How Hearts defensive players performed when finishing third

Steven Naismith has got the team ticking along nicely. There’s an obvious style to the team, a camaraderie around the squad and continuous improvement throughout the season. When teams get enter the close season they need to analyse the team performance as well as individual performance to identify what needs to be done in the transfer market.

One of the ways this can be done is by looking at the player performance data throughout the season. At a club level, this will be done in a very specific way with emphasis in how the team is looking to progress and play in the next season.

READ MORE: How Hearts season was one of time: Naismith, falling apart, Shankland, feats

In this article, I’ve taken a high-level overview of the players. We compare the men in maroon against all other players in their position in the Scottish Premiership who’ve played over 900 minutes this season. I’ve included some Hearts players who didn’t quite hit the 900-minute mark, mostly due to injuries, who I think will be looking to be involved next season or who I feel deserve to be discussed.

(The ranking for each metric is done by percentile value, with the 1st percentile being the worst, and the 99th the best. If a player plays in multiple positions then I’ve chosen what I believe to be their main position.)

Goalkeepers

I’m not a huge fan of rating goalkeepers' performances with data as I don’t believe quality data is available to make accurate representations, but I couldn’t put together a season review and not include Zander Clark and Craig Gordon. We have a look at some goalkeeping metrics and passing metrics to get a brief insight into their seasons.

Clark has had an impressive season between the sticks achieving 15 clean sheets in the league, only second to Player of the Year nominee Jack Butland. On top of this, Clark ranks in the 81st percentile for his save percentage, a metric that highlights the percentage of shots he saved. The Scotland cap also ranks in the 81st percentile for conceded goals per 90.

The last goalkeeping metric we will look at is prevented goals. In this situation, a positive number will show a goalkeeper outperforming, and a negative number shows underperformance. Clark sits in the 75th percentile for prevented goals, with him preventing 0.18 fewer goals per 90 than expected. This adds up to 6.3 fewer goals conceded this season thanks to the Scotland internationalist.

In possession, he doesn’t stand out too much in many metrics. He’s not involved in as many passes as most of his colleagues, but does rank pretty highly in accurate passes and accurate passes to the final third, which could highlight that he’s got an accurate long pass or that we’ve got good people on the end of his long balls.

Gordon only featured in 306 minutes in the league which will skew his data and not give the most accurate representation of how he would perform if he was more regularly involved. He is in the 75th percentile for conceded goals, the 68th percentile for prevented goals, and even though he is involved in very little when it comes to possession, he is highly accurate in his passing, probably due to him keeping it pretty simple when he gets the ball at his feet.

Central Defenders

Frankie Kent has been a fan favourite since signing from Peterborough last summer. Defensively, Kent gets involved more in duels in the air than he does on the ground. With more aerial duels per 90 than 75 per cent of central defenders in the league, he’s not shy to stick his head on a ball. His win percentage is a bit lower than expected as a percentile, but the raw number is only a couple of percent off the top performers in the league.

Ranking in the 92nd percentile for shots blocked per 90 and the 73rd percentile for interceptions, Kent again shows his desire to do all he can to stop the opposition from scoring.

On the ball, Kent passes the ball often and is consistently in the 80th percentile for his passing accuracy and progressive passes. This not only highlights his ability on the ball, but also the style of play under Naismith. It’s no surprise that Frankie doesn’t attempt many dribbles or accelerations with the ball, but he does have a high level of success when he does dribble the ball.

The data behind Kye Rowles' performances highlight fan concerns about physicality as well as how good a player he is. The data matches the eye test around his aerial duels which he struggles with. Fortunately, he isn’t a ball-winning central defender like Craig Halkett or Kent.

Rowles, however, is the best in the league for interceptions, in the 97th percentile for shots blocked, and the 80th percentile for successful defensive actions.

On the ball we see him performing well across the board. Most impressively we see him in the 95th percentile for progressive passes and 82nd percentile for accuracy of progressive passes. He also sits in the 87th percentile for passes to the final third and 78th percentile for accurate passes to the final third. Add in regular dribbles from the back and we have the picture of what the Aussie is: a ball-playing sweeper.

Stephen Kingsley’s defensive stats might concern some at first look, but we need to take one major thing into consideration: his position. He was mostly used as a central defender this season but did play several games at left-back. This will change the type of player he plays against and the defensive scenarios that we see him in.

He does rank in the 92nd percentile for defensive duels won, but not very well in other metrics. If compared to other left backs, we may see an entirely different story. On the ball though, Kingsley ranks well in pretty much all metrics, with his worst percentile being 63rd and his best being the 95th. He’s accurate in multiple types of passes and on the dribble, and unlike the two other main central defenders, he loves to accelerate with the ball at his feet, driving out of defence.

Toby Sibbick played a bit part role in the team this year and like Kingsley, he often played in the full-back position. Like his left-sided team-mate, the data potentially shows the same issues, with Sibbick ranking surprisingly low on several defensive metrics.

In possession though, he is consistent across the board. Most impressively, he ranks best in the league for central defenders at dribbles per 90, and in the 97th percentile for accelerations per 90.

Craig Halkett is last of the centre-backs, and the outfield player who played the least of all players in this article. He managed just over 400 minutes this season, but some positives about him returning to his normal self are seen in the data. He was involved in a vast number of aerial duels, intercepted the ball and blocked shots, and won a lot of defensive duels.

Like most of his defensive partners, he also passed the ball often and accurately, even though he didn’t get involved in the more complex and progressive passes. It'll be interesting to see how he can do after a full pre-season without injury.

Full-backs

A position that has lacked depth and consistency since Michael Smith departed is the right side of defence. Nathaniel Atkinson was another of the squad that struggled for game time, missing 11 games through an ankle injury, and often missed out when fit due to formation changes and competition for places. He ranks highly in several metrics but possibly struggled with consistent game time which has led to his overall data being a bit less consistent that normal.

Atkinson never shies away from a tackle, getting involved in more defensive duels than 92 per cent of players. He intercepts the ball more than 88 per cent of other full-backs and is more successful in defensive actions than 88 per cent of players.

In attack, Atkinson is in the 61st percentile for expected assists, highlighting his ability to create chances. He’s in the 84th percentile for shots per 90, again highlighting his intentions to contribute goals.

When passing, he’s slightly below average in several metrics but impresses with the accuracy of his forward passes. One thing he is good at on the ball though, is his dribbling. He dribbles more than 96 per cent of full-backs and does so with a good success rate. He accelerates with the ball more than 73 per cent of players, runs with the ball progressively more than any other and touches the ball in the box more than 96 per cent of full backs. This data highlights his tenacity in defence, attacking abilities, but potentially the lack of consistency that Hearts fans may want to see improve to become a regular starter.

I’ve been on record as saying that Alex Cochrane is potentially the club's most valuable asset, helped by the fact that the big spenders down south are more likely to invest in a young Englishman who came through a reputable academy in England.

When it comes to the data from this season, it doesn’t exactly back up my claim. In previous seasons, Cochrane has excelled in data as well as the eye test, so why is that not the case this year?

Well, he may be another one victim to playing in multiple roles. This season he’s played as a left back, left wing-back and as a central midfielder. When playing as a left wing-back, he's sometimes so high up that he’s effectively a left midfielder and on other occasions is so inverted he’s basically a central midfielder.

But let’s look at the data. The former Brighton man is in the 80th percentile for assists per 90, and the 73rd percentile for xA per 90. For a modern-day wing-back, this is a very important metric.

He’s a bit of a mix and match when it comes to his passing metrics, above the 60th
percentile for passes, passes to the penalty area, crosses, and crosses to the six-yard box per 90. On the flipside, only hitting the 60th and above percentile for accuracy. This last point could be because he tries harder passes than other players in his position, often going for more risk and reward.

Cochrane also is in the 65th percentile for accelerations, another important aspect of the modern-day wing-back. Now, we can’t just ignore the poor data he has defensively, but I feel that in the wing-back role with three central defenders behind him, this isn’t as important as it would be if he was a left-back.

In addition, one of Cochrane’s main attributes, his engine, is hard to put into data. He tracks back well, gets goal side and stands a player up, forcing his opponent to pass the ball elsewhere. This is something that you don’t see on a graph.

Hearts fans will be wondering if Dexter Lembikisa has played his last game for the club. The Jamaica internationalst often divided fans' opinions. Looking at his data, we see pretty much the epitome of a wing-back.

Defensive data that doesn’t make great reading, propped up by a high level of defensive duels per 90 which shows a willingness to get involved.

Lembikisa comes into his own when on the ball or in an attacking area. He sits in the 92nd percentile for goals scored, and even though he has yet to get a league assist, he’s in the 80th percentile for xA which usually would lead to a few assists over the season. He also takes more shots than any other full-back in the league.

In possession, Lembikisa looks impressive in most passing and dribbling metrics, only letting himself down with his passing accuracy and forward pass accuracy. He’s another one of the club's full-backs who likes to get the ball down and dribble, evident by attempting more dribbles per 90 than anyone else in the league. At 20 years of age, Naismith may believe he has what it takes to turn him into a top-quality wing back, so it wouldn’t surprise me if he was back next season.

Defensive Midfield

The last position we will look at in this article is defensive midfield. Now, there are a few players that could be in this section, but I’ve decided to choose just two and leave the rest for the next article.

Beni Baningime recently delighted Hearts fans when he committed himself to the club for another two years. When looking at his data, we need to remember what he does on a football pitch.

If you are expecting to see a sea of green, you’d best look away now. Baningime keeps things simple, wins the ball back, and finds a team-mate. He rarely does anything fancy, apart from sneaking away from three players with a drop of a shoulder.

The data just highlights exactly what we know already. He’s in the 91st percentile for duels won, 68th percentile for interceptions, and gives away fewer fouls than any other central midfielder in the league. He passes the ball often, leaving him in the 66th percentile for the number of passes per 90, and is in the 96th percentile for passing accuracy meaning that he rarely plays a loose pass.

He may not play many forward passes but when he does they are accurate, placing him in the 93rd percentile for accurate forward passes. On top of that, he is the most accurate passer to the final third, no matter how rare those passes are. Combining these passing accuracy metrics with the fact he’s in the 63rd percentile for successful dribbles, we complete the picture of what we know about Beni as a player who rarely loses the ball.

Peter Haring has been a great servant to the club, and for this I’ve briefly included him in this review. He ranks highly for quite a lot of defensive and passing metrics, his time on the pitch was limited due to injury.

Looking at his defensive metrics, we may see the club look to find a taller combative defensive midfielder to replace Haring. Ranking as the best in the league for successful aerial duels is very impressive and is something we may need in Europe next year.