Blog

Evolving the Twenty3 Content Toolbox

Every now and then it doesn’t hurt to take a look back and see how far you’ve come. Building the Twenty3 Content Toolbox has taken over two years of hard work for us. What started out as an internal tool to try and save the sanity of our graphic designer – it seems to have…

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What is a Flank Attacks visualisation?

If a weekly trip to the cinema was part of your life’s routine, you could have spent the last month only seeing high-class, innovative period adaptations. Little Women, The Personal History of David Copperfield, Emma.; films that take a classic and give it a new spin. And — as I always say — what’s good…

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Why Mr Southampton Ward-Prowse is the Saints’ most-important player

James Ward-Prowse is the sort of player every Premier League manager would love to have. Except he’s not always been appreciated by his bosses at Southampton. Until now. The Saints’ journey since returning to the Premier League in 2012 has been a rollercoaster ride. Highs and lows, a cup final, European jaunts and Great Escapes.…

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The Championship promotion race: What the numbers say

The Championship has given us some fantastic promotion battles over the past few years, from Fulham and Cardiff City’s race for second spot two seasons ago, to the top of the table tussle between Norwich City, Sheffield United and Leeds United in 2018/19.  But this season’s fight for a spot in the Premier League was…

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Forget the Galácticos – Real Madrid’s title challenge built on defence

Whenever Real Madrid are mentioned, an array of attackers spring to mind. Los Blancos are famous for their Galácticos and those individuals, with the exception of a few, usually operated in the final third of the pitch. Raúl, the original Ronaldo, Robinho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema. The list is impressive. Zinedine Zidane added…

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Torquay’s Samba Shot Stopper: Meet Lucas Covolan

The journey from Curitiba to the coastal town of Torquay certainly isn’t one of football’s more well-trodden paths, but then very little about Lucas Covolan’s career could be considered conventional.  Torquay United’s globetrotting goalkeeper has taken the scenic route to the English Riviera – playing for teams as varied as South American giants Vasco de…

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Tactical Insight Through Team Personas | An OptaPro Presentation

It’s one of the most important questions in football: if we expect our opposition to play in a certain way, what’s the most effective way for us to play against that? That’s what we at Twenty3 were trying to answer at this year’s Opta Pro Forum. The Forum is an event held by data provider…

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Is the National League title race over? Let’s see what the stats say…

With Barrow seven points clear at the top of the Vanarama National League table, there have been suggestions in some quarters that this season’s title race is as good as over. Former Torquay United manager Chris Hargreaves certainly implied as much, when appearing on BT Sport’s National League Highlights Show last Saturday. “They (Barrow) are…

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Stats are a pundit’s best friend… or at least they should be

Another week, another day reviewing the past few days’ games and looking ahead to the next round to come. The only thing more entertaining than football is no football, because we can talk about all the football. As much as we enjoy the latest clip of the to-remain-unnamed-pundit not knowing a basic part of a…

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Promotions, memories and making dad proud: 40 years of the National League

“The National League still allowed me to achieve my dream, in a way – playing full-time football and allowing me to do something that I love every day.” Dagenham & Redbridge captain Kenny Clark is in a reflective mood, as he assesses his career to date at the club’s training ground.  “It might not be…

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