Recently, I have had the pleasure of conducting some exploratory research with a Championship football club to support them in their recruitment strategy. The research question was to understand how we can better estimate the change in players’ performance metrics when they transfer from one league to another. This has been an ongoing question in…
Assessing midfielder similarities using machine learning
I recently posted a thread on Twitter outlining my latest analysis, using the goldmine of data provided by StatsBomb via FBref. For this analysis, I took a deeper dive into the numbers to create a tool that assesses which midfield players are most similar to each other across the Top 5 European Leagues (Premier League, La…
A closer look into European Midfielder Playing Styles
With access to football data now greater than ever, I took a deeper dive into the StatsBomb data (via FBref) to look at the different playing styles of midfielders across the Top 5 European Leagues (Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1). The aim was to see whether I could draw out the…
Has Liverpool’s spine improved this season?
With the winter break now in full swing for Liverpool, it provides the opportunity to take stock of just how impressive the reds have been so far this season, with their unprecedented points tally and current stroll to the elusive Premier League title. Whilst squad rotation has been integral to their continued success within their…
Is Jamie Vardy better now than Leicester’s title-winning season?
It is fair to say that Jamie Vardy is enjoying his football at Leicester City this season. After scoring his tenth goal of the season against Crystal Palace at the weekend, Vardy is currently the leading goalscorer in the Premier League, with the Sheffield-born striker being the first to reach double figures this season. As…
How has Shaq improved in attack?
Having now completed the small matter of writing a PhD thesis, I thought that the best way to start the new year would be to return to blog writing. To mirror my own new-found energy, I wanted to focus on one particular player who has discovered a new lease of life on the pitch in…
Clustering playing styles in the modern day full-back
Originally published on OptaPro Blog. The role of the full-back has changed dramatically in recent years, with many teams across Europe now focusing predominantly on how they can get their full-backs involved in attack, even more so than protecting their defence. Indeed, the use of wing-backs has seemingly come back into fashion, most prominently with…
Quantifying Player Profiles: The Evolution of the Full-Back
Two weeks ago, we had the pleasure of sharing our work at the OptaPro Analytics Forum, which was a great experience and we received some great feedback from so many people within the football analytics community. Our poster presentation looked at how we could quantify the playing style of the modern day full-back, which has…
How much have Manchester City improved on last season?
Whilst there is always cause for caution so early in the season, Manchester City arguably have one hand on the Premier League trophy already. Following a dominant display and deserved victory against their Manchester neighbours at the weekend, City already find themselves 11 points clear of the chasing pack. Cynics would argue that Guardiola’s men…
Running away with it: Does greater distance covered mean more points?
Following a Sky Sports Football article this week reporting Premier League tracking data, the current Distance Covered Per Team statistics made for some interesting viewing. The headline from Sky Sports was that Manchester United were bottom of the table for the most distance covered so far this season, perhaps adding weight to the grievances voiced…
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