Incredible Jack Clarke statistic that shows Sunderland have the best player in the league

Jack Clarke is incredibly good at football. You don't need to be a Sunderland fan to know that. Exactly how good he is may surprise many, though. 

There are some statistics which get the headlines, for perfectly good reasons. We are obviously talking about goals and assists here. 

Clarke is getting plenty of attention for those. In the last week he has added an assist against Middlesbrough and a goal against Plymouth to his season totals. That took him to 14 goals and 4 assists, or 18 goal contributions if you prefer. 

That is elite, but it is also comparable to other Championship wingers. 

Where Jack Clarke is blowing everyone else out of the water, though, is in the 'progressive carries' metric - and he is doing it in unprecedently spectacular fashion. 

What is a ‘progressive carry’?

It’s all well and good talking about statistics and expecting people to be impressed, but what exactly is the criteria for a ‘progressive carry’?

The precise definition is as follows:

“Carries that move the ball towards the opponent’s goal line at least 10 yards from its furthest point in the last six passes, or any carry into the penalty area. Excludes carries which end in the defending 50% of the pitch.”

So, basically, it’s just a dribble that advances the team up the pitch, but only dribbles that end in the opposition half count.

Incredible Jack Clarke statistic

Jack Clarke’s dribbling ability is hardly a secret, and I’m aware it’s not exactly ground-breaking reporting to say he’s a bit good at carrying the ball.

Just how good he is, though, may surprise many. And, to discover that, what we need is context. We can find that in three tables. Firstly, how Clarke compares to his Championship peers this season. 

So, clearly, Clarke is streets ahead of even the very best the rest of the Championship has to offer. 

However, you may be thinking that Clarke has a natural advantage due to playing nearly every minute of every game this season?

That would be a fair question to ask, so let's look at the per 90 progressive carries this season (minimum 900 minutes played)

As the table shows, it's not that Jack Clarke is just playing more than everyone else. He is just performing better - a lot better. 

Jack Clarke progressive carries statistics in context

It's one thing comparing Clarke to his Championship peers this season, but he could just be shining in an overall poor group, right? 

Or, perhaps, tactical trends this season - especially with Leicester and Southampton in the division - have moved away from dribbling and focuses more on passing? 

So, let's have a look at some historical data to find out by comparing the Championship's best progressive carriers in each of the last six seasons.

(Note: We can't go back further than that because progressive carries data was not recorded until 2018/19)

Again, Clarke's numbers are simply incredible, and a level that the Championship just hasn't seen before. 

He already has 38 more than the best in this division has ever managed since the statistic was recorded, and he still has a third of the season to go. 

For further context, if Clarke was to maintain his current per-90 number between now and the end of the season and played every game, he would finish with 380 pressive carries this season - 163 more than the next best. 

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