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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 […]
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Momentum changer
With little left to play for in the final few games of the season, managers of mid-table sides try to spur on fans and players alike with the message that a strong end-of-season run will give them momentum going into the following season. But is there really any link between good results at the end […]
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Peak Tottenham
A lot was made of Tottenham’s ‘failure’ to sign any players during the summer window. That there were no new faces adorning the club website was often seen as a sign that the club would fail to match their recent high standards.
Yet here we are with it currently looking likely that Tottenham will virtually match […]
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Rank outsiders, deserved winners
It has been wonderful to watch Ajax’s Champions League campaign. A thrilling ride made easy to enjoy by the positive, attacking football that has been the bedrock of their success.
The intertwining strands of the Ajax narrative are compelling. The club has a rich history in youth development and is the custodian of some of Europe’s […]
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Mind the gap
As we head into the final stretch of the football season, the prospect of playing in a different league next year looms large. The only consolation for fans of relegated clubs is that they have a chance of bouncing straight back. For teams in contention for promotion or the play-offs, the dream of a place […]
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Squeaky bum time
So we have a title race on our hands! Well, at least in the Premier League.
Excitement in any title race lies in its inherent uncertainty, at least for those impartial onlookers. Less so perhaps for those clubs involved, where bums are likely to stay squeaky right up until the last match.
Take the Premier League title […]
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When winning is not enough
The Economist published an article last week exploring which head coaches are able to consistently lead their teams to overperform the overall talent level in the squad. This is one of the most important functions of a head coach, but not the only one. As we have argued before, in addition to winning on the […]
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Head of tactics
There are three main ways in which a head coach/manager can improve a team:
Improve the squad through transfers
Improve individual players through coaching
Get better performance from the same set of players through tacticsTraditionally, managers have accumulated all three of these functions. However, there is no particular reason a single person should be in […]
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The early-season paradox
On Saturday, Chelsea host Arsenal in a match that is ostensibly a chance for both teams to continue to assess their own progress under new head coaches. The narrative goes that given it’s early in the season, it would be wrong to read too much into the result, and in any case there is plenty […]
