A Statistical Look At The Start Of The Championship – The Players

With the Championship season now five games in, we have decided to take an early look at what is going on in one of the most exciting leagues in the world, in my eyes. In this section, we take a look at players rather than the teams, which we discussed here.

According to WhoScored, the overall performance rating is topped by Queens Park Rangers defender Nedum Onuoha and Ipswich’s Tommy Smith, both of whom are on 7.89.

Staying with the Rs, Alejandro Faurlin has made the most tackles per game, on average, with 5.5, but Birmigham’s Tom Adeyemi is close behind on five.

On average, Kelvin Etuhu of Barnsley makes the most fouls per game (3) but Leon Best matches that.

Middlesbrough’s Lukas Jutkiewicz has averaged 4.4 shots at goal per game, Charlie Austin of QPR has averaged 4.2, and Huddersfield’s James Vaughan 3.8.

Dean Whitehead of Middlesbrough has completed the most passes per game, on average, with 71.6, with Brighton’s Stephen Ward in second with 64.3 per game. In joint fourth is Watford’s Almen Abdi and Brighton’s Gordon Greer with 61.2, and just behind is Joey Barton, with 61.

James Vaughan is the division’s top scorer with six goals, with Watford’s Troy Deeney just behind on five. Then follows Jordan Rhodes, Leonardo Ulloa of Brighton and Lewis Grabban of Bournemouth, all with four.

Leading the way on assists is Abdi and Todd Kane on three, with a host of players on two – including Daryl Murphy of Ipswich, David Nugent of Leicester and Jamie Mackie at Nottingham Forest.