What Robin Roefs will bring to Sunderland - #onthewhistle - video Dailymotion

Sunderland Echo

Phil Smith discusses Sunderland's move for Dutch goalkeeper Robin Roefs and analyses what he'll bring to the squad

Transcript

00:00In terms of the make-up of Sunderland's squad and what they're trying to do this season,

00:03because obviously it's been pretty clear from fairly early in the summer

00:06that goalkeeper was a position where they wanted to strengthen and add some serious competition for Anthony Patterson.

00:12And it's been an interesting one because initially, of course, some of the deals they pursued were incredibly ambitious.

00:17We're talking about OGC Neese's Marcin Bulka, Chelsea's Jorda Petrovic.

00:23Bulka obviously, in the end, pursued a really lucrative deal to go to Saudi Arabia to play for Neon.

00:28Petrovic joining Bournemouth, who, of course, at this stage, a more established Premier League club

00:34after a really successful loan in League One with Strasbourg.

00:40Rufs is a little bit of a different profile. I think that's what's quite interesting about this deal.

00:45So he's made around 36 appearances for NEC in his career, but last year was kind of his breakthrough season, if you like.

00:52He made 33 league appearances for the club and also then went earlier this summer

00:56to play as the Netherlands' under-21 starting goalkeeper in the European Championships.

01:02So this is a little bit more in line with, generally speaking, what Sunderland have done this summer,

01:06where they have used their sort of strong financial position

01:09and their position now as a Premier League club to go out and recruit some really, really exciting young talent

01:17who clearly are nowhere near their full potential yet, have a lot of development to do,

01:23but also have a little bit of top-tier experience.

01:26So Rufs haven't played now a full season as a starting goalkeeper in a kind of top European league.

01:32So this is a little bit more, we talked a little bit earlier this week about the Zaka deal

01:37being a bit of a move away from what Sunderland do and sort of paying quite a lot of money

01:40for a really experienced campaigner with that great deal of resale value.

01:44This is a lot more in terms of in line what we were expecting them to do this summer,

01:49more generally in terms of having a player who, yes, has played at the top level,

01:53but potentially still has a significant resale value to Sunderland

01:56and who still has a lot of development to do.

01:59Now this is a really decisive and I think quite ambitious move from Sunderland.

02:03So Rufs, as you would expect for a goalkeeper, very much still in his early 20s,

02:08who's had got some experience at a top-level league, had a lot of interest this summer.

02:12There was a lot of speculation that he could move to French club Lille

02:15because their goalkeeper could be moving to Paris Saint-Germain.

02:19That move hasn't happened yet, but it shows you the kind of esteem that this guy was held in.

02:24As in a few cases this summer, Sunderland's kind of financial prudence in the Championship,

02:28if you like, which has left them with a lot of sort of PSR headroom

02:31and a lot of scope to invest in summer.

02:33It means they've been able to move really decisively to meet the asking price.

02:37And I think it's, yeah, it's more of an exciting sort of deal

02:40in terms of where this club's headed.

02:42Now what kind of keeper is Rufs and what will he bring to the team?

02:46Now obviously because he's only had one full season in senior football,

02:50if we look at the statistics, we're only looking at one season.

02:53So it's not a huge sample size.

02:55So we've got to be a little bit cautious in terms of trying to establish

02:58what kind of goalkeeper is, what his key strengths are.

03:00As I say, we're only working with one full season.

03:02And so there's a lot of room for development here.

03:05But looking at his stats from FB Ref, as we have been doing all summer,

03:09gives us a little bit of an indication for what he's good at,

03:12where he stood out this season,

03:13and what he maybe brings slightly different to the Sunderland squad.

03:17So I think the headline statistic always with the goalkeeper,

03:21even in the modern game, is shot-stopping.

03:24And certainly Rufs, according to FB Ref,

03:26had a really strong season on that front last season.

03:29So this is, when we're comparing him to other goalkeepers,

03:32this is in what FB Ref refers to as the next 14 competitions.

03:36So they have their big five leagues,

03:38which is England, Italy, France, Spain, Germany.

03:42The Eredivisie comes into what they call the next 14 competitions.

03:44So the championship is in there, but you also have some top European leagues,

03:48like the Dutch league, of course.

03:49The Belgian league is another one, and some other divisions.

03:53So the key statistic here is pull shot expected goals, minus goals allowed.

03:59Now that is a really, really, really wordy statistic,

04:02but let me explain a little bit more about it.

04:04So obviously you know what XG is.

04:06It attributes a value to a shot as to how likely it is to go in,

04:10depending on where the shot's from,

04:12who's taken the shot, the position in the box, et cetera, et cetera.

04:17So Roos is plus 0.3 per 90 for this statistic.

04:23So basically in the green, if you like, 0.3 per 90 in terms of his shot stopping,

04:28which is a really, really good statistic.

04:30I put some in the top 9% for goalkeepers in the next 14 competitions.

04:35So a good shot stopper, but I think where Roos is really, really standing out

04:40in the statistic that I think that really sort of catches his eye,

04:42marks him out as one of the best up-and-coming goalkeepers in Europe.

04:46He's in the top 3% for crosses stopped percentage,

04:51and he's in the top 1% for crosses stopped per 90.

04:55So what does this tell us?

04:57It tells us that he's a goalkeeper who's really, really aggressive in coming off his line,

05:01likes to get off his line, likes to try and claim the ball,

05:04and ranks incredibly favourably, not just young goalkeepers,

05:07but goalkeepers generally across the next 14 competitions.

05:10So that I think gives you a little bit of an insight in terms of him being

05:14quite a modern goalkeeper, if you like, takes risks, is very aggressive.

05:19And that's also backed up by a couple of other statistics

05:21that I wanted to draw your attention to because I thought they were really interesting.

05:24So he was in the top 11% for just general touches of the ball for a goalkeeper,

05:30and he was in the top 19% for defensive actions outside his penalty area.

05:34So what does that tell you?

05:35He's taken up quite aggressive positions off his line.

05:38He's very comfortable and confident in coming to sweep up.

05:42So I think if we're looking at what the statistics are telling us,

05:44it's a goalkeeper with solid basics in terms of his shot stopping,

05:48but maybe a more kind of modern goalkeeper, if you like,

05:51in terms of what goalkeepers are expected in the modern game,

05:54in terms of their starting positions.

05:55I've been watching some clips of him on Wisecout.

05:58It doesn't give you the whole picture, of course.

05:59What it does show is he's definitely someone taking up quite an aggressive position

06:02outside his box, offering an option for defenders or midfielders

06:07to give the ball to him in the start attacks of his distribution.

06:10Predominantly left-footed, but seems relatively comfortable using his right as well,

06:14which is always useful for a goalkeeper, opens up a lot of options.

06:17So, yeah, a really modern goalkeeper, far from the finished article.

06:21Maybe a slightly different profile to what some of them initially were looking at

06:24in terms of a Petrovic or a Bulka, who perhaps, while still they were both young

06:28for goalkeepers, a little bit more of the finished article.

06:31And I think that's what's really interesting about this in terms of throwing it forward

06:34to what this means for the season.

06:35I think that's what's really interesting.

What Robin Roefs will bring to Sunderland - #onthewhistle

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