So, who really are the league’s most valuable players?

Mar 19 2008 by Ian Doyle, Liverpool Daily Post

Ian Doyle discovers it’s not just Liverpool who rely heavily on a Torres-like talisman - or just Everton with Yakubu

BELIEVE the lazy punditry, and Liverpool and Everton would be immersed in mid-table mediocrity rather than a race for fourth place but for the efforts of Fernando Torres and Yakubu.

As top goalscorers for the respective Merseyside rivals, it’s perhaps stating the obvious.

But such is the regularity at which such theories are trotted out, the Daily Post has decided to find out which players are in fact the most influential in the Premier League.

By a simple process of determining how results would have ended up without an individual’s goals, it has been possible to ascertain a player’s worth to their team.

And the findings make for some interesting reading.

True, without Torres, Liverpool would be 11 points worse off and alongside eighth-place Manchester City in the table.

But with no Cristiano Ronaldo, league leaders United wouldn’t be challenging for the title but instead aiming to catch up on Everton in the race for a Champions League qualification berth.

And at Goodison, Joleon Lescott’s goals have proven just as pivotal as Yakubu’s despite scoring half as many as the Nigerian.

Of course, this research is not an exact science. The statistics don’t differentiate between whether the goals scored by each individual are crucial winners or late equalisers, which are of obviously greater significance than scoring a team’s second goal in a 3-3 draw.

They also don’t take into account when a player opens the scoring in a victory by more than one goal.

For example, Ronaldo scored the first goal and went on to net a hat-trick in Manchester United’s 6-0 win over Newcastle United earlier this year. But because there were three other goals, take away Ronaldo’s treble and United still would have won, rendering the Portuguese winger’s hugely influential contribution irrelevant in these statistics.

However, despite these shortcomings, the same criteria applies to each player and ensures a fair balance.

That Ronaldo, Torres and Emmanuel Adebayor lead the way is perhaps no surprise, given they are the three leading goalscorers in the Premier League having netted 61 times between them.

Beneath that trio, though, things aren’t quite as expected.

Benni McCarthy has had his thunder stolen somewhat at Blackburn Rovers since the arrival of Roque Santa Cruz last summer. But his eight goals have gained 10 points for the Ewood Park side, one more than Santa Cruz’s 12 goals have garnered.

Such is Dean Ashton’s impact, West Ham United supporters will no doubt wonder why almost half of his Premier League starts have come from the bench.

Meanwhile, while Robbie Keane’s 13 league goals for Tottenham Hotspur have gained the Londoners only three points, team-mate Dimitar Berbatov has netted a goal less but has been worth eight points to Juande Ramos’s team.

Over at Goodison, the strong team ethic engendered by David Moyes comes through in the statistics, with no one player dominating.

While Yakubu’s 12 goals have been worth six points, Lescott has provided the same amount with half as many strikes.

Take away Andrew Johnson’s six goals and Everton would be four points worse off. But despite netting one more than Lescott and Johnson, Tim Cahill’s goals have ultimately earned David Moyes’s side just a single point – the 1-1 draw at Chelsea in November.

Midfield heavyweights Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard’s 10 goals apiece have both been worth five points to Liverpool and Chelsea respectively, while Cesc Fabregas has earned Arsenal four points with his seven goals.

Behind Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez is Manchester United’s next most significant contributor with five points from 11 goals. Fans of Wayne Rooney, however, are in for a shock – without his eight goals, the Old Trafford outfit would still be on 67 points.

Chelsea’s main contributor is not Didier Drogba but Salomon Kalou (six points with his six goals) while Middlesbrough would find themselves in the relegation zone were it not for the seven points Tuncay Sanli’s five goals helped provide.

But possibly the biggest talking point comes in the form of Robin van Persie. The forward has made only 10 appearances for Arsenal this season, but his five goals in that time have been worth an impressive eight points to the Gunners.

Who knows, had the Dutchman not suffered an injury-ravaged season, matters may have been different for Arsene Wenger.

And with van Persie now back to full fitness and ready for a triple-header with Liverpool next month, Rafael Benitez’s men cannot say they haven’t been warned.

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