A little soccer talk

I was reading something about statistics and which stats certain people find important.

Stats lie. They prove locomotives fly.

Anyway, there are a couple of things that I have observed in soccer as important stats that I would want to win every game.

Two that really matter to me (besides goals...duh the most important stat) are corner kicks and shots on goal.

Teams can take 30 shots in a game but it doesn't mean much if those shots come from 25 yards out and end up hitting buildings beyond the field. Shots on goal are legitimate scoring chances. If I was a coach I would want to win that battle. Shots on goal also challenge keepers. You have to atleast force them to make a save, or deflect the ball. To me rebounds are the easiest goals in the world to score. However, in order to score off a rebound you need to have a shot on goal first.

The other stat is corner kicks. Corner Kicks are an indication of several things. One is maintaining possession in your offensive third. It also indicates an ability to get endline, which is a dangerous area for a team to score from. It's also an indication that you are challenging the keeper and defense. If you force a keeper to deflect the ball over the bar than you are getting good shots on goal. If a defense is just kicking the ball out of the endline than you are making them really uncomfortable.