Number of crosses and success rate.

98 34% Nolberto Solano NEWCASTLE
94 31% David Beckham MAN UNITED
85 32% Paul Merson ASTON VILLA
84 34% Claus Jensen CHARLTON
71 29% Lee Bowyer LEEDS
70 28% Paolo Di Canio WEST HAM
61 27% Hassan Kachloul SOUTHAMPTON
60 28% Mark Kennedy MAN CITY
57 28% Steve Guppy LEICESTER
57 27% David Thompson COVENTRY


-- Anonymous, April 26, 2001

Answers

Goalkeepers Top Goalkeeper

1 : NEIL SULLIVAN, TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR OPTA INDEX SCORE: 1,156
2 S. Given Newcastle 1,082
3 M. Schwarzer Middlesbrough 963
4 N. Martyn Leeds 894
5 G. Walsh Bradford 834
6 C. Kirkland Coventry 831
7 P. Jones Southampton 807
8 F. Barthez Manchester United 790
9 C. Nash Manchester City 776
10 M. Poom Derby 766


-- Anonymous, April 26, 2001

Attackers
#1 : SYLVAIN WILTORD, ARSENAL OPTA INDEX SCORE: 1,527
The rest of the Top 10:
2 D. Yorke Manchester United 1,191
3 D. Dublin Aston Villa 1,180
4 D. Ferguson Everton 1,169
5 O. Gunnar Solskjaer Manchester United 1,153
6 C. Cort Newcastle 1,147
7 B. Carbone Bradford City 1,141
8 T. Henry Arsenal 1,065
9 E. Heskey Liverpool 1,025
10 R. Blake Bradford 1,021


-- Anonymous, April 26, 2001

If Solano's crosses statts include corners & FK's, they're damned lies.
He hasn't hit a decent corner or FK for at least 6 months.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2001

It's the most frustrating part of opta stats in that intention plays no part in their calculation. For example when a keeper overhits a goal kick, a centre half fluffs his clearance and a striker nips in and buries it, this is recorded as an assist by the keeper as though it were somehow played for: utter pants. Nobby gets this amazing rating because they simply mark it as successful if the next player to touch the ball plays for NUFC: if opposing teams start keeping a forward back at the opposite corner when he takes them then that success rate will slip by 10%. A player who gets it in the area every time will probably have a worse "success" rate because he will be dropping the ball where there are the most defenders but also the best chances of scoring.

-- Anonymous, April 26, 2001