Using Operational Research to Explain Football Analysis
This essay compares operational research and football analysis to derive practical insights applicable to both fields.
Latest
New Beginnings: Luqman A. Kabange
Meet me, the new guy. Who am I? Why am I here? What to expect? My goals and principles.
Precision Play: Why Mechanics Matter
This essay argues that mechanics is the single most important predictor of skill transfer between footballing environments – and suggests a roadmap to understanding it.
How to Classify Running Capacity among Elite Players
And why those who can run and carry aggression into subsequent duels are in high-demand.
There Are No Superstars Left, Only Entertainers
and it's obscuring the beautiful game.
Projections: Mali U-17's Sékou Koné
Mali U-17's Sekou Kone has joined Manchester United from Guidars FC. The writer discusses their 9-month old projection on the starlet who, at that time, took the U-17 World Cup by storm.
Profiling Dominic Solanke with Ange Postecoglou
This essay infers scouting and recruitment principles from Ange Postecoglou's comments on new signing Dominic Solanke.
Liverpool, Goals from Opposition Corners, and Arne Slot
Liverpool recently scored yet another goal from an opposition corner. What can we learn? Can other teams emulate?
Why Focusing on Strengths Leads to Better Scouting Outcomes
This essay argues that in both corporate recruitment and sports scouting, identifying and leveraging strengths is more important than flagging weaknesses.
A Case for Lisandro Martinez at Left-Back
I present a chain-of-thought argument supporting why Manchester United's Lisandro Martinez can and should be considered for the left-back position.
Precision Play: The Stiff Arm
This essay examines the stiff arm action and explains why it is a valuable tool for runners or carriers in open-field sports.
Post-reflective Take on Benfica's João Neves
A condensed version of my initial take and projection on Benfica's João Neves, using our guide reflection questions.
Scouting
Reflection as a Scouting Optimizer
This essay adapts the Ignatian Pedagogy, a teaching philosophy developed by the Jesuits, to illustrate how scouts can use reflection to enhance their learning and improve their processes.
Scouting
Outlets: Football's Pressure Valves
This essay examines qualities of outlets, introduces the concept of outlet value, suggests ways to spot (potential for) outlets, and attempts to establish a broader definition for this attribute of football players.
Strategy
What Should We Expect from Head Coaches?
We argue that a head coach's decision to adopt an attacking style, despite their team's inability to effectively compete using such tactics, might reflect poorly on their talent ID.
Mechanics
Precision Play: Features of a Great Sho(o)t(er)
Some features of a great shot and great shooters
Scouting
What Can Scouts Learn from Crawling Plants?
How a hypothetical observation of crawling plants can help up develop and affirm scouting paradigms.
Scouting
Projections: Sheffield United's Anel Ahmedhodžić
Blitz report and projections on Sheffield United's Anel Ahmedhodzic
Scouting
Avoiding the Description Trap when Scouting (or Analyzing)
Public analysis tends to elevate description to the level of insight, occasionally veering into fiction. How avoid that pitfall?
Scouting
More Non-Trivial Scouting Cues
I share more non-trivial scouting cues: on set-pieces, why reputation matters for strikers, and young players who feature in dysfunctional teams.
Scouting
Non-Trivial Scouting Cues
I share some non-trivial scouting cues I've acquired over the past two years. Most, I learned from conversations and immersion. Few, I stumbled upon. Others, I inferred from adjacent domains – and have found them applicable here.
Analysis
What Can we Learn From Synergies?
Combining Xabi Alonso's reflections and earlier published words to highlight the importance of synergies in football – plus more data-points on the most important trait of a coach.
Analysis
On Motivation, Arsenal's Arteta – not Arteta's Arsenal – and Throw-ins.
What the title says. On motivation, Arteta, and throw-ins.
Scouting
Archiving as a Scouting Tool
This blog is an archive. What does this mean for you, the reader? What does that means for me, the writer?