Do Rebuilds Actually Work? The Impact Of New Signings Vs Table Position (Part 2) – Premier League Data Analysis

Thats right, this is Part 2.

The initial article, Rebuild or Ruin: A data analysis on transfer overhauls, debuted on Total Football Analysis in October 2022.

As we near 2 ½ years since the original analysis, its time for an update.

The one difference from the previous data analysis to this one is that we will narrow our attention to just the Premier League.

We want to continue investigating the statistics that, between the two articles, date back to the 2017/18 campaign.

The content from the original article is well worth a read, and we’re building upon it here.

To quickly summarise that first data analysis, a combination of stability and gradual player movement led to the best results, at least for the majority of teams.

Will that original thesis hold up?

At least one Premier League club would like to have a word with us.

Premier League Clubs & Reliance On New Signings

Since that initial data analysis, we have collected another 2 ½ seasons worth of data.

One difference in approach between the two articles is that the previous strictly measured minutes contributed during the Premier League calendar.

This time, the database expanded to all competitive matches clubs played while competing in the EPL.

The rationale is that, over the totality of the season, we will get a more complete picture of which clubs have leaned most heavily on their new signings.

To put this analysis together, we built a database with each teams transfer activity, noting the number of minutes each of the new signings contributed to their first season with their new club.

Both the incoming transfers and the minutes logged were taken from Transfermarkt.

Were covering the 2022/23, 2023/24 and what we have so far from the 2024/25 campaigns.

Our first topic is looking at the 2022/23 season, points and the percentage of a team’s total minutes played by new signings.

Of the clubs that finished on the right side of that average line, only Manchester United and Tottenham received an above-average number of minutes from new signings.

At the top left, we find seven teams with an above-average number of points and 20% or fewer of the clubs total minutes played contributed by new signings.

In the bottom right, we have a