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OPTA INDEX
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Goalkeepers |
Ranking |
Player |
Team |
Rating |
1 |
Gavin Ward |
Stoke City |
761 |
2 |
Martin Taylor |
Wycombe
Wanderers |
737 |
3 |
Mark Ovendale |
Bournemouth |
733 |
4 |
Simon Brown |
Colchester
United |
695 |
5 |
Kevin Dearden |
Wrexham |
683 |
6 |
Gary Kelly |
Oldham Athletic |
655 |
7 |
Tony Warner |
Millwall |
633 |
8 |
Ben Roberts |
Luton Town |
632 |
9 |
Teuvo Moilanen |
Preston North
End |
627 |
10 |
Phil Barnes |
Blackpool |
606 |
Defenders |
Ranking |
Player |
Team |
Rating |
1 |
Gary Doherty |
Luton Town |
1,006 |
2 |
Aaron Skelton |
Colchester
United |
894 |
3 |
John Hills |
Blackpool |
831 |
4 |
Graham
Alexander |
Preston North
End |
760 |
5 |
Julian Watts |
Luton Town |
744 |
6 |
Michael Jackson |
Preston North
End |
726 |
7 |
Brynjar
Gunnarsson |
Stoke City |
721 |
8 |
Jason Cousins |
Wycombe
Wanderers |
703 |
9 |
Andy Holt |
Oldham Athletic |
702 |
10 |
Arjan De Zeeuw |
Wigan Athletic |
695 |
Midfielders |
Ranking |
Player |
Team |
Rating |
1 |
Tim Cahill |
Millwall |
1,128 |
2 |
Neil Refearn |
Wigan Athletic |
1,069 |
3 |
Rob Edwards |
Preston North
End |
954 |
4 |
Darren Sheridan |
Wigan Athletic |
878 |
5 |
Wayne Gill |
Blackpool |
854 |
6 |
John Sheridan |
Oldham Athletic |
774 |
7 |
Darren Caskey |
Reading |
725 |
8 |
Matthew Spring |
Luton Town |
694 |
9 |
Mark Walters |
Bristol Rovers |
687 |
10 |
Jason Dozzell |
Colchester
United |
669 |
Attacking
Midfielders |
Ranking |
Player |
Team |
Rating |
1 |
Andy Liddell |
Wigan Athletic |
1171 |
2 |
David Eyres |
Preston North
End |
953 |
3 |
Lee Cartwright |
Preston North
End |
783 |
4 |
Graham Kavanagh |
Stoke City |
735 |
5 |
Glen Little |
Burnley |
664 |
6 |
Kevin Russell |
Wrexham |
573 |
7 |
Paul Reid |
Bury |
557 |
8 |
Ryan Williams |
Chesterfield |
555 |
9 |
Michael Gilkes |
Millwall |
526 |
10 |
Paul
Ifill |
Millwall |
522 |
Attackers |
Ranking |
Player |
Team |
Rating |
1 |
Trevor Benjamin |
Cambridge
United |
1,161 |
2 |
Lomana Tresor
Lua-Lua |
Colchester
United |
1,055 |
3 |
Iain Anderson |
Preston North
End |
974 |
4 |
Peter Thorne |
Stoke City |
960 |
5 |
Liam
George |
Luton Town |
923 |
6 |
Tom Youngs |
Cambridge
United |
900 |
7 |
Ian Wright |
Burnley |
856 |
8 |
Steve Whitehall |
Oldham Athletic |
847 |
9 |
Jonathan Macken |
Preston North
End |
846 |
10 |
Jason Bowen |
Cardiff City |
820 |
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Opta Nationwide Football League
Division Two Index
[matches played
1 March- 29 March 2000]
Goalkeepers
Top Man: He may be one of the few Englishmen left in the Stoke team, but Gavin Ward has been performing miracles. He has a Wembley appearance to look forward to as well as the team look forward to a productive end of season.
Riser: Phil Barnes of Blackpool has regained the green jersey at Bloomfield Road and has done enough to sneak into the latest Index with some good displays.
Defenders
Top Man: Luton defender Gary Doherty has been instrumental in Luton's good form this season. The young Irishman looks easily capable of stepping up to a higher level soon.
Riser: Wycombe may have sold Matty Lawrence to Millwall, but club legend Jason Cousins is more than capable of filling the gap. He moves up to eighth place.
Midfielders
Top Man: Aussie schemer Tim Cahill is still in first place in the Index. He inspired the Lions to a 3-0 win over Bristol Rovers last weekend and is surely one of the best players in the lower divisions.
Riser: Blackburn may not have wanted him, but Wayne Gill has jumped at his chance at Steve McMahon's Blackpool. Four goals in his first four games were a beacon to the long-suffering Seasiders fans.
Attacking midfielders
Top Man: Wigan have regained their early-season form in recent weeks and creative Andy Liddell is one of the reasons. The pint-sized gem has helped create goals for players such as Simon Haworth in some fine wins.
Riser: Millwall may have a predominantly young team, but veteran winger Michael Gilkes has been as good as ever. His teasing crosses have helped the Lions towards the top of Division Two.
Strikers
Top Man: Trevor Benjamin has done superbly well since his strike partner Martin Butler left for Reading. He is leading the line well for the U's and it looks like he may guide them to Division Two safety.
Riser: Benjamin's new strike partner is the prodigiously talented Tom Youngs. He has burst onto the scene with five goals in the last five games for Roy McFarland's battling side.
* A team of specially-trained Opta analysts monitor and record every touch of the ball in the FA Carling Premiership, Nationwide Football League and Bank of Scotland Scottish Premier League using state-of-the-art digital voice-recognition software. Each touch is awarded plus or minus points based on a system originally devised in conjunction with former England coach Don Howe. The Opta database then averages out each player's scores over the last six games to produce the Index, widely considered to be the quintessential guide to player form. Players must have played at least 225 minutes over the last six games to qualify.
Statistics supplied by Carling Opta
www.optasoccer.com
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