Football News: Toure, Henderson or Ramsey: Who is the best box to box midfielder in the Premier League?

Image from: 101greatgoals.com

The 3 midfielders I'm calling into question are Manchester City's Yaya Toure, Liverpool's Jordan Henderson, and Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey.

These 3 players are known for their ability to work tirelessly up and down the pitch whilst contributing both offensively and defensively. Who is the best at this job though? It is easy to just say "Yaya Toure" and be done with it. However, I believe Aaron Ramsey and Jordan Henderson deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as the Ivorian powerhouse.

(stats taken for the Premier League only from Transfermarkt and Sqwaka)

I'll start off with passing as that tends to be the key area to judge midfielders. In terms of passing accuracy, Toure comes out on top with 90% accuracy, Ramsey is second with 85% accuracy, and Henderson is third with 81% accuracy. Passing accuracy doesn't say a lot though because you don't know whether or not they're just passing it sideways with no intention of going anywhere. Toure certainly has a superior passing range though, that much is obvious. Next, we go to chances created. Ramsey leads the pack in this area with a chance created every 34 minutes, Henderson is just behind him with a chance created every 47 minutes and surprisingly, Toure is a long way behind with a chance created every 76 minutes! Creating chances is irrelevant unless you create goals though. The number of goals you assist is directly associated with the quality of chances you create. Henderson is first in this area with an assist every 273 minutes (6 this season), Ramsey is in second place with an assist every 482 minutes (2 this season), and Toure is again miles behind with an assist every 1523 minutes (1 this season)! So is Toure really the best passer of the ball of the three players? From this we can deduce that Toure is the more accurate passer, Ramsey creates the most shooting opportunities but Henderson creates the best chances for his team mates. Toure hardly walks it in this area!

Another key part of being a box to box midfielder is scoring goals. In terms of shooting accuracy Toure is superior with 41% accuracy, Henderson is the second most accurate player with 36% and Ramsey is surprisingly last with just 31%. In terms of goals scored though, Toure averages a goal every 218 minutes (7 this season), Ramsey averages a goal every 321 minutes (3 this season), and Henderson is a long way behind averaging a goal just once every 818 minutes (2 this season). It is virtually indisputable that Toure is the best player here in terms of scoring goals, and that Henderson prefers to be creating the chances, than being on the end of them. Ramsey seems to be good but not exceptional at both though.

Of course, being a box to box midfielder is not all about what you do in the opposition's half. So it is only fair to now call into question the defensive proficiency of each player. One of the most important stats for a central midfielder is winning your midfield battles, or in other words your duel success. Henderson and Toure are joint first here with 50% duel success whilst Ramsey lags behind with just 42%. In terms of average defensive actions (tackles, interceptions, clearances etc.) per game, Henderson is miles ahead with 4 per game, whilst Ramsey and Toure both average just 2 per game. Discipline is critical for midfielders though as your defensive actions and duels are irrelevant if you're getting yourself banned. None of the 3 players have been red carded this season however Toure averages a yellow card every 381 minutes, Ramsey averages a yellow card every 482 minutes, whilst Henderson despite being the most defensively involved player of the 3 is only booked on average every 818 minutes. The only other important defensive area for midfielders is defensive errors as they are generally the reason for conceding a goal. Whilst Henderson hasn't made a single error in 1636 minutes of football, Toure has also managed to avoid making a mistake for 1523 minutes. Aaron Ramsey on the other hand has averaged a defensive error every 482 minutes making 2 in 964 minutes of football.

In conclusion, Toure is the more accurate passer and shooter which suggests he has the best technique. Henderson creates the most goals and is the most solid defensively which suggests he is the hardest working and tries the most risky passes. Meanwhile Ramsey tends to be a more all round player in terms of scoring and creating goals, but his attacking instincts leave a lot to be desired defensively. All 3 players perform a similar role for their teams in getting up and down the pitch offering both an offensive and defensive contribution. However they all clearly have very different strengths. The stats seem to back up my theory though that Henderson and Ramsey do deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Toure when discussing box to box midfielders; especially considering both are much younger players. Toure is probably still the most inspirational player of the 3, but he isn't in a different league contrary to popular opinion.

Who you would rather have in your team is entirely your decision as stats can only be used to back up an opinion really, and aren't definitive by any means. It probably depends on the individuals outlook on the game (or the team you support!) as to which player you prefer.

Written by Adam Jones January 02 2015 16:05:41