A-League goal scoring legend Archie Thompson has picked out the two positions Western Sydney Wanderers need to target for recruitment in this transfer window.
ARCHIE THOMPSON ON WANDERERS RECRUITMENT:
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“(Alou) Kuol is great, and he will disrupt the defence because he lets you chase everything down, [but he’s] probably not prolific in terms of scoring goals,” Archie said on the latest episode of A-Leagues Download.
“They need a number nine, and they need a 10 to be able to create more I think.”
The Wanderers are currently underperforming their Expected Goals metric (xG) by 8.5 goals, meaning that based on the chances they’ve created and shots they’ve taken they should have scored 17.5 goals rather than they 8 they do have.
The Isuzu UTE A-League xG ladder (source: FotMob)
This makes Western Sydney the poorest performing team in the competition for xG to actual goals; indeed FotMob’s xG ladder says that had they scored to their expected level they should have recorded 20 points rather than the 12 they have.
It adds up to the Wanderers — who have scored one goal from open play in their last six matches — being eight positions lower on the actual table than the xG ladder, a drop from 3rd to 11th.
Archie expressed some cynicism about the xG metric on Download during the Wanderers discussion.
“You talk about xG, but, I always hear this xG,” Archie said.
“If you’re not putting in the back of the net, what does that mean?”
Fellow Download panelist — and former Wanderer — Rashid Mahazi expressed his doubts that Western Sydney can use the 1-0 win over Melbourne Victory at AAMI Park to kickstart their season.
READ MORE: Wanderers off the bottom of the table after tense win over Melbourne Victory
“There seems to be some disconnection,” Mahazi said.
“I don’t know whether it’s between the coach and the players, the fans and the and the playing group. I’m not sure what it is, but they don’t look convincing.
“Even with a win here, I didn’t feel convinced that they should win that game, and looking at Melbourne Victory, they had probably had better chances. [They had] more intent to win.”
Western Sydney have already done some business in this transfer window, with Alex Bonetig having moved to MLS side Portland Timbers for a club record transfer fee.
READ MORE: Aussie ace seals move to MLS for club record transfer fee: Full Details
Mohamed Al-Taay and Gabriel Cleur have joined Bonetig in leaving the club, but the only rumoured signing so far has been centre back Harrison Delbridge who recently left Korean club Incheon United.
The Isuzu Ute A-League transfer window opens tomorrow, Wednesday the 14th of January.
Western Sydney Wanderers will host the high flying Newcastle Jets at CommBank Stadium on Saturday evening as they try to maintain momentum from the win over Melbourne Victory.
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