The Scottish Premiership has been known for promoting young players, and one of the new names is William Fish, who currently plays for Hibernian on loan from Manchester United. The English defender joined the Scottish side on a season-long loan deal last summer. Initially, he had to wait to get his opportunity to play for the first team, but of late, he has become an important player in the Hibees’ backline. William Fish has performed consistently in recent weeks, helping the team keep a few clean sheets and scoring a couple of goals. Hibernian is currently fourth in the Scottish Premiership 2022-23, and the Englishman’s strong run of form has aided the team in securing some important results and retaining a favourable position in the league. Below are some stats from the current season in order to access William Fish’s contributions towards his team.
Defensive gameplay
William Fish takes command of the central defensive area in the defensive and middle thirds for his team. He primarily plays as Hibernian’s right centre-back and has made nine appearances in the Scottish Premiership from 2022 to 2023. The above viz shows the player’s defensive territory from the current season. Fish’s average position along the backline is well within his half. He has made most of the interceptions within the defensive third and inside his own box, which has been crucial for his team on numerous occasions. He makes 7.08 interceptions per 90, along with 3.78 defensive duels and 5.35 aerial duels. He has a 75% win rate for defensive duels and wins 58.8% of aerial duels. William gives up only 0.31 fouls per 90, which shows his composure while defending, and also averages 6.61 clearances per match.
The two visuals above represent William Fish’s important role in restricting the opponent in both halves. He has shown the ability to win back possession in the final third, as evidenced by the three high regains he has made thus far. Additionally, he has made seven counter-pressing recoveries and one dangerous recovery in the nine matches played so far. Overall, the young centre-back makes 11.49 recoveries per match, with 17.8% of them occurring in the opposition’s half. Meanwhile, in his own half, William has blocked four shots with a combined xG of 0.18. One of these blocks has come inside his penalty box, while the other three are higher up the pitch within the defensive third.
Passing and attacking gameplay
The above viz is a representation of the progressive passes made by the English defender. It can be seen that most of his work rate is on the right side of the defence and in the middle third of the pitch. He possesses fine passing ability in terms of passes attempted and pass accuracy, and he possesses a range of passing options. On average, the 20-year-old makes 42.95 passes per 90 with 80.2% accuracy. He averages 18.72 forward passes per match with over 63% accuracy. 7.87 of these passes are to the final third, with an accuracy rate of 48%. The progressive passes made by Fish include through passes and long balls played to the midfielders and wide attackers in the opposition half.
Another aspect of William Fish’s gameplay worth highlighting is his ability to put himself in scoring positions. He is a genuine threat in set-piece situations with his physical presence and aerial ability. The defender has already scored two goals from the four shots he has taken in nine matches. Most of the shots have been taken from a central position inside the box, with one of the goals coming near the six-yard box. Overall, Fish has an xG per shot value of 0.15 and has accumulated a total of 0.59 xG from his goal attempts.
20-year-old William Fish has emerged as an important player for Hibernian over the last few weeks. He has a strong set of defensive and passing attributes that help his team build up from the back and when out of possession. He also makes important contributions while moving forward by getting into scoring positions. Hibernian will expect the same consistency from the English defender for the rest of the season as they look for a strong finish to their current campaign.
Visuals via TFA data viz engine
