Opta Jury - Darius Vassell
Manchester City striker Darius Vassell comes in for Opta Jury scrutiny.
Manchester City manager Stuart Pearce was delighted when he signed Darius Vassell from Aston Villa in the summer, convinced that the England striker would add a cutting edge to the side's attack.
The chance to pair him with Andy Cole in a vastly experienced top-flight partnership was one that had the Eastlands faithful counting down the days before the start of the season.
Yet many Villa fans were not too sad to see Vassell depart up the M6 as 2004-05 was not his finest spell in claret and blue. A series of injuries and a run of poor form saw him score just twice in 21 appearances last campaign, a paltry return for a man who has excelled on the international stage.
Vassell has now played as many games for City this season as he did for Villa last year and the statistics make an interesting comparison:
| Player | Darius Vassell | Darius Vassell |
| Season | 2004-05 | 2005-06 |
| Team | Aston Villa | Manchester City |
| Appearances | 21 | 21 |
| Minutes On Pitch | 1,405 | 1,812 |
| Goal Attempts | | |
| Goals | 2 | 5 |
| Shots On Target | 13 | 19 |
| Shots Off Target | 12 | 23 |
| Shooting Accuracy | 52% | 45% |
| Chance Conversion | 8% | 12% |
| Passing | | |
| Goal Assists | 1 | 5 |
| Total Passes | 345 | 490 |
| Pass Completion % | 74% | 78% |
| Dribbling | | |
| Dribbles & Runs | 77 | 88 |
| Dribble Completion % | 60% | 57% |
| Discipline | | |
| Fouls | 32 | 39 |
| Offside | 20 | 32 |
| Yellow Cards | 0 | 2 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
Vassell's conversion rate has increased by four percentage points this season but the biggest improvement has been in his creativity. Five goal assists makes him the leading architect at Eastlands and his non-stop running has proven very popular with the supporters.
His games per goal record has stayed roughly the same at City but Vassell seems to be playing with a new zest for the game, perhaps inspired by his new warrior-like manager.
| Team | Villa | Man City |
| Appearances | 162 | 21 |
| Goals | 35 | 5 |
| Games/goal | 4.63 | 4.20 |
Manchester City fans were audibly displeased with the decision to substitute Vassell in the recent home defeat to Tottenham Hotspur and that will be hugely satisfying to the forward, especially given the treatment doled out to him by Villa fans last season.
He now seems refreshed, potent and potentially ready to stake a claim for England's 2006 World Cup squad.
What do you think? Has Vassell been a hit, a miss or is the jury still out?
