Episode 66 - Should We Care About Formations?

We always want to be entertained at every football match we watch, but are there certain kick-off times where you get more value than others? In Episode 73, we looked at the way in which fixture scheduling can influence how many goals, penalties, and red cards you might see in the Premier League. Do Sunday afternoons offer more entertainment than Saturday lunchtimes? Are weekday kick-offs as exciting under the lights as we think? Stick around for some hard cold facts along the way — credit to those who know the highest scoring match of all time! Bio links: Duncan Alexander article: https://theanalyst.com/na/2022/03/how-kick-off-time-affects-premier-league-games/;  Andy Jones article: https://theathletic.com/4367807/2023/04/01/premier-league-kick-off-times-analysis/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Football Fanalytics Podcast is bringing you a brand new feature... Hard Cold Facts! It's the currency we deal in... well, Mark does. Ryan is more of an 'Expected Vibes' sort of guy. These will be shorter episodes, where we will delve into the goings on around the footballing world, whilst serving up some stats, questions and topical musings for you to feast on. In this episode, we talk about Iceland, Tim Sherwood, the goal scoring record you didn't know England had, Rasmus Højlund and halfway line screamers... enjoy! You can email us: [email protected] Or follow us on social media @fanalyticspod LINKS Sunday League Screamer: https://twitter.com/sportbible/status/1640362734553292800?s=20 Best halfway line goals: https://www.planetfootball.com/quick-reads/nayim-and-eight-others-who-scored-from-the-halfway-line/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With the announcement of the FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World 11 this week, we break down the chosen team and ask who is the most deserving of a place. On the topic of European competition, we take a look at the upcoming “Swiss model” for the UEFA Champions League in 2024-25. Will the new format make the competition a better or worse spectacle? Will there be more heavyweight sclashes? Can we convince Ryan that change is a good thing, sometimes? Will more games also mean more injuries? We look at FIFPro’s “Player Workload Monitoring Tool” to outline just how little rest and recovery the top athletes get for club and country. Bio links: Twenty First Group article: https://www.twentyfirstgroup.com/uefa-champions-league-restructure-what-impact-will-it-have/;  FIFPro’s “Player Workload Monitoring Tool”: https://www.footballbenchmark.com/library/pwm Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Anyone listening to the Football Fanalytics podcast is going to enjoy watching football itself, but how do you like to consume your broadcast coverage? With the growth of advanced data such as “Live Win Probability” and a “Momentum Tracker” being used within the broadcast, we look at the lengths football data has come in mainstream media, but how much further it still has to go. We cover a lot of ground in Episode 71, from augmented reality, to machine learning and…apex height? Plenty to sift through. You can follow us on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/FanalyticsPod Or follow us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/fanalyticspod And you can contact us via email [email protected] LINKS FIFA Training Centre: https://www.fifatrainingcentre.com/en/fwc2022/fwc2022.php#metrics Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are back! Fresh from a winter break, where Mark was busy working hard analysing the World Cup and Ryan was busy playing FIFA... The Football Fanalytics Podcast returns for 2023. It's January, which means the footballing world is filled with non stop transfer rumours and clubs looking to bring in midseason reinforcements. Some clubs may need new recruits to rescue their season, some may be looking for injury cover, and some may be throwing money around just for fun... if you're Todd Boehly. But how can clubs use data to inform better decisions during the transfer window? And how might players use data to negotiate better deals for themselves as their contract comes to an end? We explore that in this episode, as well as looking at some of the deals that have already been agreed this month so far. You can follow us on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/FanalyticsPod Or follow us on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/fanalyticspod And you can contact us via email [email protected] LINKS Alex Greenwood article: https://theathletic.com/4095864/2023/01/17/alex-greenwood-used-data-for-manchester-city-contract/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The World Cup is underway, and (for very different reasons) the headlines are already being dominated by two people — Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.   The debate will rumble on when discussing who is truly the greatest of all time, but for The Football Fanalytics Podcast, it was a perfect time for us to speak with Jonathan Clegg — Wall Street Journal reporter and co-author of a new book titled “Messi vs. Ronaldo: One Rivalry, Two GOATs, and the Era That Remade the World's Game” with Joshua Robinson.   We chat with Jonathan from Qatar to discuss the book, discuss the latest drama surrounding both players, and discuss how there is more that binds them than separates them.   Bio Links:   Book URL: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0063157179/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_hsch_vapi_tu00_p1_i0  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’ve made it as far as Episode 68 and somehow this is our first episode on the topic of referees!   We discuss our thoughts on how the game is officiated, how the location and timing of a foul can have an influence over the outcome, and we even have some “per 90” statistics for referees sprinkled in.   We also take a look at the role of home advantage towards the unconscious bias from a referee, backed up by the numbers!   Let us know your thoughts! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello Football Fanalytics listeners!   A quick bumper episode this week, as a call to action! We have been nominated in the 'Best Football Journalist' category in the Globe Soccer Digital Awards 2022.   That's right, so we need your vote! Please click below to vote for us, and thank you as ever to all of you for your support and listenership.   Click here: https://vote.globesoccer.com/vote/best-journalist-2022/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In Episode 67, we ask when the best time might be to truly place stock in the league table.   With just over one-quarter of the season gone, is it best to look at league points to determine a team’s performance? Or is there a better way? We discuss the utility of expected goal difference at this early stage of the season, and make an early prediction of the final league standings!   Meanwhile, Ryan reveals his recent meeting with a Premier League goalkeeper!   Bio Links:   Spitch: https://tinyurl.com/bdf2bdh7;   David Sumpter article: https://soccermatics.medium.com/should-you-write-about-real-goals-or-expected-goals-a-guide-for-journalists-2cf0c7ec6bb6  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pep Guardiola says they’re “nothing more than telephone numbers”.   In Episode 66, we ask…are formations even reliable anymore?   When you first see the starting line-up, the formations given are rarely the formations a team sets up in throughout the 90 minutes. How do they differ in and out of possession? How does the game state influence their approach? Is a 4-3-3 the same for two teams?   We discuss all the above, and more — with a game to start off the episode, for good measure!   Bio Links:   Spitch: https://tinyurl.com/bdf2bdh7;   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices