With clubs across the UK scrambling for one of the finest talents in the LOI, what does his performance output tell us about the player?

With Liam Scales the subject of increased interest from several UK clubs, how do his 2021 data output numbers compare across the League of Ireland? How good is the player and what will the successful suitor club get at the end of the transfer battle?

Note: League average incorporates 130 players, Def Average = 58 players.
All data outputs on players with 540+ mins

A player, very solid in the air. Above the defender average for defensive aerial duels won per 90 mins (3.58) and close to twice the league average. Leads both the league average & defender average in ground tackles per 90 (0.77) but slightly below average across the board on standing challenges per 90 (3.43).

Progressive Regain % = Number of recoveries & interceptions that were followed by a positive event as a % compared to total number of recoveries & interceptions.

When it comes to overall success outcomes across defensive metrics – apart from tackle success, Scales outperforms the defender and league average across the other three catch-all metrics.

Winning challenges by staying on his feet & winning his defensive aerial duels, he was well ahead of both averages, clearly a player well capable of winning back possession & imperious in the air.

Possession is what Shamrock Rovers are all about – maintaining possession, moving the opposition, comfort in tight spaces and creating opportunities in a patient manner. Not surprising to see a defender who is extremely comfortable on the ball outpassing the league AND defender average (per 90 mins) so far this season by a wide margin.

The graphic below shows that even in the catch-all possession metrics, Scales still stands out from both averages. The interesting insight for us here is that he is ever so slightly above average on progressive pass attempts (i.e. the number of passes played towards an opponent’s goal). This is a key indicator of a player’s overall possession ability as it gives a clearer impression of their willingness to try a ‘riskier’ pass, as opposed to general sideways/backwards passing motions.

Our final small subset of data output on Liam Scales involves first & second half data – how consistent is the player across each half over each half? The closer the two outputs in each metric, the more consistent the player is (e.g. avoiding the ‘starting-fast, ending-slow’ trap).

The remaining graphics take Scales’ average output across ALL first half performances; whether at LCB, LWB (or LB for a short spell).

Scales is relatively consistent across his standing challenge success & his progressive regain %s. There are slight inconsistencies around his defensive aerial duel success % and ground tackle success % but it has to be noted, this is a relatively small dataset in the scheme of things.

As you can see from both possession output graphics, he is steady and solid in possession across the 90 mins. Many factors could be at play in his pass completion %s (namely Rovers’ tendency to hoard possession, especially in the later mins when the opposition are flagging) but the disparity between both halves’ output isn’t too great. His average no. of attempts per half (successful and total) are not too far apart either, again giving a good impression of the player’s strengths in possession.

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