This tweet inspired me to do a bit of a data dive into just what our midfield duos bring to the table & how they stack up against each other.

So here's a big #NUFC centre-mid performance spreadsheet

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UhsnKt-hFgBeeuzIz9_4XpEkbgkS99ISWdflsW6GEVA/edit#gid=667983017

Some interesting narratives confirmed/debunked... https://twitter.com/NUFC360/status/1351959776528367616

Often see Sean Longstaff accused of 'sideways' passing, but:

Lateral Passes Per 90

Shelvey - 20.52 (44% of 47.03 passes p90)
Hayden - 13.16 (44% of 30.22 passes p90)
Hendrick - 10.07 (35% of 28.47 passes p90)
S Longstaff - 11.6 (34% of 33.3 passes p90)

#NUFC

Also fairly clear from the data, that Issac Hayden is the best of our bunch when it comes to defending and that asking Shelvey to defend in a two-man midfield is an utter no-no.

#NUFC

A couple of bits stood out for me also when it comes to the reason Shelvey is in the team - to progress the ball. He's an aggressive passer who makes bad decisions. Look at his accuracy compared to S Longstaff #NUFC