our use of sports data analysis

[thebish]

interesting...

http://www.information-age.com/it-manag ... ier-league

extract:

There is no doubt that the footballing world is behind other industries when it comes to gaining value from information. The trouble does not lie with the collection of data – organisations like Opta and Prozone churn out endless statistics – but, rather, collating it all and turning it into something meaningful for the manager.

“The analytics from BBC and Sky, and even Opta and Prozone, is great for fans and pub talk, but for us it doesn’t mean anything,” says Brian Prestige, head of analytical development at Bolton. “The person with the most tackles means nothing.

“We’re after clever defenders who intercept and have the right starting positions. They maximise their efficiency by not running around the pitch trying to lunge in and tackle everyone, but by trying to just intercept key passes because they’re keeping in shape.”

[BWFC_Insane]

I find this sort of stuff fascinating. There is definitely a huge gap between what clubs could be doing and using and what they actually are.

Glad to see Bolton trying to bridge this. At the end of the day anything that gives small advantages is surely worth it as it will be miniscule in cost terms compared to buying a new player or whatever.....

[Bruce Rioja]

Loved reading that, Bish. Cheers.

[boltonboris]

I’ve been on a crusade for the last two years, getting people from the analytics community and talking to them,” says Prestige. “The trouble is, football is too closed off.

“People in football clubs don’t want to talk to people who aren’t in football clubs, and people from the outside think they know better. Therefore there’s a massive barrier that needs breaking down.”

The only way to do that, he believes, is to actually communicate. As such, Bolton have been inviting people to sit down with Freedman to educate them on the club's philosophy and hopefully empower them to develop a better external solution for football analytics, rather than having to do it themselves.

Good article and the above bit interested me.. But I don't think it's that easy..

People will only listen, if they're seeing physical evidence that it's working.. Are we seeing that evidence? I don't think so.

[Gary the Enfield]

I’ve been on a crusade for the last two years, getting people from the analytics community and talking to them,” says Prestige. “The trouble is, football is too closed off.

“People in football clubs don’t want to talk to people who aren’t in football clubs, and people from the outside think they know better. Therefore there’s a massive barrier that needs breaking down.”

The only way to do that, he believes, is to actually communicate. As such, Bolton have been inviting people to sit down with Freedman to educate them on the club's philosophy and hopefully empower them to develop a better external solution for football analytics, rather than having to do it themselves.

Good article and the above bit interested me.. But I don't think it's that easy..

People will only listen, if they're seeing physical evidence that it's working.. Are we seeing that evidence? I don't think so.

To me it reads like a coming together of intel and personnel. That is to say we may well reap the benefits this coming season. Let's hope the f*cking boo0boys give it a chance to show through otherwise every mis-timed tackle or mis-placed pass will be used as yet another stick to beat Dougie with.

[BWFC_Insane]

I’ve been on a crusade for the last two years, getting people from the analytics community and talking to them,” says Prestige. “The trouble is, football is too closed off.

“People in football clubs don’t want to talk to people who aren’t in football clubs, and people from the outside think they know better. Therefore there’s a massive barrier that needs breaking down.”

The only way to do that, he believes, is to actually communicate. As such, Bolton have been inviting people to sit down with Freedman to educate them on the club's philosophy and hopefully empower them to develop a better external solution for football analytics, rather than having to do it themselves.

Good article and the above bit interested me.. But I don't think it's that easy..

People will only listen, if they're seeing physical evidence that it's working.. Are we seeing that evidence? I don't think so.

They're talking about sitting down with analytics experts to bridge the gap between those "outside football" and those in it. Basically saying football has been a closed shop and hasn't used outside experts that are common in other industries but given the history there are clearly barriers to break down.

They're not talking about fans.

But as for evidence that anything like this is working I'm not sure how you'd judge it from an external perspective. How do you metric it? Obviously the club will have its own internal metrics but as a fan you cannot say one way or the other.

[boltonboris]

I wasn't talking about fans...

But as a fan (and as an outsider), I'd look at the clubs performance by checking the league table and the results.

[irie Cee Bee]

Interesting stuff. Hope it results in success for us. It's the players who will win it for us and not the data analysis. They are not robots.

[BWFC_Insane]

I wasn't talking about fans...

But as a fan (and as an outsider), I'd look at the clubs performance by checking the league table and the results.

Doesn't tell you whether their analysis is working or not. And you have no comparative data ie...what difference would there be if we're not doing x....

[Gary the Enfield]

I wasn't talking about fans...

But as a fan (and as an outsider), I'd look at the clubs performance by checking the league table and the results.

Doesn't tell you whether their analysis is working or not. And you have no comparative data ie...what difference would there be if we're not doing x....

We'd be losing more games and be further down the table.

[Puskas]

I wasn't talking about fans...

But as a fan (and as an outsider), I'd look at the clubs performance by checking the league table and the results.

Doesn't tell you whether their analysis is working or not. And you have no comparative data ie...what difference would there be if we're not doing x....

Do they have that comparative data, though? I mean, would they stop doing X for a match to see if it made a difference (and risk losing...)?

Presumably, if X is a new innovation, they may have the data from before they started doing it (although possibly with different players playing in a different system...)

Interesting, though.

[LeverEnd]

I wasn't talking about fans...

But as a fan (and as an outsider), I'd look at the clubs performance by checking the league table and the results.

Doesn't tell you whether their analysis is working or not. And you have no comparative data ie...what difference would there be if we're not doing x....

I seriously for a second thought you'd left Boris a little kiss at the end of your post there.

[Lost Leopard Spot]

... How do you metric it?...

Boooooo, feckin hissssssss. How do you measure it?

[Lost Leopard Spot]

I wasn't talking about fans...

But as a fan (and as an outsider), I'd look at the clubs performance by checking the league table and the results.

Doesn't tell you whether their analysis is working or not. And you have no comparative data ie...what difference would there be if we're not doing x....

I seriously for a second thought you'd left Boris a little kiss at the end of your post there.

[BWFC_Insane]

I wasn't talking about fans...

But as a fan (and as an outsider), I'd look at the clubs performance by checking the league table and the results.

Doesn't tell you whether their analysis is working or not. And you have no comparative data ie...what difference would there be if we're not doing x....

Do they have that comparative data, though? I mean, would they stop doing X for a match to see if it made a difference (and risk losing...)?

Presumably, if X is a new innovation, they may have the data from before they started doing it (although possibly with different players playing in a different system...)

Interesting, though.

No but I presume they have a proper evaluation method for any new systems or initiatives.

Much of this sort of thing is long term looking which is harder to evaluate. Much of this is actually describing the gathering and then dissemination of information. Which can only really be measured in success terms of whether the information is accurate and is disseminated in a way that people understand and find useful.

The end product, so to speak, might ultimately be down to how that information is used. But that in itself is not a measure of the success of the analysis per se.

[bobo the clown]

Nice, but how about this for an idea ...... practice, ad I mean REALLY practice dead ball situations. Once the players are fit then prepping, either as attacking or defending, free kicks & corners would pay far more dividends, far more quickly.

... & if anyone thinks we already do then show me the evidence.

[BWFC_Insane]

Nice, but how about this for an idea ...... practice, ad I mean REALLY practice dead ball situations. Once the players are fit then prepping, either as attacking or defending, free kicks & corners would pay far more dividends, far more quickly.

... & if anyone thinks we already do then show me the evidence.

I think we make our set pieces too difficult. Short corners? Nah. Back post? Nah.

Get it into the middle of the box between the penalty spot and 6 yard box every time and attack that space.

[Puskas]

Nice, but how about this for an idea ...... practice, ad I mean REALLY practice dead ball situations. Once the players are fit then prepping, either as attacking or defending, free kicks & corners would pay far more dividends, far more quickly.

... & if anyone thinks we already do then show me the evidence.

I think we make our set pieces too difficult. Short corners? Nah. Back post? Nah.

Get it into the middle of the box between the penalty spot and 6 yard box every time and attack that space.

Position Of Maximum Opportunity!

Remember that, boys and girls - it'll be important.

[Bruce Rioja]

Nice, but how about this for an idea ...... practice, ad I mean REALLY practice dead ball situations. Once the players are fit then prepping, either as attacking or defending, free kicks & corners would pay far more dividends, far more quickly.

... & if anyone thinks we already do then show me the evidence.

I think we make our set pieces too difficult. Short corners? Nah. Back post? Nah.

Get it into the middle of the box between the penalty spot and 6 yard box every time and attack that space.

Position Of Maximum Opportunity!

Remember that, boys and girls - it'll be important.

Getting any of them past the first defender would be a start.

[BWFC_Insane]

Nice, but how about this for an idea ...... practice, ad I mean REALLY practice dead ball situations. Once the players are fit then prepping, either as attacking or defending, free kicks & corners would pay far more dividends, far more quickly.

... & if anyone thinks we already do then show me the evidence.

I think we make our set pieces too difficult. Short corners? Nah. Back post? Nah.

Get it into the middle of the box between the penalty spot and 6 yard box every time and attack that space.

Position Of Maximum Opportunity!

Remember that, boys and girls - it'll be important.

Allardyce loved it! Especially when Faye was POMOING!