Data Within Football

[SourPatch2]

It’s clear that it’s a preference rather than a consequence of squad strength IMO. RLB just isn’t that interested in subs. I’d be okay with that tbf (Pep is exactly the same) if he was more willing to rotate. However he does neither. Hopefully he adjusts this thinking one way or another.

This was an issue Lorient fans had with him wasn't it? I may be remembering wrong but I recall some suggesting this.

 

[SourPatch2]

Another question if no one minds. The GPS tracking the players have, I assume its used in training as well?

Would explain why KS has mentioned team discussions about the team as it would involve data, fitness and also the coaches? So that's 2 lots or data plus and eye test from the coaching group?

Or am I thinking that's too scientific?

Missed this mate apologies. Yes, if you've ever seen them training videos the club put out a lot of the players will be wearing them tracking vests.

 

[Frazier the Lion]

This was an issue Lorient fans had with him wasn't it? I may be remembering wrong but I recall some suggesting this.

Yeah I think Culinary shared some info on that on here previously. Again it’s quite Pep-like. If I think about City in the run-in they tend to be very consistent, with only minor adjustments round the edges. Certainly in big games it tends to be the XI you’d predict ahead of time.

In game I'm perhaps changing my view a touch. I always used to advocate for using the max number of subs. To me it was as much about player development and squad minutes as anything else. The energy thing is a clear positive. However I do now worry about the disruption that would come from 5 subs. Given the way it would normally work, it would often mean changing everyone ahead of Dan Neil. That’s a lot of change. Sometimes a bit of chaos is good. It’s a bit of a dice roll though.

 

[SourPatch2]

Been looking at chance creation and a little bit of finishing data amongst teams in the Championship and where we rank in some metrics. I'm afraid to say it doesn't make great reading. I will say that obviously some of these metrics have flaws and game state is not factored into any of this. All of the metrics are filtered to per 90 unless stated otherwise to avoid and skewed results as some teams have played more games than others.

Will start with some positives.

• Touches in opposition penalty area: 3rd
• Passes that lead to a shot: 4th
• Shots: 4th
• Goals per shot: Joint 4th
• Goals per shot on target: Joint 3rd

This shows me that we get the ball into the penalty area a lot which is obviously a good thing and we shoot a lot which can be good if the shot locations are good but we are one of the more clinical teams in the league and it doesn't take many shots for us to score. That normally levels out as the season goes on though, you can't rely on your forwards being as clinical as ours currently are.

Now here is where things start to get concerning for me.

• xA: 13th
• xAG: 14th
• Touches in attacking third: 12th
• Non penalty xG: 10th
• Non penalty xG per shot: Joint 10th

xAG is the xG total of a shot that follows a pass, considering we rank 4th in passes that lead to a shot we should be ranking much higher in the xAG metric.

We are taking a lot of bad shots, why that is i'm not fully sure. Are we rushing to shoot which leads to us taking a lot of bad quality shots? Possibly. But it could be a case of the forwards are taking a bad shot because the opportunities created for them are so poor that they feel like they need to shoot when they can.

Luckily, Isidor is putting up good finishing numbers. His xGOT (this metric takes into account the xG of a shot plus where the ball ended up. For example, a shot that is aimed at the bottom corner of the goal produces a higher number than one straight down the middle) is 9th amongst attackers that have played at least 5 90s this season. We need that to continue, otherwise the goals will dry up even further.

Not particularly related to this post but thought i'd share it anyway. Patrick Roberts has only gotten 13.9% of his shots on target this season which is the 2nd lowest amongst attackers that have played at least 5 90s this season and considering he takes 2.2 shots per game, that ain't good enough. Needs to improve drastically in that area.

In conclusion, we are getting the ball into dangerous areas (the opponents penalty area), but we aren't creating good opportunities when we get there. We need an injection of creativity into the side, whether that's someone like Aouchiche or Aleksic getting more minutes or signing a creative player in January because right now it's not good enough.

 

[Chunksafc]

Been looking at chance creation and a little bit of finishing data amongst teams in the Championship and where we rank in some metrics. I'm afraid to say it doesn't make great reading. I will say that obviously some of these metrics have flaws and game state is not factored into any of this. All of the metrics are filtered to per 90 unless stated otherwise to avoid and skewed results as some teams have played more games than others.

Will start with some positives.

• Touches in opposition penalty area: 3rd
• Passes that lead to a shot: 4th
• Shots: 4th
• Goals per shot: Joint 4th
• Goals per shot on target: Joint 3rd

This shows me that we get the ball into the penalty area a lot which is obviously a good thing and we shoot a lot which can be good if the shot locations are good but we are one of the more clinical teams in the league and it doesn't take many shots for us to score. That normally levels out as the season goes on though, you can't rely on your forwards being as clinical as ours currently are.

Now here is where things start to get concerning for me.

• xA: 13th
• xAG: 14th
• Touches in attacking third: 12th
• Non penalty xG: 10th
• Non penalty xG per shot: Joint 10th

xAG is the xG total of a shot that follows a pass, considering we rank 4th in passes that lead to a shot we should be ranking much higher in the xAG metric.

We are taking a lot of bad shots, why that is i'm not fully sure. Are we rushing to shoot which leads to us taking a lot of bad quality shots? Possibly. But it could be a case of the forwards are taking a bad shot because the opportunities created for them are so poor that they feel like they need to shoot when they can.

Luckily, Isidor is putting up good finishing numbers. His xGOT (this metric takes into account the xG of a shot plus where the ball ended up. For example, a shot that is aimed at the bottom corner of the goal produces a higher number than one straight down the middle) is 9th amongst attackers that have played at least 5 90s this season. We need that to continue, otherwise the goals will dry up even further.

Not particularly related to this post but thought i'd share it anyway. Patrick Roberts has only gotten 13.9% of his shots on target this season which is the 2nd lowest amongst attackers that have played at least 5 90s this season and considering he takes 2.2 shots per game, that ain't good enough. Needs to improve drastically in that area.

In conclusion, we are getting the ball into dangerous areas (the opponents penalty area), but we aren't creating good opportunities when we get there. We need an injection of creativity into the side, whether that's someone like Aouchiche or Aleksic getting more minutes or signing a creative player in January because right now it's not good enough.

That's really interesting, it's good to read we are getting into the opposition box an awful lot, does it then suggest a lack of confidence or maybe a bit of bad luck.

For me it adds to the "eye test" that we are a really dangerous team but it's just not happening at that vital moment.

I've said many times when it all clicks we will batter a team and it will won't be a huge shock

 

[SourPatch2]

That's really interesting, it's good to read we are getting into the opposition box an awful lot, does it then suggest a lack of confidence or maybe a bit of bad luck.

For me it adds to the "eye test" that we are a really dangerous team but it's just not happening at that vital moment.

I've said many times when it all clicks we will batter a team and it will won't be a huge shock

Just need someone to put their foot on the ball in the final 3rd, calm things down and pick out a good pass. Been a few occasions in the last few games where we've had sequences of 4/5 shots in quick succession but none of them were clean opportunities and i've been sat just wanting someone to calm it down and set someone up for a good chance instead of just blasting it into the defender infront of them.

 

[Chunksafc]

Not particularly related to this post but thought i'd share it anyway. Patrick Roberts has only gotten 13.9% of his shots on target this season which is the 2nd lowest amongst attackers that have played at least 5 90s this season and considering he takes 2.2 shots per game, that ain't good enough. Needs to improve drastically in that area..

What would be a high level percentage for lots on target for Roberts position?

Is 2.2 shots about average for a winger?

Sorry for the questions, but it's all very interesting

 

[SourPatch2]

What would be a high level percentage for lots on target for Roberts position?

Is 2.2 shots about average for a winger?

Sorry for the questions, but it's all very interesting

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This is attackers in general, not just wingers. But looking at it I think Roberts takes about an average amount of shots, just rarely hits the target.

Unlabelled red dot is Rigg, not sure where the label has went.

 

[Chunksafc]

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This is attackers in general, not just wingers. But looking at it I think Roberts takes about an average amount of shots, just rarely hits the target.

Unlabelled red dot is Rigg, not sure where the label has went.

That's curious as I'd say watching the games I wouldn't have said mayenda shoots that much compared to others.

I have to day this data analysis is quite a worm hole you could dive down, it's why I asked about the GPS data as I'd love to spend time analysing that to see if the "eye test" matches

 

[SourPatch2]

That's curious as I'd say watching the games I wouldn't have said mayenda shoots that much compared to others.

I have to day this data analysis is quite a worm hole you could dive down, it's why I asked about the GPS data as I'd love to spend time analysing that to see if the "eye test" matches

Tracking data is extremely hard to come by, however I would recommend the sofascore app which has average positions for individual games and seasons as a whole on there for pretty much every league you can think of.

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[Chunksafc]

Here's a question, would a club put together a package of data on a particular signing before scouting them live?

Take Clarke for example, he had a few years doing not much, is it data that leads us to take a chance or a scouts "hunch"

 

[123Daveyboy]

That's curious as I'd say watching the games I wouldn't have said mayenda shoots that much compared to others.

I have to day this data analysis is quite a worm hole you could dive down, it's why I asked about the GPS data as I'd love to spend time analysing that to see if the "eye test" matches

Or you could go down the old fashioned route. Watch the games and build a conclusion of what you have seen.

 

[Chunksafc]

Or you could go down the old fashioned route. Watch the games and build a conclusion of what you have seen.

Yes but watching is often levered with bias. As an example I think Alese is a great player and will be a beats of a centre half so I will defend him as he's out of position.

Data gives us actual facts

 

[SourPatch2]

Here's a question, would a club put together a package of data on a particular signing before scouting them live?

Take Clarke for example, he had a few years doing not much, is it data that leads us to take a chance or a scouts "hunch"

Each club works differently but the list of possible transfers for clubs like Sunderland is so long these days that it would be physically impossible to have every player scouted so they would be filtered using data and then looked at by scouts.

@Scout73 would be better placed than me to answer this

 

[Chunksafc]

Each club works differently but the list of possible transfers for clubs like Sunderland is so long these days that it would be physically impossible to have every player scouted so they would be filtered using data and then looked at by scouts.

@Scout73 would be better placed than me to answer this

Guess that would be something only a very small few would know. It's quite intense when you look at.how much you could actually drill down onto a player or a position

 

[SourPatch2]

Sorry for the poor quality screenshot, can't find a better one.

This is from @BeGriffs on twitter, he produces data match reports for championship games and other leagues.

This is our passes into the final third on Saturday against Swansea.

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Really like how direct we are going to Mayenda. Really trying to utilise his raw physical attributes and asking him to either out pace or out jump the opposing fullback.

I also like how we are trying to keep Roberts as wide as possible, he does his best work when he picks the ball up in them positions in my opinion. Look at his heat map, he is normally much narrower. He can really isolate the fullback 1v1 like this and allows Hume to invert.

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Good stuff. Good work by the coaching staff.

 

[Prehab26]

Sorry for the poor quality screenshot, can't find a better one.

This is from @BeGriffs on twitter, he produces data match reports for championship games and other leagues.

This is our passes into the final third on Saturday against Swansea.

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Really like how direct we are going to Mayenda. Really trying to utilise his raw physical attributes and asking him to either out pace or out jump the opposing fullback.

I also like how we are trying to keep Roberts as wide as possible, he does his best work when he picks the ball up in them positions in my opinion. Look at his heat map, he is normally much narrower. He can really isolate the fullback 1v1 like this and allows Hume to invert.

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Good stuff. Good work by the coaching staff.

Also absolutely cast iron evidence that Neil was played higher. Exactly where he needs to be. No dropping into the back line and such. Loses so much of his assets doing that.

 

[Southern A]

Also absolutely cast iron evidence that Neil was played higher. Exactly where he needs to be. No dropping into the back line and such. Loses so much of his assets doing that.

I really hope this was a "lightbulb moment" for RLB that allows Neil to move further forward even when drawing games, but I fear it only happened because we were chasing the game.

 

[LD19SAFC]

I really hope this was a "lightbulb moment" for RLB that allows Neil to move further forward even when drawing games, but I fear it only happened because we were chasing the game.

That’s my thinking. We shall see

 

[alcoauth]

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This is attackers in general, not just wingers. But looking at it I think Roberts takes about an average amount of shots, just rarely hits the target.

Unlabelled red dot is Rigg, not sure where the label has went.

Very interesting graph, any idea who those are?

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