Premier League Stats - Kick Takers

Without even knowing it was going to be list week I had started devising this list in my head since last week. My previous few blog posts have all been about getting more involved in the game of football from an outsiders perspective. My colleagues think I am mad. The readers think I am crazy. Even I think I am a little strange. But before you judge anymore, the below list could be very helpful to your cause. Especially with the YTM Cup just around the corner where points are a huge necessity…

My last blog post had to do with the rules of the penalty kick. The good old penalty is basically a guaranteed goal. So here we go. The premiership penalty takers to offer you the possibility of some easy points:

Notes: Some teams have more than one penalty taker, so the top two penalty takers have been listed from the most common penalty taker in each case. The position and YTM cost are in brackets - remember defenders and midfielders get more points for goals!

Arsenal: Van Persie (STR - 7.0), Adebayor (STR - 6.5)

Aston Villa: Barry (MID - 5.5), Petrov (MID - 4.5)

Birmingham: Kapo (MID - 3.0), McSheffrey (STR - 4.0)

Blackburn: McCarthy (STR - 7.0), Roberts (STR - 4.0)

Bolton: Speed (MID - 4.5), Anelka (STR - 6.5)

Chelsea: Lampard (MID - 9.0), Drogba (STR - 9.0)

Derby: Howard (STR - 3.0), Miller (STR - 2.5)

Everton: Arteta (MID - 6.5), Johnson (STR - 7.0)

Fulham: Healy (STR - 3.5), Kamara (STR - 4.0)

Liverpool: Gerrard (MID - 8.0), Torres (STR - 7.0)

Manchester City: Elano (MID - 4.0), Bianchi (STR - 4.5)

Manchester United: Ronaldo (MID - 9.0), Rooney (STR - 9.0)

Middlesbrough: Mido (STR - 3.5)

Newcastle: Martins (STR - 6.5), Viduka (STR - 6.0)

Portsmouth: Muntari (MID - 4.5), Kanu (STR - 4.5)

Reading: Shorey (DEF - 4.0), Doyle (STR - 5.0)

Sunderland: Chopra (STR - 2.5), Connolly (STR - 2.5)

Tottenham: Keane (STR - 7.0), Defoe (STR - 6.5)

West Ham: Noble (MID - 3.0), Ashton (STR - 6.0)

Wigan: Landzaat (MID - 3.5), Koumas (MID - 3.0)

So how about that? There is a method to my madness. And just to get into the whole spirit of creating helpful lists, lets double up the action and create a list of the of the direct free kick takers. Look for those who can score on both penalties and free kicks. This right here is gold dust.

Arsenal: Van Persie (STR - 7.0), Fabregas (MID - 7.0)

Aston Villa: Gardner (MID - 2.5), Young (STR - 5.0)

Birmingham: De Ridder (MID - 2.5), Kapo (MID - 3.0)

Blackburn: Bentley (MID - 5.5), Gamst-Pedersen (MID - 7.0)

Bolton: Anelka (STR - 6.5), Speed (MID - 4.5)

Chelsea: Lampard (MID - 9.0), Drogba (STR - 9.0)

Derby: Jones (MID - 3.0), Oakley (MID - 2.0)

Everton: Arteta (MID - 6.5), Stubbs (DEF - 3.5)

Fulham: Davies (MID - 3.5), Kamara (STR - 4.0)

Liverpool: Gerrard (MID - 8.0), Riise (DEF - 7.0)

Manchester City: Elano (MID - 4.0), Petrov(MID - 4.5)

Manchester United: Ronaldo (MID - 9.0), Giggs (MID - 6.0)

Middlesbrough: Downing (MID - 5.5), Rochemback (MID - 3.0)

Newcastle: Geremi (MID - 4.0), Barton (MID - 5.5)

Portsmouth: Muntari (MID - 4.5), Kranjcar (MID - 4.0)

Reading: Shorey (DEF - 4.0), Lita (STR - 5.0)

Sunderland: Leadbitter (MID - 3.0), Miller (MID - 2.5)

Tottenham: Bale (DEF - 4.5), Kaboul (DEF - 4.0)

West Ham: Noble (MID - 3.0), Bellamy (STR - 6.0)

Wigan: Koumas (MID - 3.0), Landzaart (MID - 3.5)

There we go. The penalty takers will almost guarantee you a couple of goals and the free kick takers will get you a mixture between goals and key contributions. And that is just from the dead ball. There will be a lot more from open play! If I have missed anybody out, or if you have more suggestions please add them using the comments function below!

Enjoy searching for the ever present bargains!

Cheers,

Chris @ YTM