Makelele may be one player for whom "distance covered" and "high intensity runs" would have been telling statistics. These are numbers that most clubs track, but without context they don't mean much. There's a story (possibly apocryphal) that a team put incentives into player contracts for distance covered in a…

We were inspired by Soccernomics when we were writing. The best way to characterize it is that Soccernomics is about the sport, and The Numbers Game is about the match. We look more carefully at what determines wins and losses, what managers do, and how squads should be constructed and developed.

We only take 52 pages to explain synergy. As well, 32 pages on luck, 44 on leadership, 17 on Darren Bent, and 1/4 on Arjen Robben.

I find Ozil one of the most fascinating players in the world for his quality, his movement, his story, his weird athleticism. He should be great for the Gunners. They will still need to strengthen their back five in January to have a chance to win the league.

Spacing is hugely important. If there's one thing I've learned about the game, it's to stop watching the ball so much. It's one reason that soccer in the stadium is so much better than on tv.

It certainly goes to penalty kicks, but because Fifa is in our face every year as opposed to every four, it wins the shootout.

Doubt these voters would be so inclined: http://www.nationalfootballmuseum.com/

The United States because of GDP and growing youth participation, or China because of 1.3 billion chances to find 15 Messis, Ozils, Piques.

Not yet. It's even worse than comparing field players with pitchers in baseball. Eventually though our models will get good enough that something like a win shares will be available, but there will never be something like FIP because there really is no "independent" in soccer.

England needs to stay patient: there are a number of promising young players on the squad and on the horizon. The change in the society will eventually be reflected on the pitch.

[Rodgers' self-portrait (sq.in.)^3 + Andy Carroll's ponytail (cm)]*[number of table places below Everton]

Players' technical ability is light years ahead of where it used to be. Control of the ball, accuracy in passing (as you say), one touch deftness, shooting power, etc. Remember that this is a sport in England not so many decades ago where managers would routinely hold practices without the ball so that the lads…

I think I hear the crowd right now shouting down from the Kop, "It's all your fault, it's all your fault!" So, it's all your fault.

For some analyses, sure. Some of what we were trying to do with the cross-league comparisons is show the convergence on a single-statistical model as far as some key outputs (shots, goals, etc.) were concerned. One of the startling findings in the book is how similar the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, and the Bundesliga are…

They sell jerseys and bring eyeballs, and maybe most importantly, they fit with the conventional wisdom of fixing your club by buying a striker. I can't tell you how many clubs and new owners we've seen or talked to who believe that promotion (or a trophy) is just one striker away.

Great talents have to learn to play the team game whatever the sport is. Because soccer is the most "team-y" game, the distance for middle school superstars who can dominate possession by dribbling the length of the pitch is the furthest to travel. Again, this journey is one that coaching is responsible for, and…

This is a great example of conventional wisdom. We open the book with this sentence: "Seven words have long dominated soccer: 'That's the way it's always be done.'" What I can tell you for sure is that there is no analysis supporting goalies playing it long—it's simply what's always be done. Same, up until…

I agree with all your points.

It is a little forced, especially when you watch games on American television. However, it will become more natural over time as the statistics and our knowledge improve. There are a number of interesting scientific papers on penalty kicks. I can't review all the findings but a couple of interesting ones are that…

It's a great quote by Trapattoni and one with some truth in it. We, very very tentatively, estimate that managers are responsible for 15% of the performance of the club. As you'll see in The Numbers Game, we arrive at this figure by looking at studies of leadership in the business literature. We wouldn't stake our…