What does the football analytics metric 'xG' stand for?
Chapter 1

How baseball birthed sports science

Chapter 2

The global football data revolution

Chapter 3

Basketball's three-point mathematical shift

Chapter 4

Wearables, sensors, and global sports tech

YOUR GOAL

Master of The sports analytics revolution

Ch 2 · The global football data revolution
dave
Footy by Numbers
BETA

dave Decode team performance data to learn the secrets of modern football.

Jul 2

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dave The global football data revolution

Beyond the pitch, where numbers shine, New talent found, a winning design!

Jul 2

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dave The mathematical rise of Brentford FC

Jul 2

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Smart positioning on the pitch

dave Managers use spatial geometry to divide the football pitch and maximize passing options.

Jul 2

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The mathematical rise of Brentford FC

dave Owner Matthew Benham used mathematical modeling to rescue Brentford from financial ruin and reach the Premier League.

Jul 2

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Fun Fact

Supercomputer predictions: Opta's supercomputer simulates football matches 10,000 times to predict league winners, getting it right with incredible accuracy.

Jul 2

dave
Glossary
expected goals (noun plural)
A statistical metric used in football to evaluate the probability of a shot resulting in a goal. In 2014, Danish club Midtjylland began using this metric to evaluate player performance and scout undervalued talent.

Jul 2

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Gossip

Do statistics ruin football's beauty?

Jul 2

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Quiz

Which English club did owner Matthew Benham guide from the third tier to the Premier League using math?

Jul 2

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dave Smart positioning on the pitch

Jul 2

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Quiz

Which Danish club won its first-ever league title in 2015 by focusing heavily on set-piece analytics?

Jul 2

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dave The rise of expected goals

Jul 2

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Quiz

Why do modern football teams value 'packing' rates in passing analytics?

Jul 2

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dave The Danish experiment at Midtjylland

Jul 2

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Quiz

What historical data is used to calculate the probability of an expected goal (xG) shot?

Jul 2

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Quiz

What does the pressing metric 'PPDA' measure in football analytics?

Jul 2

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Quiz

What does the football analytics metric 'xG' stand for?

Jul 2

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Quiz

How many zones do modern managers like Pep Guardiola typically divide a football pitch into for training?

Jul 2

dave
Quiz

Before owning Brentford, in what industry did Matthew Benham make his fortune using statistical models?

Jul 2