Ryan Lowe has been at #PNEFC for nearly two years and we’ve heard about his ‘football brand’ on a number of occasions during that time. I thought I would have a look into the facts and figures to see how it stacks up. It makes interesting, incredible and also ominous reading…

Ryan Lowe was appointed in December 2021 and after his first win v Barnsley, he said in his interview to #PNEFC “I want to bring a style which can excite the fans, it won’t always be good because there are some good teams in this league”

I am not a journalist nor employed by a football club, I am just a fan but there is easy access to facts and figures online which you can view at your own leisure. Feel free to have a look, it’s there in black and white and it makes worrying reading.

Lowe has been in charge for 85 league games now. That’s nearly two full seasons in charge. I’d say it’s an appropriate time to consider the stats about how we are playing. We are almost one third of the way into this season and Ryan Lowe has now had 4 transfer windows.

He was appointed in December 2021. In that season he was in charge for 25 of the 46 matches picking up 39 points, his team scoring 30 goals and conceding 29. We finished 13th but it’s unfair to criticise that seasons performance after he took over a team mid season.

The following season, the 22/23 season, was his first full season in charge. We picked up 63 points, scored 45 goals in 46 games and conceded 59 goals ending up 12th in the league.

This season we currently sit 8th after 14 games We are almost one third of the way into the season and we have 22 points having scored 18 goals and conceded 21. If this form continues we are on target for mid table and a little over 60 points.

In a total of 85 league games, we have amassed 120 points scoring 93 and conceding 109. That equates to a fraction over 1 goal per game and 1.41 points per game. That points per game total amounts to 64 points over a 46 game season which is where we have finished previously.

In those 85 league games the scoring breakdown is as follows: 0 x 30, 1 x 24, 2 x 26, 3 x 3 and 4 x 2. In 63% of our league games under Lowe we have scored 1 or 0 goals. In just 5% of those games we have scored 3 or more goals. It’s absolutely paltry.

In the 85 league games we have conceded goals as follows: 0 x 27, 1 x 32, 2 x 11, 3 x 5 and 4 x 10. In nearly one fifth of our games we have conceded 3 or more goals. We have conceded 4 goals on 10 occasions in those 85 games! However in nearly 70% we conceded 1 or 0.

Worryingly, in the 85 league games in charge Ryan Lowe’s team have only won a match by two clear goals on 8 occasions. In 21/22 x 3, 22/23 x 4 and 23/24 x 1. That works out at less than 10% of our matches. It’s no wonder the nerves at Deepdale are so fraught!

On 29th August 2023 Ryan Lowe said, “We play a lot more in the opposition half, which is probably best to do. We need to respect teams that come and it’s not just about playing silky football.” Are we playing silky football this season?! Let’s have a deeper look shall we?

Our overall xG is 11.9 with only Rotherham, QPR and Sheff Wed with a lower xG of 8.1, 10.7 and 11.2 respectively. All three of those teams are in the bottom three. It’s astonishing we are 8th in all honesty. Sunderland who are level on points have an xG of 21.9 for comparison.

We have had a total of 121 shots with just 37 on target. Only Rotherham are below us for total shots of 96 and just 26 on target. Sheff Wed have had 123 shots but only 30 on target. Both those teams are in the bottom 3. Now our finishing is not as clinical we are not scoring.

Looking next at our passings stats, we have attempted 5,399 passes and completed 3,638. For comparison, only 3 teams have attempted fewer and completed fewer passes, Huddersfield, QPR and Rotherham. 2/3 of those teams are in the bottom 3.

Next stat is shot creation actions, we have 198 of those and only Rotherham is below us. For comparison, Sunderland have 360. Per 90 minutes our SCA is 14.14, only Rotherham sit below us. Sunderland are 25.71.

We sit top of the league for tackles!!!!! A total of 263 and 9 clear of Stoke. We have won 155 of those tackles. It seems we are doing something right, but if you don’t have the ball i suppose you need to tackle the opposition to get it back!

Our possession stats through 14 games average 42.1% with only Huddersfield, QPR, Rotherham and Sheff Wed with a lower percentage of possession. Once again, 3 of those 4 are in the bottom 3.

We have had 6,990 player touches and 1,520 of those are in the attacking third. My maths says that is 21%. That doesn’t seem like we are playing “a lot more in the opposition half” as was suggested at the end of August.

We have also had the third lowest number of take ons with 185 attempted and only 84 of those successful. Rotherham are below us with 185 attempted and Huddersfield with 184 attempted. Both of those teams are in the bottom 4.

We are top of the league!!!!!! When it comes to aerial duels won with 326. So that something!

Ryan Ledson also sits atop the fouls committed stats on 24 and Liam Lindsay is top of the clearances table with 85!!

So what does all of this say? Well, in my opinion it says we don’t have much of the ball, we don’t make that many passes, we give up possession to opponents, we don’t take many shots, we don’t create many chances and we don’t score many goals. Is that Ryan’s brand of football?

So why is this? Is this something that we have always done? I haven’t looked into last seasons stats but i suspect it won’t be too far from this seasons. I wonder why this is?

Well, if we persist in playing with just one striker upfront and in a very defensive formation, it sets us up to keep repeating these stats over and over again. We won’t keep getting away with narrow wins and we will continue to slip down the table. It’s time to change……