It happens every weekend, in almost every Premier League game. The home team gains possession and start to pin the opposition into the defensive third. They cycle the ball across the field, as all 11 defenders scramble to maintain their shape and prevent any passes from breaking their lines.
Eventually, the ball finds its way to a midfielder, some 30 yards from goal. There's no pressure on him, so he's able to step on the ball and roll it forward. Frustrated by the lack of danger created from all the passing, the home fans rise up, mostly in unison, and scream that godforsaken five-letter-word: "SHOOT!"
With the entire stadium egging him on, the midfielder dials in his form, tries to keep his chest over the ball, makes sure to follow through and land on his shooting foot. This is one of the most talented soccer players in the world, and he has time and space to do the thing he has been doing since he could walk.
So, inevitably ... the shot ends up in the 20th row of the stands, some lucky fan gets to see how much a $170 soccer ball weighs, the pressure disappears, and the other team gets a goal kick.
Through 11 Premier League games this season, there have been 372 shots attempted from open play from outside the penalty area. Just 104 have landed on target, while 134 have missed the frame and the other 134 were blocked by defenders. And of those 372 attempts, only 27 ended up as goals.
In this supposedly analytical era of pro sports, there are still teams and players throwing away hundreds of possessions at the behest of some primal urge that gets awoken on a 50,000 square-mile island every weekend. Who are the worst offenders? Let's see if we can figure out the Premier League's worst shooters.
