Notts County | Class of 2019/20
Updated: Nov 23, 2020
With The National League confirming this week that there will be no more league games played this season due to the Coronavirus pandemic it is probably timely that I have spent the last few days working on a variety of metrics to try and rate each Notts player for the season that quite possibly never was.
Without access to individual stats such as tackles, dribbles, pass accuracy, shots saved etc I have had to consider the stats that work for all positions whilst considering the team element.
Data I have collated this seson includes games and minutes played, goals and assists, clean sheets and PPG.
I have created weighted calculations for each of these elements, for each player rated. It's quite apparent that forwards and attacking midfielders might score higher than defensive players so I had to consider this in the metrics as well as making sure that calculations that involve player minutes on the pitch don't overly favour those that have played the most over the duration of the season.
Having considered all of these aspects I was able to formulate a system that rates players as fairly as possible whilst ensuring their contributions are rewarded accordingly.
Players scores are calculated for each of the disciplines mentioned above. There is no maximum score as it depends on too many factors but as an example the highest rating achieved was 6.66 so although some of the ratings for those at the bottom of the table look quite low you do have to consider the context of the scoring and that they may have played most of their minutes/games during a bad run of results.
Please remember that these are not my own personal, potentially subjective ratings but ratings derived from statistical data collected throughout the season relating to both individual and team performance.
Only players with 90 minutes or more playing time have been included, even if that 90 minutes is over several games.
And so to the ratings. Firstly the following players did not register enough minutes to be rated:
Kane Hemmings
Matt Tootle
Remaye Campbell
Jake Kean
29. Sam Graham - Rating: 2.06
Sam joined on loan from Sheffield United after the opening day defeat at Eastleigh and was thrown straight into the mix in the home game against Stockport County where he partnered fellow debutant Connell Rawlinson. Unfortunately injury was to bring a halt to his time at Notts just as he was starting to find his feet at the heart of the Magpies defence.
28. Declan Dunn - Rating: 2.33
With 163 minutes under his belt, Dunn made 3 appearances for the Magpies at the beginning of the season including being named in the starting line up for the Barnet game before going out on loan to Grantham Town.
27. Nathan Tyson - Rating: 2.39
Tyson made 18 appearances for Notts scoring once, in the 5-1 win over Chorley way back in August. The experienced striker had gone to Chesterfield on loan.
26. Sean Shields - Rating: 3.15
Shields joined the Magpies on a season long loan from Ebbsfleet in early September and has made 19 appearances in 976 minutes on the pitch. The lively midfielder has 1 assist to his name which came in the 2-0 win at home to Torquay Utd.
25. Ross Fitzsimons - Rating: 3.21
A keeper that has been out of favour at Notts this season with just 4 appearances and was the main protagonist in the most unusual of circumstances when recalled from his loan at Chesterfield to play against, Chesterfield, arguably his best game in a Notts shirt.
24. Pierce Bird - Rating: 3.47
The young defender has appeared 11 times this season accummulating 281 minutes whilst contributing to 5 clean sheets and a personal PPG of 2.09. Maybe would have hoped for more opportunities this season and was recalled from a loan spell at Grantham Town.
23. Jim O'Brien - Rating: 3.60
A firm fans favourite O'Brien's season has been hampered by two nasty injuries and most of his 20 appearances during the poor start to the season. If we could calculate a rating for recovery from bad injuries he would be top of the class!
22. Ben Turner - Rating: 3.68
Like O'Brien, Turner has suffered with injury this season.When playing he has shown his strength and experience and has netted twice, however a PPG of just 1.30 and reduced match time have impacted his overall rating.
21. Joe McDonnell - Rating: 3.76
Drafted in on the back of Slocombe's injury and Fitzsimons on/off loan affair with Chesterfield the AFC Wimbledon keeper has had a steady start after making his debut in the 2-1 away win over Yeovil in the FA Trophy.
20. Zoumana Bakayogo - Rating: 3.78