Alex Paulsen
Yea boooooi!
And my Paulsen Jersey arrived on the weekend!
He's done some amazing work and some clean sheets definitely owing to his awesome!
Presenting the first Isuzu UTE A-League Fan Player of the Month for 2023/24... Alex Paulsen! 🧤🔥
— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) December 5, 2023
The @WgtnPhoenixFC keeper was in outstanding form across October and November, keeping two clean sheets and saving two penalties.
Congratulations, Alex 👏 pic.twitter.com/xZuH1ngx6U
November Isuzu UTE A-League Player of the Month ➡️ 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 ✅
— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) December 11, 2023
What a month for 21-year-old @WgtnPhoenixFC goalkeeper Alex Paulsen! 🔥
Details: https://t.co/AspECsHoP6 pic.twitter.com/lYEw4rd9e1
FIVE goalkeepers and some of the Isuzu UTE A-League's most exciting attackers are up for Fan Player of the Month 🤩🔥
— Isuzu UTE A-League (@aleaguemen) April 5, 2024
Who gets your vote? Have your say in the replies 🗳️
Details: https://t.co/EEuXlDZYxK pic.twitter.com/nKb3BkVo0b
Had to crown the king
— Vinnie 🇳🇿 (@VincentYW_) April 27, 2024
#WELvMAC pic.twitter.com/NcrLuw5eGM
As a neutral observer I've really enjoyed the performance of your new #1 Alex Paulsen.
There's no doubt he's had a huge impact on the season the Nix are currently having. But is it possible to measure the impact?
I thought it would be interesting to compare Wellington Phoenix shot data from this season (23/24) with last season (22/23). I was originally planning on turning this into a YouTube video but I have found myself with a sickness which requires me to sit on the toilet for most of the day, so here we are typing this out...
The following data has been taken from all regular season games in 22/23 and 23/24 not including pre-season games, cup games or knockout matches. I wasn't able to find xg stats anywhere, so if anyone knows where to find in depth A-League stats so we can look into this further please let me know (SOURCE FOUND. HAVE ADDED BELOW)! How did I find it? Literally sifting through Google match stats like a maniac.
I wanted to see if there were any clear indicators of a direct impact from Paulsen on the Nix success this season. And let's just say, its pretty crazy. And if you've read this far, than you'll appreciate it as much as me.
The results:
With chiefy in charge the Phoenix have been much more solid at the back this season. Purely down to the keeper? Probably not.
But what if I told you that the Wellington Phoenix have faced more shots on target, at their goal this season than they did last season...
22/23 shots faced on target 141 23/24 shots faced on target 145
Okay so not by much but it still shows a similar amount of chances created by opposition teams.
So let's see how the keepers dealt with them.
Oli saved 105. Paulsen saved 119.
Oli saved 74.5% of the shots faced. Paulsen saved 82% of the shots faced.
Or
25.5% of the shots Sail faced resulted in a goal 18% of the shots Paulsen faced resulted in a goal
So how do these save percentages look in real match data?
It means
Oli had 5 clean sheets. Paulsen had 10 clean sheets.
Oli conceded 36 goals Paulsen conceded 26 goals
Sail averaged 1.4 goals conceded per game Paulsen averaged 1 goal conceded per game
Sails Nix ended in 6th Paulsen's... top 2 finish.
Of course the teams performance isn't purely down to the keeper. But there's no doubt looking at these numbers that the effect Paulsen's had on the season is massive.
Anyways, better get back to pooping 💩
Have a great day!
EDIT: Using Fotmob in depth data we can compare some more metrics between Sail 22/23 and Paulsen 23/24. Which confirms the findings above.
Goals prevented: Sail -0.93 Paulsen 12.94
xGOT faced Sail 44.07 Paulsen 38.94
High claim Sail 18 Paulsen 37
Error led to goal Sail 2 Paulsen 2
Penalties saved Sail 2 Paulsen 3
Pass accuracy Sail 64.1% Paulsen 74.1%
https://old.reddit.com/r/WellingtonPhoenix/comments/1cfifvy/the_impact_of_a_goalkeeper_sail_v_paulsen_looking/
As a neutral observer I've really enjoyed the performance of your new #1 Alex Paulsen.
There's no doubt he's had a huge impact on the season the Nix are currently having. But is it possible to measure the impact?
I thought it would be interesting to compare Wellington Phoenix shot data from this season (23/24) with last season (22/23). I was originally planning on turning this into a YouTube video but I have found myself with a sickness which requires me to sit on the toilet for most of the day, so here we are typing this out...
The following data has been taken from all regular season games in 22/23 and 23/24 not including pre-season games, cup games or knockout matches. I wasn't able to find xg stats anywhere, so if anyone knows where to find in depth A-League stats so we can look into this further please let me know (SOURCE FOUND. HAVE ADDED BELOW)! How did I find it? Literally sifting through Google match stats like a maniac.
I wanted to see if there were any clear indicators of a direct impact from Paulsen on the Nix success this season. And let's just say, its pretty crazy. And if you've read this far, than you'll appreciate it as much as me.
The results:
With chiefy in charge the Phoenix have been much more solid at the back this season. Purely down to the keeper? Probably not.
But what if I told you that the Wellington Phoenix have faced more shots on target, at their goal this season than they did last season...
22/23 shots faced on target 141 23/24 shots faced on target 145
Okay so not by much but it still shows a similar amount of chances created by opposition teams.
So let's see how the keepers dealt with them.
Oli saved 105. Paulsen saved 119.
Oli saved 74.5% of the shots faced. Paulsen saved 82% of the shots faced.
Or
25.5% of the shots Sail faced resulted in a goal 18% of the shots Paulsen faced resulted in a goal
So how do these save percentages look in real match data?
It means
Oli had 5 clean sheets. Paulsen had 10 clean sheets.
Oli conceded 36 goals Paulsen conceded 26 goals
Sail averaged 1.4 goals conceded per game Paulsen averaged 1 goal conceded per game
Sails Nix ended in 6th Paulsen's... top 2 finish.
Of course the teams performance isn't purely down to the keeper. But there's no doubt looking at these numbers that the effect Paulsen's had on the season is massive.
Anyways, better get back to pooping 💩
Have a great day!
EDIT: Using Fotmob in depth data we can compare some more metrics between Sail 22/23 and Paulsen 23/24. Which confirms the findings above.
Goals prevented: Sail -0.93 Paulsen 12.94
xGOT faced Sail 44.07 Paulsen 38.94
High claim Sail 18 Paulsen 37
Error led to goal Sail 2 Paulsen 2
Penalties saved Sail 2 Paulsen 3
Pass accuracy Sail 64.1% Paulsen 74.1%
https://old.reddit.com/r/WellingtonPhoenix/comments/1cfifvy/the_impact_of_a_goalkeeper_sail_v_paulsen_looking/
Interesting as I'd have thought it would have swung even more in Paulsen's favour.
(for our sake as well)
That's Reddit for you, an oversharer's paradise.