It will be of no surprise to anyone that the closer you are to goal, the more opportunity you have of scoring. But exactly where on the pitch might be the best location to create a goalscoring chance?

In Episode 26, we take a closer look at a piece of tactical analysis that divides the pitch up into key zones. The zone that has been shown to be most lucrative to score is ‘Zone 14’ - just outside the penalty area.

We discuss exactly what Zone 14 is, why it is such an important area of the pitch, and how it can be used by teams to increase their chances of scoring a goal!

Remember you can follow us on Twitter at @Fanalyticspod or email us at [email protected]

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In Episode 25, we were very excited to welcome Sam Tighe on the podcast as our first guest of 2021. Sam is best known for his writing with ‘Bleacher Report’ and Southampton Football Club, plus his very successful ‘Ranks FC’ podcast and his huge love of worldwide football!

We chatted about Sam’s career so far, his thoughts on data and analytics in the mainstream media, and his favourite interviews with professional football players. Look out for anecdotes about Marcus Rashford’s exhaust pipe, Thomas Müller's horses, and chasing Leon Bailey to a park in Düsseldorf!

Plus, we discussed our mutual friends over at Twenty3 and how their Content Toolbox can be used to enhance our knowledge of player and team trends. This is not one to be missed.

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With Frank Lampard’s recent dismissal, we thought it would be a good opportunity to see whether Chelsea’s underlying numbers were as bad as first thought.

In Episode 24, we discuss expected points - an extension of xG which allows us to see how many points you’d expect a team to accrue based on the quality of chances they make and concede. Does the league table lie? Who has been most unlucky this season?

We also answer some more of your questions in our fan(alytics) mailbag!

Bio links:

Understat xPoints: https://understat.com/league/EPL; 

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It is our last opportunity to talk about signings this month, as the January transfer window draws to a close!

In Episode 23, we chat about the players who didn’t quite make the impact they wanted to, upon signing for a new club. What is it that makes a ‘football misfit’ when a player makes the transfer to a new team? How can we use analytics to minimise this risk?

We also dig into some of the questions sent in by you, in our fan(alytics) mail. Look out for more of this in the coming weeks, and please continue to get in touch with us!

Bio links:

Ai Abacus: https://ai-abacus.co.uk/ 

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Closing the opposition down, and winning the ball back is nothing new in football. But in modern football, you often hear more use of terms like “gegenpressing” and “high intensity”.

In Episode 22, we delve deeper into our understanding of how a team presses the opposition. Using analytics, we can reveal which teams press with high intensity, and who is most effective at doing it. If you hadn’t heard of PPDA before this episode, you will be very familiar with it by the end! 

We also show how a good pressure can be very different from an effective team press, just ask Andy Robertson...

Bio Links:

FBref: https://fbref.com/en/;

Andy Robertson pressing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AAdMxPkFlM&ab_channel=KoreanBaller 

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This week we are keeping things topical and discussing the January transfer market! It’s that time of year where clubs may be looking for a quick fix to address their injury problems, or to give their squad a much-needed boost heading into the second half of the season.

In Episode 21 we take a look at some potential transfers that a few Premier League clubs may be interested in. To do that, we are delving back into the Twenty3 Content Toolbox and exploring their fantastic ‘Discover’ tool.

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It’s a new year, and we are back with a new episode!

In Episode 20, we discuss a recent analysis from Mark, who had the pleasure of working with a Championship football club. The aim was to support the club in their recruitment strategy, and understand how a player’s performance metrics translate when moving from one league to another.

How much does the change in league strength influence a player’s performance? Does the change in league style affect this further? We discuss how you can use analytics to answer these questions, and help to minimise mistakes in the transfer market.

Mark’s Blog:

https://careyanalytics.wordpress.com/2020/12/27/maximising-the-market-can-we-better-predict-player-performance-between-leagues/ 

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After a short break, we’re back with a fanalytics bang this week!

In Episode 19, we discuss an innovative model that is highly regarded in the analytics community, called Expected Threat (xT). Introduced originally by Karun Singh, this model is a hugely interesting way to look at the value of possession in any area of the pitch, and the future rewards it can bring in resulting in a goal in the next five actions. 

Where does the opposition create their most dangerous opportunities? How can we reward players who are creative but don't necessarily get the assist? This model finds the hidden value which can’t be found by other metrics.

Bio links:

Karun’s xT Blog: https://karun.in/blog/expected-threat.html; 

Karun’s Statsbomb Presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mE3sUVCIwfA&ab_channel=StatsBomb 

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It’s Episode 18, and with the international break now behind us for this calendar year, it is back to the packed schedule of club football until Christmas. But with the injury list growing at a rapid rate for so many teams, we discuss the cost that brings to the quality of football on display.

With Joe Gomez the most recent high-profile player to be struck down by injury, Liverpool will be forced to think creatively with their latest centre-back pairing. We use the Twenty3 Discover Tool to look at a number of players who could fit the style and profile of a Liverpool defender.

Bio links:

Tom Worville article: https://theathletic.co.uk/2156560/2020/10/24/liverpool-january-transfer-centre-backs-analysis/;  

Twenty3 Discover Tool Blog: https://www.twenty3.sport/twenty3-discover-tool/; 

Sam McGuire Blog: https://marginalpains.substack.com/p/the-players-who-could-solve-liverpools?r=bha1y&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email&utm_source=twitter 

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A huge episode for the podcast this week, where we had the delight of speaking with senior commentator and Football Correspondent for BBC Radio 5 Live, John Murray.

We chatted with John about his approach to commentary, his preparation ahead of each game, and even got him to reveal the best game he has ever commentated on! We also discuss John’s view on the use of data and statistics within broadcasting, and where he feels there is an “overstatification” within football. Definitely not an episode to be missed!

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