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The disappearance of the number 10
The number 10 has often been seen as the most creative and flamboyant player on the pitch. Graceful movement and a deft touch, they opened up the possibility of football being an art where simplicity should be treasured. But what’s happened to the trequartista, enganche or free-role playmaker over the years since the game has […]
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Why football is better than rugby
“Football is the only sport you can have 30 chances to 2 and still draw or even lose,” said a frustrated Pep Guardiola after a 2-2 draw with Tottenham in August. “In basketball, tennis, golf if you do what we did against Spurs, you win. That’s why this sport is so fascinating.”
Guardiola isn’t wrong – […] -
X strategy
Underachievement is easier to spot and much more talked about than overachievement in football, at least at times. Last season Real Madrid changed three managers and suffered their worst La Liga points total (68) since 2001-02. On the other side of Madrid, and much less talked about, Getafe finished 5th (59) and missed out on […]
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The Curious case of Mohamed Salah
Since his Player of the Year winning season of 2017/18, Mohamaed Salah has divided opinion. In the last 14 months he has continued to be the biggest direct contributor to Liverpool’s attack with 46 goals and assists across the Premier League and Champions League (Mane 35 and Firmino 31) yet the fans seem to be […]
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One-hit wonders
Benchmarking the productivity of our academy can be tough. Only a small number of players might break through to our first team, and it’s not always easy keeping track of departed players. What’s more, we often only immediately recall a handful of players produced – but do they actually represent the wider productivity of the […]
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Leagues, not Cups
League competitions are unquestionably the most important indicator of domestic success for football clubs. No one would seriously argue that Wigan Athletic were the best team in England in 2012-13, or that Eintracht Frankfurt were the best team in Germany in 2017-18, or that Rennes were the best team in France in 2018-19, despite these […]
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A Proven Strategy
Football sometimes provides too many blueprints for success. In any given season, a team we’re looking to emulate might succeed for many different reasons, so it helps to look at how a typical benchmark club achieves success, and use that as a basis for our strategy.
For example, we are often asked by boardrooms of promoted […]
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Quadruple Dutch
At the core of the Netherlands’ impressive run to the Women’s World Cup final was a group of four Arsenal players: Vivianne Miedema, Daniëlle van de Donk, Dominique Bloodworth, and Sari van Veenendaal. The Netherlands are far from the first national team that has leveraged a club connection, but could domestic clubs also take advantage […]
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The 2018/19 Efficiency Awards
At the end of the European season, it’s worth not just reflecting on what went right and wrong for our own clubs, but to take a step back and review the work of rival teams – both in our own countries and beyond. With the help of a few numbers, we can pick out the […]
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In a different time, in another era
Liverpool go into the last game of the season this weekend with a 78% chance of amassing 97 points for the campaign – a haul that would have been sufficient to win 25 of the 26 titles on offer since the Premier League began. They’ve lost only one league match all season. And yet, the Reds […]
