There’s nothing more annoying for the football fan sitting at home and cheering on their team, to hear the ill-informed views of a pundit that should know better.
Ex-Liverpool legend, Graeme Souness, a powerhouse midfielder in his day, has been found wanting again when speaking about West Ham’s Declan Rice.
During his punditry on Sky Sports this Sunday, Souness suggested that Rice is the type of midfielder that always appears to play it safe, something that Hammers News picked up on.
Not only was that statement incorrect but it was, in fact, wildly accurate and misleading.
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Anyone who saw Rice star for England in the Euro 2020 tournament will understand that he doesn’t often venture forward, but when he does it’s with purpose. If he can play the ball forward he will.
That’s shown in some stats released by Pass Performance, a coaching and player focused training app.
Of the defensive midfielders in the top five leagues, he has the highest percentage of forward passes.
Perhaps Souness could do with brushing up on his research in future…
% of passes played forward in the league last season:
Declan #Rice – 29.8%
Ruben #Neves – 28.4%
Wilfred #Ndidi – 25%
Eduardo #Camavinga – 24.4%
Saul #Niguez – 22.7% pic.twitter.com/icIWjZIoOT— PASS Performance Ltd (@Passperformance) August 11, 2021