Analysis of Leicester’s goals in 2015-16 In my previous post I mentioned Leicester City FC because they bucked the trend by winning the English Premier League without dominating opponents with their percentage of possession. Most teams still win by having more possession than their opponents, so the critical issue is what the team does with …
Euro 2016 and the topic of possession Here is a link to a very interesting article about possession. http://www.skysports.com/football/news/11096/10500158/how-has-football-changed-possession-is-no-longer-nine-tenths-of-the-law More wins with less than 45% possession The Sky Sports article above, by Gerard Brand is very interesting because in the discussion about the value of possession he shows over time how teams have won more …
Predictability in the Hyundai ‘A’ League I have been analysing how goals are scored for a few years and the similarities in certain aspects of football are there year after year, which makes football quite predictable. In most leagues there are between 2 and almost 3 goals per match. In the Hyundai ‘A’ League in …
To Play Out or Not to Play Out, That is the Question? Much has been written about the benefits of playing out from the back, a strategy that is at the heart of football development in Australia and we assume in the top leagues in Europe. For many years research on scoring has shown the …
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Goal Scoring Patterns in the Hyundai ‘A’ League after 14 Rounds 2015-16 Over the past 16 years I have done a lot of analysis on goal scoring patterns at different levels of the game, from World Cups and European Championships to the EPL and the A League. My interest is in how goals are scored …
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How Much Structure, How Much Freedom in Attack? The anecdotes of Sir Matt Busby when he was Manchester United’s manager included, “Go out and enjoy yourselves lads” and “If you are in trouble, give it (the ball) to George (Best)”. I do not know if the quotes are true but if they are they say …
Goals Scored in the A League after 9 Rounds 2015-16 Last season I wrote several blogs about the number of goals scored from Set Plays and in Open Play and based on the percentages and number in each category I predicted after 18 Rounds that either Melbourne Victory or Wellington would win the league. I …
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Pathways to the National Team I was watching 14-15 year olds last week playing football every day in the Talent Identification matches at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra. Watching the kids play and looking for the ‘talented ones’ brought back many fond memories; catching up with former AIS scholarship holders such as …
The (not so) Beautiful Game It is not too often that a player gets a standing ovation for being sent off but it happened last week in the FFA Cup. It seems a little incongruous but it reflects the win at all costs attitude of professional football; one might say professional sport in general, with …