Top 5 Goal Scoring Centre Halves for 2010/11- Premier League

A new series of articles this week turns our attentions to the top five goal scoring centre-halves in each of Europe’s main five leagues. Beginning with the Premier League, we highlight those all-action, inspirational figures whose aerial presence and eye for goal in the opponent’s penalty box is as crucial as their contribution at the back for each of their respective sides:

Robert Huth - 6 goals, 2 assists

Attacking
Only Kenwyne Jones scored more goals for Stoke than Robert Huth last season. As the club’s first-choice centre forward, Jones found the net 9 times but Huth wasn’t too far behind, grabbing 6 goals for the Potters. Of our Premier League centre-halves, only Brede Hangeland managed to equal Huth’s score, but the Stoke man also managed to pick up 2 assists to Hangeland’s 1.

When it comes to shots on target, Huth was again key to Stoke’s attacking play- in a similar scenario to above, Jones was the only player in Tony Pulis’ side to have more goal attempts- he averaged 2.3, while Huth managed 1.3 per game, the highest tally of our featured five. Jonathan Walters and Ricardo Fuller, Stoke’s two other most-used forwards, hade 1.1 and 1.0 shots per game respectively.

Defending
At the back, Stoke’s two main full-backs -Andy Wilkinson and Danny Collins- made the most tackles, with 3.3 and 2.1 respectively. Huth managed 1.9, third best at his club and third best here, too. While 1.8 interceptions sees him bottom of our five, it’s the second highest at Stoke, with his 8 clearances at Stoke second again behind fellow centre-half Ryan Shawcross, on 9.1. Huth led the way for blocked shots for his club, with 0.9 per game the same as Nemanja Vidic here.

With 66% aerial success, Huth was the best of Stoke’s first team players, though in such exalted company, he sits second-bottom here. He also picked up 2 Man of the Match awards and an average of 6.90 in WhoScored.com’s ratings.

Brede Hangeland - 6 goals, 1 assist

Attacking
With 6 goals, Hangeland was second-top scorer for Fulham last season. Clint Dempsey scored 12 goals and with first-choice forward Bobby Zamora sidelined for the vast majority of the season with a broken leg, Hangeland’s haul helped the Cottagers to an eight-place finish under Mark Hughes.

While Robert Huth also scored 6 times, the Stoke man had a total of 46 goal attempts during 2010/11- Hangeland found the net the same number of times from just 19 shots, indicating a far superior level of finishing when he gets the chance. He managed an average of just 0.5 shots per game and if this can be improved upon, his ability to find the net suggests Hangeland is capable of scoring even more.

Defending
Only the top three teams chalked up more clean sheets than Fulham last season- the Cottagers managed 14 and Hangeland’s displays were crucial at the back; he made an incredible 11.4 clearances per game, the best of our centre-halves, and an indication of his reading of the game at the back. While his tackles (1.6) and interceptions (2.2) do not stand out by any means, the clearances are obviously a crucial stat here, given Fulham’s ability to keep opponents at bay. Hangeland is second for blocks per game here with 1.1 per game- more than double centre-half partner Aaron Hughes’ 0.5.

Hangeland leads the way for our featured five when it comes to aerial success- an incredible 72% indicates just how his ability helps at the back and going forward. The big Norwegian also picked up 2 Man of the Match awards and a WhoSocred.com rating of 7.15 for the season.

Nemanja Vidic - 5 goals, 1 assist

Attacking
Vidic finished as fifth top scorer for Man United last season. He grabbed 5 goals for the champions, just 4 less than Nani, despite taking just 18 shots compared to the winger’s 102 attempts.

Vidic managed a mere 0.5 shots per game but, similarly to Hangeland, demonstrated an astute level of finishing. It’s a measure of his contribution from the back that the other 9 defenders used by Sir Alex Ferguson in 2010/11 scored a total of 2 goals between them.

Defending
Despite his usual centre-half partner Rio Ferdinand missing 19 league games, Vidic-whether paired by Jonny Evans or Chris Smalling in Rio’s absence- provided stability at the back that was critical to his side’s league triumph. His 2.1 tackles were the best of any United centre-half and only second to Branislav Ivanovic here, though his 2.6 interceptions sees Vidic top of our five.

Vidic’s 9.5 clearances are head and shoulders above anyone at Man United- the next best is Rio Ferdinand on 6.5, though he stands in third place here, trailing in the wake of Hangeland and Samba. A 67% aerial success rate, though less than both Smalling and Ferdinand at United (both managed 75%), is nevertheless impressive. Vidic picked up 3 Man of the Match awards and was the highest-rated player in WhoScored.com’s ratings, with an average 7.28 per game for the season.

Branislav Ivanovic - 4 goals, 4 assists

Attacking
Only five Chelsea players had a hand in more goals than Ivanovic last season. With 4 goals and 4 assists, he contributed to 8 of his side’s 69 goals and while perhaps the least celebrated of any Blues defender, Ivanovic made the biggest impact going forward.

Ivanovic proved a versatile performer for Chelsea, making 18 appearances at centre-half and 14 at right-back. With 1 shot per game, his goal threat is only just behind £50m man Fernando Torres, on 1.1, and greater than the second best Chelsea defender David Luiz, who averaged 0.8 per game. Ivanovic also played a part creatively too; only Didier Drogba made more assists for Chelsea, with 13. The likes of Florent Malouda and Nicolas Anelka both tied for 4 with Ivanovic, who grabbed the same number of assists as the rest of our top five combined.

Defending
Ivanovic leads the way for tackles per game for our five featured defenders, with 2.2 per game- at Chelsea, this was the same as John Terry and bettered by just three other players. While his average of 2 interceptions is second-bottom here, it was the second best of any player under Carlo Ancelotti last season, with only Luiz (3) making more.

While Ivanovic was bottom of the five for clearances with 4.3 per game, this has to be taken into context against his Chelsea team mates- only Terry (5.1) and Alex (4.9) managed more for the runners-up. Ivanovic did fall down on blocks (0.2) and aerial success (61%), with all four of our other centre-halves bettering his total. He picked up 1 Man of the Match award and ended the season with a WhoScored.com rating of 7.06.

Chris Samba - 4 goals

Attacking
Blackburn’s join-top scorers last season -Junior Hoilett, Jason Roberts and Nikola Kalinic- grabbed a mere 5 goals apiece: Chris Samba was hot on their heels with 4. Samba missed just 5 games in 2010/11 and with 1.2 shots per game, was second only to Kalinic’s 1.4 in terms of goal threat for Steve Kean’s side. This tally was second best of our five, just edged out by Huth’s 1.3.

Defending
Samba made just 1.5 tackles per game, the lowest of our five- he also fares poorly compared to fellow centre-half Ryan Nelsen, who made 1.9 tackles per game. His 2.1 interceptions per game was the worst of any of Blackburn’s back-four but this was more than balanced out by a fantastic 10.9 clearances per game for the Ewood Park side- bettering Nelsen’s 10 and second only to Hangeland here.

Samba’s prowess in the air is highlighted by his 68% aerial success- this was easily the best at Blackburn, with Nelsen way back on 54%, and once again a tally bettered by only Hangeland, with 72%. Samba also picked up 3 Man of the Match awards and scored 7.05 in WhoScored.com’s match ratings, topping the list of Blackburn players in the rankings.