Damning stats highlight problem at Middlesbrough, Stoke and Sheffield Wednesday | OneFootball

Highlights

Middlesbrough, Stoke and Sheffield Wednesday are in the bottom three for shot conversion rate in the Championship so far this season.

What is shot conversion rate?

There are all different stats used in the modern game, which gives clubs an insight into where they need to improve, and how their general performances are.

Of course, people place different values on each stat, but it does offer more insight and can help form opinions.

With shot conversion, it’s pretty straightforward, as it looks at the number of shots at goal a side has taken, and the number of goals they have scored, to give a percentage. The higher the percentage, the more clinical a team will have been in front of goal.

Middlesbrough, Stoke and Sheffield Wednesday struggling in attack

Therefore, it’s perhaps no surprise that Boro, Stoke and Wednesday are all low on this list, as per Transfermarkt, given their respective struggles in the Championship so far.

The Owls, who sit bottom of the real table, are 22nd with a shot conversion rate of 5.1%, having scored just five goals from 98 attempts.

Meanwhile, Alex Neil’s Stoke are 23rd in this table, with eight goals from 161 shots, working out at 5%, which is a key reason for the side sitting 20th in the Championship right now.

Finally, 22nd placed Boro have the worst conversion rate in the league at the moment, with their seven goals from 171 shots meaning they have scored just 4.1% of their chances.

Should fans of these clubs be concerned?

As mentioned, different people will place different values on stats, and whilst this shows these three clubs are not scoring enough goals, so it's obviously not good, some may not see it as a major negative when you look at the bigger picture.

For example, only Ipswich have had more shots at goal than Middlesbrough. Therefore, Michael Carrick’s side are creating opportunities, and he will no doubt believe that if they keep doing so, they will eventually be more ruthless in front of goal.

It’s a similar story for Stoke, who rank seventh for the number of efforts they’ve had. So, Neil will hope that they eventually start to convert more, which will see them climb the table.

Perhaps the biggest worry is Wednesday, as they are 19th for shots at goal, so they aren’t creating chances at the same level of the other two sides.

How can this problem be solved?

Given we are only eight games into the season, this is a small sample size, so managers won’t be too concerned, particularly Boro and Stoke, as they are creating opportunities.

Both clubs oversaw huge changes in the summer, so it’s perhaps understandable that they haven’t yet developed proper understandings, whilst Neil and Carrick don’t know their best XI’s at the moment. A more settled side, with more confident players could see them develop a more clinical edge in front of goal.

Otherwise, it’s just about individuals stepping up and taking responsibility on the day. All three sides have players who have scored goals in the past at different levels, and their managers will be desperate to improve their shot conversion rate as the campaign progresses.