Lots of Wolverhampton Wanderers fans have praised their skipper after stats were revealed of the most successful long passes.
Comfortably at the top of the tree sits Wolves centre half Conor Coady who has recorded a mammoth 121 successful long passes this campaign, far more than Virgil van Dijk who is in second with 87.
Popular fan account @TalkingWolves tweeted about the statistics which were revealed on Monday Night Football while Coady was playing the role of a pundit.
According to the statistics website WhoScored, the Liverpudlian averages a huge 7.2 long balls per match, playing a key part in distributing the ball to his wingers.
As this analysis from Total Football Analysis highlights, Coady drops to the deepest position on the pitch in attack and picks out diagonal passes to find either one of his wingers or full-backs who are more advanced up the pitch.
Unsurprisingly, Wolves fans loved to read these stats – as you can tell from the responses below. One fan even described Coady as their quarterback for his ability to sit deep and pick a pass.
My Captain
— Fawaz Danmole (@El_phawazee) December 17, 2019
WELL DONE CAPTAIN https://t.co/KSbxRXdId8 HAVE JUST EMBARRASSED THE BEST DEFENSIVE DUOS AT LIVERPOOL.#CAPTAINFANTASIC
— christopher bird (@chris19712011) December 17, 2019
There were times early on where Coady had a couple of blunders, but he’s been sublime. Every time he picks his head up, you know a majestic pass is coming
— Carlos Morales (@cmorales22_) December 17, 2019
His distribution is in a different league to the others… he’s a quarterback.
— Steve C. (@SCSIWolf) December 17, 2019
Gareth must surely come knocking soon
— White Wolf (@White_Wizard_88) December 17, 2019
Best ball playing centre back in the prem
— brad (@_bradn) December 17, 2019
Impressively, for a player who is averaging so many long passes per match, he has a very good passing percentage rate. Wolves are not a possession-based side so their passing stats don’t tend to be particularly flattering, however, Coady’s percentage rate of 83.4 is pretty impressive considering a big chunk of his passes are going long.
Wolves currently sit eighth after 17 games and are five points off the Champions League places. They travel to Carrow Road on Saturday before two big games against Manchester City and Liverpool.