The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is WrongMoneyball meets Freakonomics in this myth-busting guide to understanding—and winning—the most popular sport on the planet. Innovation is coming to soccer, and at the center of it all are the numbers—a way of thinking about the game that ignores the obvious in favor of how things actually are. In The Numbers Game, Chris Anderson, a former professional goalkeeper turned soccer statistics guru, teams up with behavioral analyst David Sally to uncover the numbers that really matter when it comes to predicting a winner. Investigating basic but profound questions—How valuable are corners? Which goal matters most? Is possession really nine-tenths of the law? How should a player’s value be judged?—they deliver an incisive, revolutionary new way of watching and understanding soccer. |
Contents
Soccer for Skeptics | 1 |
Riding Your Luck | 33 |
Soccers Rare Beauty | 66 |
They Should Have Bought Darren Bent | 93 |
Light and Dark | 113 |
Piggy in the Middle | 135 |
The Deflation of the Long Ball | 161 |
Guerrilla Soccer | 177 |
How Do You Solve a Problem Like Megrelishvili? | 223 |
Stuffed Teddy Bears | 250 |
The Young Prince | 268 |
Life During the Reformation | 297 |
Acknowledgments | 333 |
Notes | 339 |
367 | |
377 | |
Other editions - View all
The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong Chris Anderson,David Sally Limited preview - 2013 |
The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know about Football is Wrong Chris Anderson,David Sally No preview available - 2013 |
The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong Chris Anderson,David Sally No preview available - 2013 |
Common terms and phrases
ability actually analysis analytics attack average ball become believe better cards chance Chelsea club's clubs coach completion conceded corners course defense effect English fact fans fewer Figure final five followed Football four give given goals half hand happen idea important Italy Journal kicks least less look lose majority manager Manchester match matter means minutes move numbers odds once opponents passes penalty percent performance pitch play players points position possession Premier League produce rare Reep relative rule scored season shots side similar simply skill soccer spend statistical Stoke strong substitution success tactics talent team's things tion true turned understanding United wages weak links World Cup wrong