THERE’S no two ways about it — the Collingwood Magpies are having a shocker of a season.

The struggling Pies fell short in their traditional Anzac Day clash against the Bombers on Tuesday, failing to make a dent in their opponent’s defence as Essendon found form at the MCG.

A number of problems have marred the Pies’ start to the 2017 season, but their kicking in front of goal takes the cake for the most glaring issue in Nathan Buckley’s unit.

By the end of the third quarter on Anzac Day, the Pies had missed eight out of nine set kicks in front of goal, prompting a tirade of abuse from fans hoping to see them continue their public holiday streak against the Dons.

Now, adding insult to injury, statisticians are diving into the record books to find out just how bad Collingwood’s season is tracking historically.

Champion Data, Australia’s leading provider of sports statistics, revealed the Magpies’ “expected scores rating” is the worst of all sides this year.

The “expected scores rating” is a form of calculating the difficulty of a shot based on a number of factors such as the angle, distance and preferred boot of the kicker.

“You’ve got to ask the question if it’s the midfielders and their delivery or what’s in front of them, and the easy answer is a bit of both,” Luff said on SEN radio.

“They’re going at an expected scores rate of -8.7 per cent, which is worst in the competition. Their expected accuracy is 48 per cent and they’re going at 39.4 per cent.

“We got them as a 3-2 team rather than 1-4, so the accuracy, despite the fact it’s a ‘poo-poo’ excuse, is actually a genuine excuse.”

From there, Collingwood’s kicking stats got worse.

Luff revealed Collingwood’s inside-50s conversion rate as the worst recorded in 20 years.

“They’re got problems one-on-one in the forward 50, clearly the worst in the competition. For 58 inside 50s a game they should be getting more scoring shots, but when they’re having the shots their accuracy is just horrendous.”

Collingwood’s horror start has placed significant pressure on coach Nathan Buckley. Former North Melbourne star David King said the Magpies coach had to own his mistakes, while Herald Sun football journalist Mark Robinson suggested a move to the Gold Coast would be a viable option for the struggling coach.

“If something happened to Nathan Buckley this year and Rocket (Suns coach Rodney Eade) didn’t survive next year, if I was the AFL I’d go to Bucks and say: ‘Bucks, we would like you to coach up on the Gold Coast’,” Robinson said on SEN radio.

“If Bucks could say: ‘I’ve got to learn and improve but I love footy and this is what I’ve learned’, then go without that pressure of Collingwood, the shadow of McGuire and Mick (Malthouse) or that haunting of the decision (five-year succession plan) and start a fresh,” he said.

“It’s a new environment, and just get away from the Collingwood environment and (continue to) learn.”