Clearances
What clearances measure, why they favour certain defenders and certain teams, and how to score them fairly.
- Category
- defending
- Value type
- integer
- Applies to
- GKP · DEF · MID · FWD
What it measures
The player cleared the ball out of danger. Volume depends enormously on team style: a defender in a side that sits deep and defends its box will out-clear a defender in a dominant possession side several times over.
How the mainstream game treats it
Not scored directly. It feeds the bonus points system as part of a combined clearances-blocks-interceptions counter, and it counts toward defensive contribution.
How to score it in your league
Per N, or as part of a milestone. A milestone is the better fit because it rewards a genuine defensive shift rather than paying by the ball.
A sensible starting value
Inside a combined milestone, clearances sitting alongside blocks, interceptions, tackles and recoveries — with a bar around 10 for defenders — is the shape the mainstream game landed on, and it is a reasonable place to start.
Watch out for
Scoring clearances alone rewards playing badly. A team pinned in its own box for ninety minutes generates enormous clearance counts, and paying for that means your best defensive asset is whoever plays for the worst defence.
Related stats
Every stat here is scoreable in a league you build. See custom scoring or the scoring rules guide.