Ok, so Landry was talking about the ‘other’ type of football, however the sentiment remains true for ‘real’ football.  One of the most beautiful things about the beautiful game is the potential for a freak, unexpected result.  An incredible, unbelievable result. There’s nothing that neutral football fans enjoy more than seeing an underdog grabbing a [...]

Teams that can hit you on the counter attack at any moment are incredibly hard to defend against, especially when speed merchants such as Gareth Bale and Theo Walcott are running at your defence. So which teams have impressed in the counter attack and how have they been so successful? We can start to answer [...]

It is a sight no football fan wants to see.  The dreaded ‘R’ next to your club in the league table. It is incredibly difficult for fans to prepare themselves for the emotions that they go through when relegation from the Premier League is sealed.  Anger, frustration and even relief are just some of the [...]

Research has been conducted looking into whether referee’s are biased towards certain teams or individuals. Manchester United tend to have a reputation from rival supporters for ‘Fergie time’, gaining more penalties than other teams at home, especially with Howard Webb. Marouane Fellaini even stated that referee’s were biased towards English players following his head butt [...]

With the Premier League now entering the last 10 games of the season it is the perfect time to use statistics to draw conclusions about why your team produced success/failure. Last week my focus was on chance conversion rate. This week the focus is on crossing accuracy. The table directly below portrays the total crosses performed [...]

Once again Harry Redknapp chopped and changed in terms of formation, selection and even strategy. First, the 4-1-2-3 shape that brought him success in the last game against Southampton was replaced by more of a 4-4-2, which looked like 4-2-2-2 given the wide men were playing on their wrong foot and looked to move infield all [...]

Of course, I don’t need to tell you that the more chances a team creates the more likely they are of scoring. But do the teams creating the most chances score the most goals? The stats below show the chance conversion rate for each individual team. Not surprisingly, top of the league Manchester United also [...]

Some time ago, frustrated by the mainstream football media’s seeming inability to tell the truth in favor of a grand headline, I wrote an article shedding some light on common “football myths”. There was an inkling of demand for a second part, so here it is. Benítez has made Chelsea boring/worse The media has never [...]

QPR expectantly lost at home to Manchester United by 2 goals to nil. Rafael scored a stunning volley, and Nani slotted Giggs in for a second to carry United over a Rangers. Overview In terms of possession, the game was far more balanced than most may have predicted. The difference was largely marginal, with Manchester United carrying [...]

For Liverpool fans he was a bright spark of possibility and hope at the beginning of what looked to be a dismal season. Yet as the season has progressed and Liverpool have gotten stronger, Sterling seems to be disappearing somewhat. It is true that he is young and the strengthening in January now puts less [...]