Blog

Open the cookbook: Making data knowledge institutional, not individual

Regardless of whether you’re a Liverpool fan, the Reds winning the title has led to at least one good thing: the story of Harry Redknapp’s CD-ROM of data being made public. From The Athletic: “In [Michael] Edwards’ early days, [Harry] Redknapp called to ask why he could not get anything out of a CD-ROM filled…

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Where does Timo Werner fit in at Chelsea?

In Timo Werner, Chelsea have signed one of the best young forwards in the world. But his arrival may give manager Frank Lampard one of the biggest headaches. The Germany international signed off on his RB Leipzig career with a brace against Augsburg to help Die Roten Bullen to a 2-1 win. The double took…

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The curious case of Roberto Firmino’s Anfield drought

Liverpool are Premier League champions. Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are battling it out for the Golden Boot and Alisson Becker is leading the race for the Golden Glove. Then there’s Roberto Firmino, a player without a league goal at Anfield all season. In a team filled with overperformers, it can seem as though he’s…

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How forever undervalued Karim Benzema is embracing the spotlight at Real Madrid

During the summer of 2009, Real Madrid had one of the best transfer windows ever. Cristiano Ronaldo swapped Manchester for Madrid, Kaká traded Milan for the Spanish capital while Xabi Alonso left Merseyside to return to Spain along with team-mate Álvaro Arbeloa. Los Blancos also won the race to sign Lyon prodigy Karim Benzema ahead…

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How Premier League football has changed since lockdown

Premier League football is back after a long pandemic lockdown and… well, at least it’s football. It might, understandably, not be of the highest quality, but it’s the sport we love and there’s plenty of it to watch. It’s felt noticeably different from the norm, but how much of that is a real change and…

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A shortcut to navigating the world of football statistics

A certain section of technology experts will live and die by Ray Kurzweil’s ‘law of accelerating returns’. Evolution happens exponentially, the theory goes, for technology as well as for anything. People build on the knowledge of what’s come before, and that knowledge helps them get new knowledge faster. This won’t be a post about that…

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£50m Drop | The Premier League Returns

100 days after COVID-19 brought football to a sudden halt, the Premier League returns on Wednesday. But, not as we know it. The last Premier League fixture to take place before coronavirus paralysed Europe saw Leicester City thrash Aston Villa 4-0 on March 9. In the months that followed, life, as we know it, hit…

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Jack Grealish is different to most wide forwards – it’s why he’s so in demand

Jack Grealish is one of the most sought after players in the Premier League. The Aston Villa maestro has been perpetually linked with Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool were rumoured to be keeping tabs on the 24-year-old while Manchester United have reportedly made the £75million-rated attacker their top target for the belated summer transfer window.  On paper,…

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