Newcastle news: John Anderson on expected goals statistics

Former Newcastle defender John Anderson is unimpressed with the current drive towards match data after reflecting on Newcastle being recorded as having fewer expected goals [xG) than Crystal Palace in their 5-0 win last week.

According to Opta, Newcastle’s xG was 1.54 while Palace’s was 2.0, despite the scoreline.

Anderson told BBC Radio Newcastle’s Total Sport Newcastle United Podcast exactly what he thought of the statistic.

“I want expected goals hoyed in the river,” he said. “We beat Crystal Palace 5-0, we played them off the park and they never really got a kick of the ball.

“They missed the penalty and their expected goals was greater than ours- how that works out I do not know.

“I just couldnt believe it when I saw it. People who didn’t see that game will look at that and think they did well.

“If they are saying that penalty was a chance, they clearly didn’t see the penalty. The ball did well to even reach the goalkeeper!”

Listen to the full clip here