The Economics of Sport
  • Sports Economics
  • About
  • Workshop
  • Selected Publications
  • Book Reviews
  • A Primer on Gaelic Games
  • Upcoming Events
  • Media
  • Education
  • Resources & Links
  • Data

One Man Team? The Reliance of Premier Clubs on  Star Players

30/3/2015

 
By Stephen Brosnan

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar once said “One man can be a key ingredient on a team, but one man cannot make a team”. Collis and Montgomery (1995) note that a firm’s competitive advantage derives ultimately from the ownership of a valuable resource. Superior performance derives from developing a ‘competitively distinct’ set of resources and deploying them in a well conceived strategy.  In terms of football clubs, one of the most significant resources a club possesses are its players. While analysts would argue that football is a team sport and there is no ‘one man team’, it is evident that most clubs do possess a star player, or key resource, that is fundamental to their success. Given the chances of injury, suspension, fatigue and loss of form over the course of the season, the over reliance by a club on the contribution of one player can significantly impact their competitiveness over the course of a season.

Table 1 highlights the contribution of each Premier League clubs ‘star’ player during the current season. The players selected have made the highest contribution to teams goals (goals + assists) and analysis looks at the percentage of teams goals in which the player contributed, the points lost in the absence of this contribution and a teams win/loss percentage with and without their star player.
Picture
In terms of contribution to their team’s overall goals, Charlie Austin has had the highest contribution, playing an active part in two thirds of all QPR’s goals this season. Burnley’s Danny Ings is second in terms of involvement in team’s goals either scoring or assisting in over half of all Burnley’s goals this season. Given both these clubs currently lie in the Premier League relegation zone, injury or suspension to either of these players would have a significantly negative impact on the chances of the team’s Premier League survival.

Harry Kane has been a revelation for Tottenham Hotspurs this season, particularly since the turn of the year. Kane has contributed scored 16 goals and provided 6 assists which accounts for 48% of all Spurs’ goals. The loss of Kane’s contribution would see Spurs drop 19 points, the highest points contribution by any one player. Also, Tottenham have failed to win any of the four games which Kane has not featured, highlighting his importance to Spurs competitiveness. Alexis Sanchez highlighted his importance to Arsenal’s quest for Champion League football with 13 goals and 7 assists which resulted in winning 19 points for the Gunners so far this season.

The over reliance of clubs on one key player can seriously undermine a club’s ‘long term’ competitiveness over the course of the season. Sergio Aguero has scored in just 2 out of Manchester City’s last 9 games which has seen the club drop 15 points and lose serious ground in the title race. Man. City’s only marginal hope of a title challenge is a result of Chelsea dropping six points on the back of Diego Costa’s return of 1 goal in last 6 games. Down the other end, Aston Villa’s survival chances have been boosted by the form of their star man Gabby Agbonlahor (3 goals in 2 games) which has resulted in 6 points while the fate of Burnley, Leicester and QPR looks grim on the back of their star player’s recent form (Austin 2 goals in 8, Ings 3 goals in 8 and Ulloa 0 goals in 10).

Stephan Brosnan is a research assistant working in the Department of Economics at University College Cork. 


Comments are closed.

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013

    About

    This website was founded in July 2013.

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    American Football
    Athletics
    Baseball
    Basketball
    Behavioural Economics
    Boxing
    Broadcasting
    Competitive Balance
    Cricket
    Cycling
    Darts
    David Butler
    Declan Jordan
    Drugs
    Ed Valentine
    Epl
    Esports
    Expenditure
    F1
    Fifa World Cup
    Finances
    Funding
    Gaa
    Gaelic Games
    Gambling
    Game Theory
    Gary Burns
    Geography
    Golf
    Greyhound Racing
    Guest Posts
    Horse Racing
    Impact Studies
    John Considine
    John Eakins
    League Of Ireland
    Location
    Media
    Mls
    Mma
    Olympics
    Participation
    Paul O'Sullivan
    Premier League
    Regulation
    Research
    Robbie Butler
    Rugby
    Simpsonomics
    Snooker
    Soccer
    Spatial Analysis
    Sporting Bodies
    Stephen Brosnan
    Swimming
    Taxation
    Teaching
    Technology
    Tennis
    Transfers
    Uefa
    Ufc
    World Cup
    Wwe

Related

The website is not formally affiliated to any institution and all of the entries represent the personal views and opinions of an individual contributor. The website operates on a not-for-profit basis. For this reason we decline all advertisement opportunities. 

Contact

To contact us email sportseconomics2013@gmail.com or find us on Twitter @SportEcon.