Analytics FC Podcast: Recent Episodes
Analytics FC
Analytics FC is a football podcast looking at the beautiful game in a different light.
Each episode, we’re joined by a guest from the world of football analytics to talk about the ways we can use numbers, statistics and data to better understand the sport.
Tofa Fakunle is currently the assistant General Manager at Canadian Premier League cub, Cavalry FC.Before this current role, he was the football operations manager at the same club, and then before that, a professional player.Based in Calgary, Cavalry FC are one of 8 teams that compete in CPL, which is a relatively new league, having only started in 2019. The league is the only professional league in Canada, which offers a lot of potential to grow, especially with the World Cup arriving in 2026.In this conversation we speak about how Tofa has to look after and manage the clubs’ budgets, the rules set by the leagues around squad building, and how Tofa and his team source players, for free, from all over the World.We touch on data, the MLS, and a bit more on the overall football landscape within Canada.Timestamps0:00 – Introduction1:28 - Tofa joins and gives some background3:47 – Transitioning from player to front office, roles & responsibilities7:55 – Transfer window and season timeline10:41 – Access to data and spending rules14:56 – Recruiting players from around the World18:26 – The landscape of football in Canada & North America24:25 – Cavalry FC squad profile28:18 – Rules around building a roster31:57 – Networking and working with agents33:38 – Team culture35:40 – Trading players for profit, thinking long-term42:59 – Future thoughts on soccer in Canada46:24 – Summary and wrap upYou can also see more of Chris chatting to analytics professionals over on his podcast too, right here: https://www.youtube.com/@chrisgill_UK
Ricardo Moreira currently is General Manager and Sporting Director at MLS club Orlando City SC.Now in his 7th year at Orlando, Ricardo joined from another MLS side, Columbus Crew, as Orlando's head of recruitment. Ricardo is highly knowledgeable when it comes to building squads around the constraints and regulations that MLS sides must contend with.In this conversation we touch on a few of those aspects such as allocating playing budgets accordingly and getting the right balance of youth and homegrown players.We then go on to talk about scouting around the world and how Ricardo uses his South American background to find great success there, as well as data, and promoting youth. A great insight into what goes on behind the scenes of an MLS team when trying to construct a competitive squad.
Ryan Beale is the CEO and co-founder of sports AI company Sentient Sports.After completing a degree in computer science, Ryan went on to do a PhD in Artificial Intelligence. Like many others, he was very keen to combine this skillset with his passion of football and one of the first ways he did this was via Fantasy Football.From there, Ryan raised capital to fund his startup, and now Sentient Sports is working on some really interesting tech being used by professional clubs and organisations.In this conversation we speak about different types of artificial intelligence and how this is having an impact of professional sports. We highlight scouting, decision making and how certain jobs are changing within the industry.Ryan also shares a little more on GuardianAI, a tool that the Sentient team is working on that detects online abuse, in real time, that is being directed at athletes and officials. Just another cool application of how AI technology can add to the sporting world
Nikos Overheul is an experienced football scouting and strategy professional who has spent time working with various clubs around the world.Nikos was actually involved with Brentford FC in the early days of their data revolution and since then, spent time with Statsbomb, and Vancouver Whitecaps in the MLS.As well as this, Nikos has also operated as a consultant, aiding teams in their recruitment and alignment towards longer term goals.In this conversation I ask Nikos about some of the intricacies that come with working in the MLS, how he thinks about risk and reward, and I pitch him a hypothetical job to try to better understand Nikos’ thought process when working with a new club.
David Ray is currently Head of Finance at Championship football club, Plymouth Argyle. His role is a really interesting one, as it seems he is much more involved with the typical performance and recruitment aspects of the club that a typical head of finance would be elsewhere.David speaks about the transfer committee they have, how they model and forecast the club’s income to ensure they can remain sustainable and how the club has been clever to diversify their assets.Plymouth actually went into administration back in 2011 so to now see them competing in the Championship is great to see. Their budget is definitely one of the smallest in the league and David speaks about the challenges that this brings, but how it also forces them to be creative.Ultimately the goal is to be a sustainable football club that can produce a squad that can compete. We all know the importance of getting recruitment right, but this chat hopefully shows you how a club thinks about optimising income to invest in squad building.
Gregg Broughton is the new Sporting Director at MLS side Chicago Fire, having previously held the same role at Blackburn Rovers FC in the English Championship.Gregg has vast amounts of experience when it comes to player development, squad building and leadership. Prior to Blackburn Rovers, Gregg spent time as head of player development at Norwegian side FK Bodø/Glimt after spells as academy manager at both Luton Town and Norwich City.In this conversation we speak about factors to consider when constructing a squad and planning for the future, but also the importance of a ‘club identity’.
Devin Pleuler is currently director of research and development at Toronto based multi-club ownership group, MLSE.Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment have a portfolio of clubs across football, basketball, ice hockey, Canadian football, and even esports. Devin’s role is to oversee each of the analytics departments and also stay on top of exciting trends and opportunities within the world of sports analytics.Devin has also played and coached football, as well as spending some time working at Opta as a statistician. He then joined the group as manager of analytics for Toronto FC, before gradually becoming more senior. In this conversation, Devin explains a bit more about what his role entails. We also speak about tracking data, technological advancements, and how Devin thinks about and decides on new research projects.Chris Gill is our new host of the podcast, brought to you by Analytics FC.
This month, Analytics FC teams up with Ankura Consulting Group, an independent global expert services and advisory firm, to discuss the process and pitfalls of acquiring a football club. Alex is joined by Analytics FC CEO Jeremy Steele and Ankura's Jonny Gray and Jon Brown to discuss their new partnership.
This month, Alex spoke to Dan Micciche. Dan is widely regarded as a coaching innovator whose career has encompassed stints at the FA, coaching England youth teams, Arsenal, MK Dons, and most recently, Crawley Town. Dan talks about the England DNA approach, football and language, and how to create a set-up that fosters creative coaching.You can find Dan on LinkedIn - he is smart enough to avoid Twitter!We’ll be back next month with another interesting guest, but until then, make sure you subscribe to this podcast, rate and review it, and check out all the content that is going out from Analytics FC on our Twitter account @analyticsfc.
This month, we spoke to Brexitball expert Andy Watson and immigration lawyer and senior partner at Fragomen LLP, John Kiely, about Analytics FC's ground-breaking new report. The report examines the impact of the GBE regulations on the British transfer market. The pod discusses, among other things, the difference between the English and Scottish markets, the impact on the Women's game, and breaks down effects on a league-by-league basis.
This month, we spoke to Mike D’Auria, Chief Commercial Officer at Second Spectrum, a tracking and analytics provider working in, among others, the NBA and the Premier League.
In our chat, we talked about how Mike came to work in the analytics space, what Second Spectrum do, and how clubs and media organizations are harnessing the power of tracking data to improve understanding of the game, which can be leveraged in different ways.
You can follow Mike on Twitter @mikewdauria and Second Spectrum at @SecondSpectrum.
This month, we spoke to Elliott Stapley, a software engineer working on the match engine and data for Sports Interactive’s Football Manager game.
During our conversation, we talked about how the Football Manager match engine works, how Sports Interactive use data benchmarking to guarantee the realism of Football Manager, and considered what Football Manager can teach us about the game in real life.
You can follow Elliott on Twitter @elliott_stapley and Sports Interactive @SIgames.
This month, we spoke to David Sumpter. David is Professor of Applied Mathematics at Uppsala University, the author of a number of books about data analytics, and the co-founder of football analytics company, Twelve Football. He also works for Hammarby in the Swedish Allsvenskan.
In the course of the conversation, David talked at length about the use of tracking data within football analysis, the industry’s shift towards more bespoke modelling and the impact of big data on football itself.
You can follow David on Twitter @Soccermatics and Twelve Football @twelve_football.
We’ll be back next month with another interesting guest, but until then, make sure you subscribe to this podcast, rate and review it, and check out all the content that is going out from Analytics FC on our Twitter account @analyticsfc.
This month, we spoke to Justinas Gasiunas, the first-team goalkeeping coach at Hajduk Split.
After ending his career as a goalkeeper, Justinas has coached with a number of clubs including Brighton and Hove Albion and Brentford.
In the conversation, we talked about the development of goalkeeping analysis, Justinas's processes for analysing opponents ahead of games, and the future of goalkeeping analysis.
You can follow Justinas on Twitter @GasiunasJ.
We’ll be back next month with another interesting guest, but until then, make sure you subscribe to this podcast, rate and review it, and check out all the content that is going out from Analytics FC on our Twitter account @analyticsfc.
This month, we spoke to Kim McCauley, Director of Analytics at Angel City Football Club. Starting off working in the media, Kim has spent the last year or so setting up an analytics department at one of the newest clubs in the world.
In our chat, we talked about implementing a data strategy from scratch at a club that has no players, working towards an NWSL and NCAA expansion draft, and how the capacity to be able to make mistakes is important for the implementation process.
Kim McCauley is Director of Analytics at Angel City Football Club. You can follow her on Twitter @lgbtqfc and Angel City @weareangelcity.
We’ll be back next month with another interesting guest, but until then, make sure you subscribe to this podcast, rate and review it, and check out all the content that is going out from Analytics FC on our Twitter account @analyticsfc.
This month, we spoke to Oliver Seitz, business intelligence director of United World.
During his career, Oliver has worked with agents and clubs, he has completed a PhD and lectured on the topic of football business, he has worked on the scouting side of the industry, with coaching staff and with ownership groups. This depth of experience led to a very insightful conversation.
In the course of the discussion, Oliver talked about the processes of implementing data strategies within a multi-club, the importance of having a long-term approach to data, and how communication is key when working across a number of clubs.
This week, we spoke to Richard Battle, founding director of Left Field Football Consulting.
In the conversation, we talked about the processes of implementing data strategies within football, the importance of getting data buy-in at the highest levels, and what the future of data in the football industry looks like.
To find out more about Left Field Football Consulting, visit their website: www.leftfieldfc.com.
We’ll be back next month with another interesting guest, but until then, make sure you subscribe to this podcast, rate and review it, and check out all the content that is going out from Analytics FC on our Twitter account @analyticsfc.
This week, Jon spoke to Peter McKeever, Data analyst at StatsPerform and Data Visualisation Editor for Opta’s new website, The Analyst.
In their conversation, they talked about the importance of visualising data within the football industry, the challenges faced by visualisers and how the industry can use visualisation better..
Peter is on Twitter @petermckeever and you can read The Analyst at theanalyst.com.
We’ll be back next month with another interesting guest, but until then, make sure you subscribe to this podcast, rate and review it, and check out all the content that is going out from Analytics FC on our Twitter account @analyticsfc.
This week, Jon spoke to Oliver Gage, the director of football for the Canadian Premier League.
Originally from Sheffield, Oliver’s career has carried him to North America via Leeds Met University and Sheffield Wednesday. Working as an analyst, he spent time with Houston Dynamo before joining the newly-founded Canadian Premier League as their director of football in 2019.
In their conversation, they talked about the various challenges faced by analysts working at the level of individual players, within clubs and then finally at the league-wide level.
To find out more about the Canadian Premier League, visit www.canpl.ca. Oliver is on Twitter @G4gey.
We’ll be back next month with another interesting guest, but until then, make sure you subscribe to this podcast, rate and review it, and check out all the content that is going out from Analytics FC on our Twitter account @analyticsfc.
This week, we spoke to Hugo Schoukens and Jo van Hoecke, the co-founders of Double Pass, a Belgian company that assesses, advises and educates (con)federations, leagues, clubs and individuals on optimising their talent development.
We focused on their work assessing football academies and asked what impact the auditing process can have on a club’s academy production.
If you want to find out more about Double Pass, you can visit their website: www.doublepass.com.
We’ll be back next month with another interesting guest, but until then, make sure you subscribe to this podcast, rate and review it, and check out all the content that is going out from Analytics FC on our Twitter account @analyticsfc.
This week, we spoke to Alex Farnell, an economics researcher at the University of Lancaster looking into labour markets and issues to do with personnel, specifically using data from professional sports to illustrate.
We focused on his work investigating the contribution of Head Coaches to the success of football teams, and whether changing coaches brings the desired change to performance.
His other research includes looking at discrimination in the market for NFL coaches and looking at how fatigue and multi-tasking contribute to the in-game decline in performance of baseball pitchers in MLB.
His collaborative paper on head coaches is titled ‘Special Ones? The Effect of Head Coaches on Football Team Performance’ and it can be found online at www.iza.org.
We’ll be back next month with another interesting guest, but until then, make sure you subscribe to this podcast, rate and review it, and check out all the content that is going out from Analytics FC on our Twitter account @analyticsfc. Goodbye!
This week, Jon spoke to Tal Brown, co-founder and CEO of Zone7. We talked about the problem of predicting injuries in sport, the impact of coronavirus on injury and the future of big data in the sports medical sphere.
Through Zone7, Tal and his team develop and apply proprietary artificial intelligence to help athletes, coaches and medical teams forecast injury risk and attain peak performance. He has worked with professional and amateur teams across the EPL, MLB, MLS, NCAA, La Liga, Serie A, and the Olympics.
Here’s what Tal had to say:
So that Tal Brown, founder and CEO of Zone7. If you want to follow Tal, he can be found @talbrown on Twitter and to find out more about Zone7 visit @Zone7ai on Twitter or go directly to their website: www.zone7.ai.
We’ll be back next month with an episode looking at the impact on coaches on team performance but until then, make sure you subscribe to this podcast, rate and review it, and check out all the content that is going out from Analytics FC on our Twitter account @analyticsfc. Goodbye!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY. Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
On the Analytics FC podcast, we’ll be putting out episodes every month with a thematic focus from using data to analyse injuries to quantifying the cognitive aspect of football, from working with agents to the use of tracking data.
This week I spoke to Tom Worville about Analytics and the media, focusing on the challenges faced by presenting data to a public audience and asking what, if anything, analytics can learn from the use of data in the media space.
Tom Worville was one of the founders of Analytics FC. From there, he went to Opta where he worked for four years. Since 2020, Tom has been The Athletic’s Football Analytics Writer where he has overseen the roll-out of a form of data journalism across their platform.
Follow Tom on Twitter @worville and read his articles and listen to his podcasts at www.theathletic.com.
We’ll be back next month with an episode on using data to quantify injuries but until then, make sure you subscribe to this podcast, rate and review it, and check out all the content that is going out from Analytics FC on our Twitter account @analyticsfc. Goodbye!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY. Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
Joel and Jeremy are joined by Christofer Clemens, the German national team's head of match analysis and scouting.
Tweet us! www.twitter.com/AnalyticsFC
Find Joel and Bobby on twitter: Joel www.twitter.com/MessiSeconds Bobby www.twitter.com/BobbyGardiner
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY. Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
We put your twitter questions to Brentford FC's Xarius Desai! Check out our previous podcast with Xarius here: https://soundcloud.com/analytics-fc-podcast/xarius-desai
Tweet us! www.twitter.com/AnalyticsFC
Find Joel and Bobby on twitter: Joel www.twitter.com/MessiSeconds Bobby www.twitter.com/BobbyGardiner
Links from pod: OneShortCorner https://oneshortcorner.wordpress.com/ Statsbomb list https://twitter.com/StatsBomb/following GoalImpact https://twitter.com/GoalImpact
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY. Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In which we chat to Xarius Desai, performance analyst at Brentford FC, about his role and football analysis more broadly.
Tweet us! www.twitter.com/AnalyticsFC
Find Joel and Bobby on twitter: Joel www.twitter.com/MessiSeconds Bobby www.twitter.com/BobbyGardiner
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY. Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
This week we met Rory Campbell, Head of Technical Analysis at West Ham.
Tweet us! www.twitter.com/AnalyticsFC
Find Joel and Bobby on twitter: Joel www.twitter.com/MessiSeconds Bobby www.twitter.com/BobbyGardiner
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY. Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
This week we're joined by Red Bull Salzburg and Spielverlagerung's Rene Maric!
Tweet us! www.twitter.com/AnalyticsFC
Links from the podcast: Rene's twitter www.twitter.com/ReneMaric Spielverlagerung (English) http://spielverlagerung.com/ Spielverlagerung (German) http://spielverlagerung.de/
Find Joel and Bobby on twitter: Joel www.twitter.com/MessiSeconds Bobby www.twitter.com/BobbyGardiner
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY. Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
Beginning of the new season. In Season 2 Episode 1 of the Analytics FC Podcast we introduce Joel Salamon and Jeremy Steele to the team.
Follow us! http://www.twitter.com/AnalyticsFC Joel's intro video: https://youtu.be/hyssqYD-gxA
Links from the podcast: Packing article http://statsbomb.com/2016/08/unpacking-packing/
The guys can be found on Twitter: Bobby http://www.twitter.com/BobbyGardiner Joel http://www.twitter.com/MessiSeconds analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY. Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 28 of the Analytics FC Podcast we are joined by Michael Caley and Mike Goodman to discuss their new podcast (The Double Pivot), the recent Champions League Final and to roundup our favourite team’s 15/16 seasons.
--------------- Links from the podcast:
http://www.howlermagazine.com/060616-dp-klinsmann-isnt-wrong/ (Latest episode of The Double Pivot)
--------------- The guys can be found on Twitter:
Mike Goodman is @ TheM_L_G Michael Caley is @ MC_of_A Double Pivot Podcast is @ DoublePivotPod Analytics FC is @ AnalyticsFC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
--------------- Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 27 of the Analytics FC Podcast we are joined by David Sumpter, author of Soccermatics: Mathematical Adventures in the Beautiful Game, to discuss his new book.
We also are running a competition to win 3 copies of the book. Listen to the podcast or check our Twitter for details! Competition runs until 12/05/16 and is for UK listeners only.
Links from the podcast: http://www.fourfourtwo.com/search/content/soccermatics (David's work over at FourFourTwo) http://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/soccermatics-9781472924124/ (Buy the book here!) http://statsbomb.com/2016/04/the-search-for-confidence-and-the-hot-foot-theory/ (Bobby Gardiner's "Hot Feet")
The guys can be found on Twitter: David Sumpter is @ Soccermatics Analytics FC is @ AnalyticsFC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY . Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 26 of the Analytics FC Podcast we take your questions from Twitter. Remember this isn't edited, you were warned!
Links from the podcast: https://twitter.com/search?q=tobin%20heath&src=typd (Tobin Heath cooking up the ?) http://statsbomb.com/2016/04/the-search-for-confidence-and-the-hot-foot-theory/ (Bobby Gardiner on the 'Hot Foot') https://twitter.com/wosostats (WoSo Stats on Twitter) http://frontoffice.report/arsenal-and-what-we-talk-about-when-we-talk-about-expected-goals/ (Richard Whittall on Expected Goals and Arsenal)
The guys can be found on Twitter: Analytics FC is @ AnalyticsFC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY . Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 25 of the Analytics FC podcast we are joined by blogger Paul Riley. We talk to Paul about his recent work about picking a data-driven England squad for the upcoming Euro 2016 tournament, his work around goalkeeper analytics and take your questions from Twitter.
Links from the podcast: http://differentgame.wordpress.com/ https://differentgame.wordpress.com/2016/02/19/englands-dna/ https://differentgame.wordpress.com/2016/02/27/englands-euro-2016-squad-initial-planning/ https://differentgame.wordpress.com/2016/03/04/england-at-euro-2016-a-case-for-the-defence/ https://public.tableau.com/profile/paul.riley#!/vizhome/PremierLeague201516xGMap/PremierLeague201516ShotonTargetxGDashboard (Expected Goals Dashboard) https://public.tableau.com/profile/paul.riley#!/vizhome/201516PremierLeagueKeyPasses/PremierLeagueKPnAssists (Chance Creation Dashboard)
The guys can be found on Twitter: Paul Riley is @ footballfactman Analytics FC is @ AnalyticsFC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY . Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 24 of the Analytics FC Podcast we are joined by Jen Lute Costella, co-founder of hockey analytics consultancy LCG Analytics. We talk about the overlaps between ice hockey (hockey) and football, the current state of hockey analytics and Jen’s work with LCG Analytics.
We also find out about Jen’s previous work with a public analytics project and the upcoming Hockey 101 series too, which is going to be an intro to the sport of Ice Hockey, keep an eye out for it!
From the plugs section, don’t forget the code ANALYTICSFC when buying your tickets to the Sport + Data event in London next week to get them for free.
Book and find more about the event here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/football-and-data-analytics-tactics-and-leicester-newcastle-live-tickets-22409080162
Links from the podcast: http://www.lcganalytics.com/ (Jen’s consultancy) https://jenlc13.wordpress.com/ (Jen’s blog) t.co/975wI5kmcJ (Football Analytics Search Engine) https://t.co/DBMXZxDfo5 (Unusual Efforts: Soccer by women, for everyone - Indiegogo) frontoffice.report (Richard Whittall’s new project)
The guys and gals can be found on Twitter: Jen Lute Costella is @ RegressedPDO Analytics FC is @ AnalyticsFC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY . Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 23 of the Analytics FC Podcast we are joined by Thom Lawrence, blogger over at http://deepxg.com/. We talk about Thom’s wayward entry into the analytics community, his EGMAYO and PATCH metrics (seriously) and discuss the results of Thom’s recent “State of Analytics” survey.
Links from the podcast: http://deepxg.com/ http://deepxg.com/2015/12/02/egmayo-an-injury-impact-metric/ (EGMAYO) http://deepxg.com/2016/02/07/defending-your-patch/ (PATCH) http://deepxg.com/tag/survey/ (Survey) https://t.co/975wI5kmcJ (Football Analytics Search Engine)
The guys can be found on Twitter: Thom Lawrence is @ DeepxG Analytics FC is @ AnalyticsFC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY . Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 22 of the Analytics FC Podcast we are joined by goalkeeper analytics blogger, Sam Jackson. We talk about the important qualities Sam looks for in a goalkeeper, why he writes about the “non-shots” stats and then discusses some of his recent work, including his GPI metric and his upcoming Opta Pro Forum presentation. We also find out Sam’s favourite goalkeepers and close out the podcast with your questions from Twitter.
Links from the podcast: https://outsidersin.wordpress.com/
The guys can be found on Twitter: Sam Jackson is @ Sam_Jackson94 Analytics FC is @ AnalyticsFC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY . Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 21 of the Analytics FC Podcast we are joined by Sean Ingle, senior sports writer and columnist at the Guardian. We discuss journalism, data journalism and Sean gives some excellent advice for aspiring writers.
We then dive into three main topics: Football, Tennis and Athletics - discussing Leicester’s surprise season, the recent Buzzfeed/BBC investigation into match-fixing in tennis and the doping and expectation-setting problems in UK athletics currently.
Links from the podcast: http://www.theguardian.com/profile/seaningle http://www.amazon.co.uk/Put-Writing-John-Whale/dp/0460024353 http://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/the-tennis-racket http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2016/jan/17/leicester-city-premier-league http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jan/27/buzzfeed-bbc-tennis-match-fixing-allegations http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/jan/26/great-britain-rio-olympics-2016-medal-expectrations-paralympics
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analy…id991610009?mt=2. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved.
The guys can be found on Twitter: Sean Ingle is @ SeanIngle Analytics FC is @ AnalyticsFC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY . Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
Guess who’s back!
In Episode 20 of the Analytics FC Podcast we are joined by Simon Gleave, Head of Analysis at Infostrada Sports. We discuss Simon’s fascinating background, his role at Infostrada Sports and some of the public work he’s done in football analytics recently, and take your questions from Twitter.
Links from the podcast: http://scoreboardjournalism.wordpress.com/ http://www.infostradasports.com/ http://euroclubindex.com/
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analy…id991610009?mt=2. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved.
The guys can be found on Twitter: Simon Gleave is @ SimonGleave Infostrada Gold is @ InfostradaGold Euro Club Index is @ EuroClubIndex Infostrada Sports is @ Infostrada Live Analytics FC is @ AnalyticsFC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY . Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 19 of the Analytics FC podcast we are joined by Huddersfield Town performance analyst and Spielverlagerung and New York Red Bulls writer Tom Payne. We talk tactics; breaking down a few key concepts to understand them better, the combination of both analytics and tactics and find out the sides that Tom enjoys watching.
If you're interested in sponsoring the podcast, send us an email using the address below.
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analy…id991610009?mt=2. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved.
The guys can be found on Twitter:
Tom Payne is @ TomPayneftbl Analytics FC is @ AnalyticsFC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 18 of the Analytics FC podcast we debate a number of topics back and forth, including "Teams should sell players that outperform expected goals", "The demise of Grantland will impact the promotion of analytics" and "An English team will get the CL semis" - an interesting and fun pod, we hope you'll agree!
Links to things we mentioned on the podcast:
- Chad Murphy on selling your overperformers: http://soccer.chadmurphy.org/blogs/moneyball-but-for-selling-using-xggoals-ratio-to-profit/
- 11Tegen11's Expected Goals Ratio: http://11tegen11.net/2014/02/11/putting-expected-goals-to-the-test/
- James Yorke on Juventus' start to the season: http://statsbomb.com/2015/11/why-have-juventus-struggled/
- Joel Salamon's Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/MessiSeconds
- Danny Page on multiplying Expected Goals: https://medium.com/@dannypage/expected-goals-just-don-t-add-up-they-also-multiply-1dfd9b52c7d0
If you're interested in sponsoring the podcast, send us an email using the address below.
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analy…id991610009?mt=2. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved.
The guys can be found on Twitter:
Analytics FC is @ AnalyticsFC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 17 of the Analytics FC podcast we briefly discuss the new Analytics FC consultancy and then welcome former Liverpool and Tottenham Director of Football Damien Comolli onto the show to talk about his previous roles, evaluating transfers, quantifying defenders and goalkeepers and how injury prevention may be the next frontier in Football Analytics.
If you're interested in sponsoring the podcast, send us an email using the address below.
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analy…id991610009?mt=2. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved.
The guys can be found on Twitter:
Analytics FC is @ AnalyticsFC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 16 of the Analytics FC Podcast the boys are joined by fellow analysts Ben Torvaney and Bobby Gardiner to shamelessly plug their recent work, the battle between being an analyst and being a fan, what we shouldn't use analytics for, Jamie Vardy, the use of analytics in the play-offs and we take your questions from Twitter.
The NYA Soccer post we talk about at the end can be found here: http://www.northyardanalytics.com/blog/2015/01/02/player-contributions-to-cash-flow/
If you're interested in sponsoring the podcast, send us an email using the address below.
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analy…id991610009?mt=2. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved.
The guys can be found on Twitter:
Michael Caley is @ BobbyGardiner Ben Torvaney is @ stats_snakeoil Analytics FC is @ Analytics_FC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 15 of the Analytics FC Podcast we are joined by Michael Caley to talk about his new Expected Goals model, what it contains, what teams it likes and doesn't likes, why it doesn't work outside the Top 4 European leagues and we take your questions from Twitter.
You can read more on Michael's latest model here: http://cartilagefreecaptain.sbnation.com/2015/10/19/9295905/premier-league-projections-and-new-expected-goals
If you're interested in sponsoring the podcast, send us an email using the address below.
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analy…id991610009?mt=2. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved.
The guys can be found on Twitter:
Michael Caley is @ MC_of_A Analytics FC is @ Analytics_FC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 14 of the Analytics FC Podcast we are joined by Allison McCann, visual journalist at FiveThirtyEight, to talk about the new CARMELO rating system, the recent Women's World Cup model and what Tom and Sam think about the current state of Football Analytics.
You can check out the CARMELO system here: http://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/carmelo/
You can also find all of Allison's work at FiveThirtyEight here: http://fivethirtyeight.com/contributors/allison-mccann/
Another plug for Intopress, if you're an aspiring young writer and want to get started in the football journalism industry check it out: www.intopress.co.uk/
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analy…id991610009?mt=2. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved.
The guys and girls can be found on Twitter:
Allison McCann is @ atmccann Analytics FC is @ Analytics_FC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 13 of the Analytics FC Podcast we are joined by Michael Cox (writer at Zonal Marking, The Guardian and ESPN FC among others) to talk about the origins of Zonal Marking (the blog), the combination of tactics and analytics and the future of analytical football writing. Michael also gives some tips on how to break into football journalism. You can read Michael's blog at http://www.zonalmarking.net
Another plug for Intopress, if you're an aspiring young writer and want to get started in the football journalism industry check it out: www.intopress.co.uk/
Also a reminder to apply for the Opta Pro Forum here. The deadline is this Sunday (October 18th): www.optasportspro.com/about/optapro-blog/
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analy…id991610009?mt=2. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved.
The guys can be found on Twitter:
Michael Cox is @ Zonal_Marking Analytics FC is @ Analytics_FC Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 12 of the Analytics FC Podcast we are joined by journalist Gab Marcotti to talk about the recent anti-stats pieces, analytics in the mainstream media, how analytics and #FootballMen can work together, the future of football (and sports) analytics and we take questions from Twitter!
Another plug for Intopress, if you're an aspiring young writer and want to get started in the football journalism industry check it out: www.intopress.co.uk/
Also a reminder to apply for the Opta Pro Forum here: www.optasportspro.com/about/optapro-blog/
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analy…id991610009?mt=2. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved.
The guys can be found on Twitter:
Gab Marcotti is @ Marcotti Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
Episode 04: Womens World Cup Preview with Emily Dulhanty and Danny Page by Analytics FC
In Episode 11 of the Analytics FC podcast, we're joined by Bobby Gardiner and Ben Torvaney, two fellow analytics bloggers (and students!)
We discuss PDO and its downfalls, analytics in mainstream journalism, Brendan Rodgers sacking, Chelsea's poor start and take some questions from Twitter also.
Make sure you check out Intopress if you're an aspiring young writer and reach out to Bobby if you want to get involved: http://www.intopress.co.uk/
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analy…id991610009?mt=2. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved.
A reminder to apply for the Opta Pro Forum here: www.optasportspro.com/about/optapro-blog/
Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam Ben Torvaney is @ stats_snakeoil Bobby Gardiner is @ IntoPress and @ BobbyGardiner
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
Episode 10! Thanks to everyone who's listened to and shared the podcast so far, we're thrilled to have made it this far!
In this episode we talk with Ryan Bahia from Perform Group about Opta and the upcoming OptaPro Forum, tips for applying, previous forums and what clubs are looking for in an abstract. Note that the deadline for these is 18/10/2015, so get sending in soon!
In the second half of the podcast we discuss Rory Smith's latest article on ESPN FC (see here: http://www.espnfc.com/blog/espn-fc-united/68/post/2626868/football-coverage-is-more-intellectual) and the sacking of Brentford's manager Marinus Dijkhuizen.
Is this analytics 'fad' finally over?! Have the Moneyball men finally been defeated?! Tune in to find out!
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analy…id991610009?mt=2. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved.
Ryan Bahia is @ RyanBahia and you can find the OptaPro blog here: http://www.optasportspro.com/about/optapro-blog/ Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
We're back! In Episode 09 of the Analytics FC podcast we are joined by Messi Minutes/Seconds himself Joel Salamon to talk smart clubs, smart transfers, not so smart transfers and Anthony Martial.
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analy…id991610009?mt=2. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved. Once again, at least 2 stars!
Joel Salamon is @ MessiMinutes and @ Messi Seconds and his YouTube channel can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSJYt9t01VUXbxNZt5dokew Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 07 of the Analytics FC Podcast Sam and Tom are joined by Dustin Ward aka Saturdays on Couch.
Before Dustin joins us we talk about the Women’s World Cup. Sam cries into his Canada scarf while we discuss the game, looking forward to the quarter finals and reminisce about a penalty shoot-out way back in 2007.
When Dustin joins we discuss his background, recent work on Statsbomb and his influences behind his very popular and thought provoking piece about getting granular with analytics in football.
We also talk more generally about Dustin’s work around bucketing teams together depending on their playing styles according to some preset metrics.
Finally we also discuss the teams Dustin is looking forward to watching in the 15/16 season (yes, we are slowly previewing the new season!) and round off with Tom absolutely butchering the pronunciation of “Spielverlagerung”.
A really fun discussion with some salient points about the buy in of analytics, the importance of visuals in the implementation of it and how tactical awareness is vital to introducing this sort of match-day analysis too.
The book we discussed quite a lot in this podcast is called Pep:Confidential by Martí Perarnau. You can buy the Kindle edition on Amazon for just £2.99 - a steal and very highly recommended! http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pep-Confidential-Inside-Guardiolas-Season/dp/1909715255
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analytics-fc-podcast/id991610009?mt=2. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved. Once again, at least 2 stars!
You can find Dustin’s blog at http://saturdaysonthecouch.wordpress.com/
Dustin Ward is @ SaturdaysOnCouch Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 06 of the Analytics FC Podcast Sam and Tom are joined by Grantland staff writer Mike L. Goodman.
We discuss Mike’s role at Grantland and the analytical approach he takes in his writing, talking in depth about TSR (Total Shots Ratio) and Expected Goals.
Mike also talks to us about his thoughts on what Analytics writers do well and can improve on, including the use of data visualizations in writing - referencing work done by fellow Grantland writer Kirk Goldsberry.
Next we actually discuss some real football - looking forward to next season with Southampton, Liverpool and Juventus. We also talk about Juventus’ smart transfer market moves, and get into a big debate about the not-even-confirmed move or Petr Cech to Arsenal.
Finally Tom and Sam trade very weak blows about a potential Canada-England Womens World Cup Quarter Final and Mike gives away the key criteria for getting a job at Grantland.
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/analytics-fc-podcast/id991610009?mt=2.
It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved. Once again, at least 2 stars!
You can find Mike’s Grantland page here: https://grantland.com/contributors/mike-l-goodman/ Mike L. Goodman is @ TheM_L_G Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 05 of the Analytics FC podcast Tom and Sam are joined by Dan Altman - economist, writer and founder of North Yard Analytics.
We talk about the challenges in the market for analytics, using different data and how likley clubs are to take onboard the ideas of 'fanalysts' (anybody got a better word than fanalyst?)
We also discuss the use of economical thinking and theories in football, namely Dan's application of Shapley values. Finally we talk about Dan's latest blog post for Opta Pro and the likelihood of him one day becoming technical director of Newcastle United (spoiler alert: not likely).
Please take the time to give us a rating on iTunes or a share here. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved. Once again, at least 2 stars!
You can find Dan's company North Yard Analytics here: http://www.northyardanalytics.com/
Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam Dan is @ Altmandaniel
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In Episode 03 of the Analytics FC Podcast Sam and Tom are joined by Omar Chaudhuri, Head of Football Intelligence at 21st Club.
We discuss Omar's background in the sports industry, what his job involved at 21st Club and what 21st Club does in the industry. We also cover Omar's interest in cricket, debating lessons the English Premer League can learn from the IPL. Finally we talk about Omar's latest piece about the European Coefficient and give our thoughts on the Premier League season just gone.
Please take the time to give us a rating. It really helps us grow the audience for this podcast and get new people involved. As Sam says, at least 2 stars!
For those interested, you can find Omar's excellent blog here: http://5addedminutes.com/
Omar Chaudhuri is @ OmarChaudhuri Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.
In the inaugural Analytics FC Podcast we introduce ourselves and interview freelance journalist Richard Whittall about the change he's seen in analytics in football, where he thinks the community is going and find out the motives and ideas behind some of his recent work.
Richard Whittall is @ RWhittall on Twitter and www.richardwhittall.com
Tom Worville is @ Worville Sam Gregory is @ GregorydSam
analyticsfcpodcast@gmail.com for any comments and questions!
Intro music is MMHHMM by LiamLRY (https://soundcloud.com/liamlry/mmhhmm) Logo created by Erik Wagner from the Noun Project.