It’s probably just about worth taking a look at the individual Football League divisions to see how things are shaping up, although it’s still pretty early in the season and the luck of the fixture list is still playing a part in how individual clubs have performed so far. I’d resist drawing any conclusions until at least the 10 game mark, but there are still some interesting early trends.

Championship

Attack

• Yeovil and Bolton haven’t had much joy in front of goal, needing an unsustainably high amount of shots to find the net so far. Fortunately I can’t see this lasting in the long term – I suspect they’ll regress significantly downwards in the coming weeks.
• Watford have picked up where they left off last season, energetic and dangerous going forward – they’re shooting twice as often as Millwall, who themselves are mustering fewer shots per match than any other Football League side so far.
• It’s interesting to see all three relegated clubs in different quadrants: Reading going for quality, QPR for quantity and Wigan a balance between the two.

Defence

• QPR are finding defending much easier than in the Premier League last season, able to restrict both the quantity and quality of opponents’ chances.
• Blackpool, Leeds and Huddersfield have also proven resilient at the back so far but the latter two are allowing their opponents plenty of sights at goal.

League 1

Attack

• The frustrations at Carlisle which let to Greg Abbot’s dismissal are illustrated well here: fewer shots than anyone else and a struggle to convert them.
• Despite the off-pitch controversy, Coventry have made quick work of their points deduction and are looking the most potent attacking force in the division. They’re taking at least 2 shots per match more than any other Football League side.

Defence

• Leyton Orient and Wolves stand out here as the most resilient defences in the division, able to withstand an average of three times as many shots as the leakiest teams before conceding.
• Gillingham and Notts County are keeping their back lines very busy, allowing significantly more shots at their goal than any other Football League side, while Brentford are the best side out of the 72 at restricting the number of their opponents’ shots.

League 2

Attack

• Hartlepool took a while to find the net this season and the legacy of that barren run is visible here – Oxford have needed almost seven shots fewer to score each of their goals.
• After their relegation scare last season, Wimbledon have responded by doing a lot of attacking, although as you’ll see in the next graphic there’s a fair bit of defending involved too.

Defence

• Chesterfield are in an impressive position on the attacking graph but even more so here: it’s proving very difficult to break them down so far.
• Scunthorpe and Exeter have been relying heavily on their defence, while Accrington need to be able to do so with more confidence.

Next steps

I’ll revisit these at around the 10 game mark when things have settled down a bit. I’d expect the vertical outliers to have moved significantly inwards by then to make the graphs a lot less stretched.

In the meantime, you can see more of my stuff over at http://www.matchstory.co.uk.