Having surged to sixth place in the Premiership table
this week, it's no surprise to see that West Ham United are
significantly represented in the Actim Index - English
football's official player rating system and statistical
guide.
The Actim Index was first introduced for the 2004-05 season and was
devised by statisticians at the University of Salford in
partnership with PA Sport. The calculations are based on the four
key factors that contribute to a player's effectiveness and his
ability to help his team win matches.
The ratings are used to create rankings such as the top 100
Premiership players, the top five goalkeepers, defenders,
midfielders and forwards, plus the current team of the week and
team of the season - categories which all heavily feature West Ham
United players.
In fact, the current Team of the Season includes no fewer than
THREE in-form Hammers - Anton Ferdinand, Matthew Etherington and
Marlon Harewood, making Alan Pardew's men the second most
represented Club in the chosen 11 - with Chelsea's Petr Cech,
John Terry, William Gallas, Joe Cole and Frank Lampard
unsurprisingly dominating the line-up. The remaining three places
are taken up by Manchester United's Rio Ferdinand and Ruud Van
Nistelrooy, while Steven Gerrard is Liverpool's sole inclusion.
Our top scorer Marlon has also been named in the most recent Team
of the Week, following his double strike against Birmingham City on
Monday night, and is also in sixth place in the top 100 rankings of
Premiership players, with an Index score of 3.96.
The previous Team of the Week, named on February 1, had actually
included FOUR Hammers, with Shaka Hislop, Paul Konchesky, Nigel
Reo-Coker and Matthew Etherington all named.
Harewood is also joined in the top 100 by Etherington, in 12th
place with a score of 3.82, and Ferdinand (16th, 3.70), while also
named are Paul Konchesky (22nd, 3.54), Danny Gabbidon (59th, 2.94),
Yossi Benayoun (77th, 2.71), Hayden Mullins (80th, 2.63) and Nigel
Reo-Coker (93rd, 2.51).
That in turn means Ferdinand is currently in fourth place in the
Top Five Defenders, Etherington is third in the Top Five
Midfielders, and Harewood is second in the Top Five Forwards.
With history proving that the Actim Index rankings are generally
dominated by the most successful Premiership clubs, the current
statistics certainly bode well for West Ham United!
Click
here to find out more about the Barclays Premiership Actim
Index.
