scored? BBC seem to.

805CB7F8-4C43-4AE8-B0BC-9DC82D915BE2.jpeg (292.65 KiB) Viewed 2204 times

[dsr]

Yes. An opposing defender cannot assist an attacker. They play on different teams, you see.

That's the logic they use in ice hockey, which is why you can't have an own goal in ice hockey because the opposing player can't score. The goal goes to the attacker that touched it last.

Not sure that's necessary in football, though.

[dsr]

This "assist" stuff is pretty handy for a forward in a bad run of form. Your winger beats three men and lays it across on a plate for the forward, the forward makes a complete dog's breakfast of it and falls over his feet, the second forward comes along and taps it in. Second forward gets the goal, first forward gets the assist, winger gets a pat on the back for trying.

[SirBob]

Assists never used to be a thing when I was a kid, I hardly ever scored but used to assist almost every game, yet I was **** because I didn’t score

[Murger]

Expected Goals is the most nonsense of all the stats. I don’t even understand what it means.

[Vegas Claret]

Who cares who touched the ball last before someone scored? BBC seem to.

805CB7F8-4C43-4AE8-B0BC-9DC82D915BE2.jpeg

and you'd have KDB in your team ever single day of the week, Haaland wouldn't have scored 100% of his goals without an assistant

[NottsClaret]

Although it feels like a bit of a nonsense stat I guess over a long period it’s a fairer reflection. DeBruyne getting to 100 first makes sense, some will be daft deflections or a basic 3 yard pass and in those games it’s ‘meaningless’ but loads will be those unstoppable trademark crosses.

You could even look at goals in the same way. Scoring in one game doesn’t tell you much. Poor finishers score lucky goals sometimes. But you don’t get lucky 25 times in a season.

[superdimitri]

Dean Marney played NHL Hockey ?!

Yes, and he was just as good playing hockey as football.

[Shappie]

Yes, and he was just as good playing hockey as football.

Not a bit surprised

[CoolClaret]

In NHL Hockey they have a 1st and 2nd Assist.
Dean Marney was often a 2nd Assist.

A second assister makes perfect sense;

Take a corner kick or free kick or whatever - often times they’ve been designed to have a knockdown to another player in the box - with the current set of metrics there’s nothing crediting the corner/free kick taker with an accurate delivery into the box

[superdimitri]

A second assister makes perfect sense;

Take a corner kick or free kick or whatever - often times they’ve been designed to have a knockdown to another player in the box - with the current set of metrics there’s nothing crediting the corner/free kick taker with an accurate delivery into the box

Or even the player who wins a tackle that results in the goal.

[Hipper]

Expected Goals is the most nonsense of all the stats. I don’t even understand what it means.

I think we need xA - Expected Assists - to give more illumination on matters. Or even X2A - second assists.

[RVclaret]

I think we need xA - Expected Assists - to give more illumination on matters. Or even X2A - second assists.

There is already xA while something called xT (expected threat) is the ‘before’. Essentially it looks at how threatening a player is (metrics such as dribbles completed, progressive ball carry’s, key passes made, passes into box etc). Both Benson and Zaroury are in the highest xT in the league.

Otherwise you can use FbRef’s ‘shot creating actions/goal creating actions’ which tells us the last 2 involvements before the shot/goal.

[Foshiznik]

Basically it's whoever it touches last, before the goal scorer. That's what an assist amounts to. So any deflection, no matter how small, counts as an assist.

I'm happy to be corrected, but i don't think that's how it works. In that case, it would be an unassisted goal. I don't think they necessarily give an assist for every goal scored.

For example, Maradona's goal vs England in the 1986 World Cup (the good goal, not the "hand of god" goal) didn't have an assist.

[Hipper]

I'm happy to be corrected, but i don't think that's how it works. In that case, it would be an unassisted goal. I don't think they necessarily give an assist for every goal scored.

For example, Maradona's goal vs England in the 1986 World Cup (the good goal, not the "hand of god" goal) didn't have an assist.

I thought with 'The Hand of God' goal, the assist is in the title.

[boatshed bill]

This "assist" stuff is pretty handy for a forward in a bad run of form. Your winger beats three men and lays it across on a plate for the forward, the forward makes a complete dog's breakfast of it and falls over his feet, the second forward comes along and taps it in. Second forward gets the goal, first forward gets the assist, winger gets a pat on the back for trying.

you are almost describing Ashley's two assists early this season.

[chekhov]

A second assister makes perfect sense;

Take a corner kick or free kick or whatever - often times they’ve been designed to have a knockdown to another player in the box - with the current set of metrics there’s nothing crediting the corner/free kick taker with an accurate delivery into the box

Fair enough. But in open play if the ball deflected off his shin would he be really deserving of a second assist?