I haven’t done this for a while, but I hope to make it a semi-regular feature. The Actim stats are not without their flaws, few stats are, but they are very interesting indeed.

Just to recap Villa’s interest in the final standings for last season, there were 7 Villans in the Top 100:- 5th Gabby, 8th Barry, 23rd Ash, 24th Friedel, 25th Milner, 58th Luke Young & 87th Davies. The most glaring omission, and one that might cause some people to question the value of the index, is Stan Petrov.

I would agree that Stan’s absence is curious, but towards the end of last season I went in search of an answer by comparing his passing, tackling, etc. stats with other Villans and midfielders who did make the top 100.  What I found is that while his passing and tackling was on par with his peers, he wasn’t head and shoulders ahead of anyone.  When you consider that Actim measures a player’s contribution to a winning team and Stan wasn’t exactly weighing in with assists and goals it became clearer.  But I won’t claim to be entirely satisfied with the answer, I would really love to see the raw data behind the index.

So far this season, that pattern continues, although it really is early days yet. As of September 1st, Aston Villa have 5 players in the the Top 100:-

• 37th Ashley Young – 59 points
• 63rd Nicky Shorey – 49 points
• 72nd Gabriel Agbonlahor – 47 points
• 76th Brad Friedel – 46 points
• 97th Carlos Cuellar – 40 points

I would certainly expect a few of these players to push their way further up the index as the season continues and should be joined by one or two other Villans. Here’s how the Top 100 is currently made up by team:-