Enough of the season has passed to justify taking a look at how each side in the Football League has been performing so far, looking here at League 1. I’ll use my scatter plot template to break out the attacking and defensive performances of each club, then canter through a few notable stats on each side. Clicking on the graphics will bring up larger versions.

Attacking

First let’s look at attacking in detail, with the horizontal axis showing average shots taken per match (i.e. further right is better) and the vertical showing the average number of shots it takes to score each goal (i.e. lower is more clinical, thus better). Bottom right is the place to be, as clubs here are taking lots of shots and not needing many attempts to find the net, although top right and bottom left aren’t necessarily bad if the balance is right.

Defending

Now let’s look at defensive effectiveness by replacing “shots taken” on both axes with “shots faced”. Here clubs should aspire to be in the top left: facing a low number of shots and being able to withstand a high number of shots for each goal conceded.

 

Club-by-club

Barnsley – The Tykes are the division’s most clinical side in the air, converting over a quarter of their headed goal attempts so far. However they’ve struggled to defend leads, with only two League 1 sides dropping a greater share of points after scoring the opener. This is in spite of them registering the division’s greatest share of their shots in the last 15 minutes of matches (28%).

Bradford – A goal seems possible every time the ball is in the air during Bradford matches at the moment, with the second highest share of goals scored (39%) and conceded (33%) from headers in the division so far.

Bristol C – The Football League’s only unbeaten side have unsurprisingly spent the smallest share of time in losing positions (just 7.2%) and they’ve managed this through an impressive consistency of personnel. The 17 players they’ve used is the joint-lowest and they’ve also named the most unchanged line-ups (9). The understanding between their players may partly explain how they’ve racked up 3 or more goals in 6 matches so far this season: more often than any other Football League side.

Chesterfield – Chesterfield matches have not been short on action. No Football League side has seen more games with 5 or more goals, although this is partially due to them only being able to keep one clean sheet so far. The 5 penalties they’ve scored have also helped – no club in the Football League have netted more from the spot.

Colchester – On paper, Colchester appear to be taking games to their opponents this season: only high-flying Preston have created more chances in League 1 so far. However, the majority of these efforts (57%) have come from outside the area – the highest percentage in the Football League – and haven’t sufficiently troubled the opposing goalkeeper.

Coventry – Despite only two League 1 teams having allowed fewer attempts at their goal, Coventry’s defence has been the easiest in the division to breach, shot-for-shot. Coupled with being one of only two sides yet to recover any points from losing positions, their performances on the pitch have been as worrisome as their recent fortunes off it. They’ve started matches well at least, taking the highest percentage of shots – and scoring the highest percentage of goals – in the opening 15 minutes of any third tier side.

Crawley – Crawley have spent most of the season on the back foot so far: only two League 1 sides have created fewer chances and nobody has allowed their opponents as many shots at goal. In fact they’re the only Football League side yet to out-shoot any of their opponents so far, yet somehow they’ve kept the joint-most clean sheets in the division (6). They’re also the only team in the division not to have named an unchanged starting line-up.

Crewe – Crewe have struggled to create chances this season , with no side in the division carving out fewer so far. They’re also one of only two League 1 teams yet to have recovered a single point after falling behind. However they start matches reasonably well, with most of the goals they score coming in the first half and most of those they concede arriving in the second. In fact, if their matches so far had ended at half time they’d be 7 points better off.

Doncaster – There’s been little room for stalemate when Doncaster are involved: no Football League club has spent a smaller percentage of their time drawing than their 36%. Unfortunately it’s often their opponents who break the deadlock, with no League 1 club failing to score in more matches than the 5 in which they’ve drawn a blank. Improving their aerial threat could help here: they’re one of only three Football League teams not to have scored from a header.

Fleetwood – Fleetwood’s attack could learn something from their defence about reliability. While the League 1 newcomers have been the division’s third most wasteful side in front of goal, their defence has withstood more shots for each goal conceded than any back line except Notts County’s. Their rearguard has been particularly alert early on, with only 1 goal conceded in the opening half an hour of their matches so far.

Gillingham – The Gills have spent more time defending than attacking this season, creating the division’s joint-fewest chances and allowing more attempts at their own goal than all but two League 1 sides. They’ve also helped their opponents with more own goals (3) than any other Football League club and have rotated their squad the most in the division, with an average of three changes per match to the starting eleven.

Leyton O – Orient’s travelling supporters are getting a better deal than the home fans so far: their club is one of only two Football League sides without a home win and one of only three that are unbeaten away. The focus has been on getting the ball in close so far, with no League 1 side more dependent on headed goals or goals from inside the 6 yard box (accounting for 40% and 47% of their goals respectively). In fact they’re one of only two sides in the division not to have netted from outside the box yet.

MK Dons – Things are certainly clicking up front this season, with MK Dons creating the third most chances in the division and second only to Swindon at converting them. The entertainment value has generally been high, with no League 1 side involved in more games containing 5 or more goals so far.

Notts Co – Like Charlton in the division above, it’s all been about the execution for County so far. Despite creating few chances and allowing many in return, they’ve got the division’s third sharpest attack and its most resilient defence. Finding strength in adversity extends to their fortunes on the road, where they’re one of just three Football League sides yet to taste defeat.

Oldham – The Latics’ defence has restricted opponents well this season, with Swindon the only League 1 side to have faced fewer shots at their goal. They’ve often given themselves a lot to do though, with nobody in the division conceding a greater share of their goals before half time than their 63%. The good news is that so far they’ve managed to recover over half (53%) of the possible points after conceding first: the highest percentage in League 1 after Bristol City.

Peterborough – Strong at the back so far, only two League 1 sides have required more shots to break down on average than Peterborough. Up front they’re more reliant than anyone else in the division on long shots, with the 8 goals they’ve scored from outside the box the highest of anyone in the Football League.

Port Vale – Port Vale have proved vulnerable from long range this season, conceding more goals from outside the area (7) than any other Football League side. Their defence is also one of only two remaining in the Football League without a clean sheet to their name.

Preston – The only Football League team to have scored in every match so far, Preston have created more chances than anyone else in League 1 and have spent a greater share of time winning (48.8%) than any Football League side. Things aren’t bad at the back either, where they boast the division’s joint-highest tally of 6 clean sheets.

Rochdale – Rochdale have made a free-scoring return to the third tier, netting three or more goals on 5 occasions so far (a feat that only Bristol City can better). The ease with which they’ve gotten the ball into the penalty box has helped here: only Wimbledon can better the 67% of shots they’ve taken from inside it. Their fluency is all the more impressive for team who have rotated their squad heavily so far: no League 1 club has fielded more players than the 25 they’ve used.

Scunthorpe – It hasn’t been an enjoyable return to League 1 so far for Scunthorpe, with their defence in particular struggling to adapt: only two back lines have resisted fewer shots for each goal conceded. Close range is a particular problem, with no Football League side conceding as many goals from inside the 6 yard box as their 9. They’ve also fared worse than the rest of the division when protecting leads: just 46% of possible points have been secured from winning positions.

Sheff Utd – The Blades have regularly left it late this season: no Football League club has scored a greater share of their goals in final 15 minutes of games than their 57%. They’ve also been one of the division’s better teams at controlling space: only one League 1 team has taken a higher percentage of their shots from inside the penalty area and only two have restricted opponents to a greater share of efforts from outside their own.

Swindon – No League 1 side has allowed their opponents fewer shots than Swindon, although the ones that do get through are hit from worryingly close quarters. While the average Football League side can expect to face around 55% of shots from inside their own box, at Swindon this figure currently stands at a competition high of 73%, which explains why it’s taken fewer shots to score against them than any League 1 side except Coventry. In brighter news, they currently boast the division’s most clinical attack.

Walsall – Walsall have League 1’s most wasteful front line so far, needing an average of almost 3 more shots than the next most profligate side to score each of their goals. As a result nobody in the division has failed to score in more matches than their 7 so far. They’ve also spent a greater share of their playing minutes drawing than anyone else in the Football League (65.3%).

Yeovil – After Walsall, Yeovil have the next most inefficient attack in League 1. More accurate long range shooting could help matters – they’re one of only two teams in the division without a goal from outside the penalty area. They also need to work on their discipline, having been penalised for more fouls per match (13.1) than anyone in the third tier.