Which player has won your side the most points so far in the Premier League campaign of 2016/17?
With the March international break well under way Talksport have delved into this season’s statistics, crunched some numbers – maybe had a pint or a donut I don’t know – but either way their work culminated in the discovery of the one player per side who has won their team the most points so far this year in terms of their individual goals scored.
With the make up of the Premier League table at the moment, it’s not really a great surprise to see the likes of Diego Costa, Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Sadio Mane provide such a good points return for their efforts, but given the season Leicester City have had and the criticism Jamie Vardy has come under from some quarters – sitting joint in third place with eight goals returning nine points – changes the perception of his season somewhat.
Equally Fernando Llorente shows why many pundits questioned his lack of involvement earlier in the campaign for Swansea as he’s joint third also with a return of nine points from eleven goals.
As ever though tables like this show it’s not just about having one key man in great form, spreading goals around on a regular basis can reap it’s own rewards as shown by Burnley’s Sam Vokes only scoring five for six points, and West Bromwich Albion, who remain on track for a best ever top flight finish, have Salomon Rondon contributing seven goals for six points as well.
Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez is the second highest goalscorer in the Premier League but his 18 goals have only returned seven points, and Premier League hotshot at the moment, Everton’s Romelu Lukaku, has also only guaranteed seven points with his 21 strikes.
Having seen a few of these tables now over the years the one thing that stands out is how often top club goalscorers rarely have a goal count that tallies with the points, but in some ways that’s to be expected as scorers in form hit braces and hattricks and a one nil win is as valuable as a three nil yet, so less free scoring players always tend to appear to contribute more as each goal counts for something as opposed to be icing on the cake.
But I’m sure you’ll have your own thoughts on the table.
Pos
|
Club
|
Player
|
Goals
|
Points
|
1
|
Chelsea
|
Diego Costa
|
17
|
13
|
2
|
Tottenham Hotspur
|
Harry Kane
|
19
|
11
|
–
|
Manchester City
|
Sergio Aguero
|
13
|
11
|
–
|
Manchester United
|
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
|
15
|
11
|
3
|
Liverpool
|
Sadio Mane
|
12
|
9
|
–
|
Leicester City
|
Jamie Vardy
|
8
|
9
|
–
|
Swansea City
|
Fernando Llorente
|
11
|
9
|
4
|
Watford
|
Troy Deeney
|
9
|
8
|
5
|
Arsenal
|
Alexis Sanchez
|
18
|
7
|
–
|
Bournemouth
|
Joshua King
|
11
|
7
|
–
|
Everton
|
Romelu Lukaku
|
21
|
7
|
–
|
Hull City (now WHU)
|
Robert Snodgrass
|
7
|
7
|
–
|
Stoke City
|
Joe Allen
|
6
|
7
|
5
|
Burnley
|
Sam Vokes
|
5
|
6
|
–
|
Crystal Palace
|
Christian Benteke
|
9
|
6
|
–
|
Southampton
|
Charlie Austin
|
6
|
6
|
–
|
Sunderland
|
Jermaine Defoe
|
14
|
6
|
–
|
West Bromwich Albion
|
Salomon Rondon
|
7
|
6
|
6
|
Middlesbrough
|
Cristhian Stuani
|
4
|
4
|
–
|
West Ham United
|
Mark Noble
|
3
|
4
|