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If you were to invent football tomorrow
The dramatic conclusion to three of the four UEFA Nations League A groups confirmed the success of the competition’s first edition. By our count, around 40 per cent of men’s international matches this decade were friendlies; it’s likely that competitions like the Nations League mean we will soon consider friendly matches anachronistic, if not already. […]
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The grey swans
Consider each of the following events:
The creation of a European Super League, leading to the collapse of domestic television rights
A severe and sudden decline in attendances owing to demographic changes and the rise of other forms of live entertainment
The removal of transfer fees through legal challenges from FIFPro
The Chinese Super League attracting dozens of top […] -
What have you taken from 2015?
It's hard to believe that 2015 is already drawing to a close, and yet here we are - with our last Evolution blog of the year. -
The second season illusion
In June 2010, Birmingham City manager Alex McLeish vowed that his club - which had just finished an impressive 9th place in the Premier League following promotion - would not be victims of ‘second season syndrome’. -
Even the best plans
In 1994, a group of psychology students nearing the end of their honours thesis were asked how long they thought their project would take to submit. Just 30% finished in their predicted time, and the average prediction was 22 days too short. -
Mapping the future
At 21st Club, we're busy making plans for 2015... -
In the Future: no one will talk about football analytics
In the future, few, if any, journalists, fans or club officials will speak any more about the burgeoning field of football analytics. Gone will be the anguished op-eds over the false dichotomy between “traditional” and “statistical” methods of player, team and tactical analyses, as the vast majority of leading football clubs will have reconciled the two. -
In the future: multi-club ownership will become universal
In the future, Manchester City’s multiple club ownership model will be more and more prevalent as chief executives and chairman struggle to compete in an increasingly global market for players, sponsors and fans. Owners will recognize the advantages of -
In the future: there’ll be a succession plan in place
In the future, elite clubs will have an informed, comprehensive succession plan in place which will take into account a wide number of contingencies, whether dealing with a serious injury to a highly paid and prized full-back, to establishing a five year transfer strategy toward European qualification without violating FFP. These succession plans will... -
How football broke down its social barriers – a trip into the future
Alistair Magowan takes a trip into the future to ponder what a more equal football landscape might look like and where the real breakthroughs might stem from. (Some names are fictional).
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