Can 'Super Kev' Turn The Coasters Into Real Contenders?

Former Sunderland, Birmingham City and Southampton striker Kevin Phillips is the new man in the Mill Farm dugout after being appointed on Tuesday.

Tom Bodell from title sponsors Vanarama takes a closer look at the job in hand for the man nicknamed ‘Super Kev’ during an illustrious playing career...

Keep Haughton in good Nick!

We’ll start with an obvious one, shall we?

With 11 goals, Fylde’s talismanic No.10 is the Vanarama National League’s top scorer. He has scored 61% of the Coasters’ 18 league goals this season with those strikes contributing towards 10 points.

What makes the 30-year-old's goalscoring feats even more remarkable is his overperformance against his expected goals (xG) tally. Expected goals give every shot a value between 0-1, based on factors including distance, angle and type of shot. A penalty, for example, is typically worth 0.75 xG.

Haughton has recorded chances worth 3.43 xG. In other words, he is dramatically outperforming the data. With (another) halfway-line strike on the highlight reel, it’s not difficult to see how.

No one in the National League has attempted more free-kick attempts (8) than the former Salford City attacker either.

Phillips, who scored 282 career goals, is a man who knows a thing or two about finding the back of the net. Anything he can do to keep Haughton firing will significantly enhance Fylde’s chances of moving in the right direction.

Stop giving up high-value chances

Only bottom side Ebbsfleet United (27) have conceded more goals than Fylde’s 26.

Expected goals against (xGA) follow the same principle as xG, but for the shots a side faces. Fylde have the highest xGA in the National League (26.71) – that is not a good thing.

The below graphic shows all the on-target attempts Fylde have conceded this season. The red markers show high-value opportunities while yellow means lower-value efforts.

The Coasters have been on the receiving end of some bad luck, shipping several efforts from distance that carried a low xG value. But they have also given up a lot of chances from within the penalty area and the width of the posts that have resulted in goals.

Winning possession higher up the field should help. Fylde have completed the fewest ball recoveries in the opposition’s half (231) of any National League side this term. So, it should come as little surprise they are struggling to stop their opponents carving out promising opportunities.

Don’t shoot yourselves in the foot!

Fylde would be higher up the nascent National League table if they could hold onto a lead.

At Eastleigh on Matchday 2, they were 2-0 up via a Haughton brace (who else?) but succumbed 4-2.

Three days later at Oldham Athletic, Joe Riley had given them a first-half lead, but they left with just a point after Manny Monthé’s equaliser.

In a seven-goal thriller against Yeovil Town on Matchday 6, the Coasters were two goals to the good again. They contrived to lose 4-3 with three minutes to go – only three minutes after equalising.

Even against Tamworth while Nathan Delfouneso and Chris Neal were in interim charge, they got themselves level only to concede a stoppage-time winner to Dan Creaney.

Whether tactical, mental or a combination of both, Phillips must find a way to help his side preserve points.

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PHOTO BY @SteveMacPix