Originally conceived as a study in the stylistic contrasts between Ioannidis and Sporar, this analysis now incorporates the emerging impact of Jeremejeff following his standout performance against Volos. However, after his weekends brace in his 30minute cameo and delivering Panathinaikos an important road victory versus Volos, Jeremejeff cannot be ignored.
Goal Scoring Evolution:
Last season's goal-scoring struggles prompted a desperate plea for goals, finishing fifth in the league with 47 goals in 36 games. Fast forward to the current season, and the team leads the league with 41 goals in just 15 games, a testament to what can be deemed a "Jova revolution."
Looking at the numbers by our Forwards:
I want to highlight that I have purposedly used the word “Forwards” as opposed to Strikers as I do not view Ioannidis as a striker, something which I will reflect on later in this blog.
*Jeremejeff was not included in the European Team List
The selected stats don’t paint the whole picture, but will try to get into each player’s impact, how they play and how it effects how the team plays.
Fotis Ioannidis
Ioannidis began the season with high expectations with his performances at the end of last season becoming more consistent and showing his potential. He has now solidified himself as the starter. Ioannidis though does not resemble a typical striker and plays more of a “Forward”, similarly to Firmino as he did with Liverpool. Ioannidis has won the starting role under Ivan Jovanovic, thanks to his goal return as well as his assist. It is important to note, that their G/A are fairly close in the domestic league, however, Ioannidis' performances in Europe are greater than those of Sporar.
Why I find Ioannidis more of a “Forward” verse a “Striker” is if you see the following heat maps in Greece and Europe compared to below if you compare with Sporar;
Superleague Heatmap
European Heatmap
We can see Ioannidis drops into the wings and outside the box where he often links up with his wingers and is more involved in build ups.
Andraž Sporar
Sporar came with a high reputation due to the price and salary he is on, coming from Sporting Lisbon. He didn't necessarily light up the league on fire in his first season (22/23) with what is being deemed as a poor return with 14 goals across 37 games in all competitions (107.18 G/A per minute). He started off the new season very well scoring important goals against Dnipro in Europe, but started to fade away in Europe with poor performances and what should have been a tap in verse Braga, he skied it. Although he has done reasonably better in the league compared to last season, he has seen to fallen into bad habits where his finishing and positioning are not bringing out the best of what he can do.
Superleague Heatmap
European Heatmap
When you compare Ioannidis and Sporar, you can see Sporar acts instively more as a "Striker" and does not high involve himself with build up plays, but rather get himself into positions to score. This could attribute why we do not see as many assists or goals.
Alexander Jeremejeff
Initially omitted from the analysis due to his absence from the European squad, Jeremejeff's impactful performances demand attention. With the most "open play" goals this season, his ability to make an impact, as seen in the crucial brace against Volos, presents a compelling case for increased opportunities under the new coach.
Final Verdict:
The blog is intended to review the forwards/strikers, how they compare and how they each offer something different. Moving forward even with the change of coach, I do see Ioannidis continuining to lead the front line or even can evolve into a complimentary forward to the striker. However, the three forwards start with a clean slate as they try to impress Terim on who gets the start and who gets more minutes.
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