A summary of the finding from the statistical analysis of 2012-13 season in the 5 top leagues in Europe

1. A Football Season in Statistics – 2012/13
Summary of findings

2. % of Academy player appearances in the first team during
2012/13 season
Context

3. “Doing the same
things over and over
again and expecting
different results”
The definition of Insanity
Albert Einstein

4. The power of possession

5. The power of possession

6. Charles Reep
• The first analysis of
football - 1950s
• 90% of all
possessions end in
less than 4 passes
The study became
the basis of the long
ball game - get to
other penalty area in
less than 4 passes

7. Comparing Charles Reep’s
Analysis to the modern game

8. The power of possession
How do we compare?

9. The power of possession
A game of 2 halves?

10. Teams that have more possession
•Have more shots
•Score more goals
•Concede less goals
•Win more games

11. Possession - The role of the individual
3 of the top 5 originate from Barca’s academy- Toure
played for Barca - is this talent ID or a consequence of a
coaching model

12. The power of possession
• Jaeson Rosenfeld study -StatDna
• Studied 100,000 passes in
Brazilian Serie A
• Calibrated passes by Difficulty
rating including
• Pass Distance
• Pressure on receiver
• Forward Pass
• Air Pass
• Head Pass
• One Touch pass
Is pass accuracy a consequence of Skill?

13. The power of possession
• No discernable difference on the
pass quality
• Most accurate passers will:
 Get in right place to receive
 Find pockets with limited
pressure
 Engineer easier passes by
virtue of their position on the
pitch
 Accuracy dominated by
simplification
Is pass accuracy a consequence of Skill?

14. The power of possession
• No discernable difference on the
pass quality
• Least accurate passers will:
 Be position poor
 Dwell on the ball
 Poor body shape on receipt
 Over complicate
Is pass accuracy a consequence of Skill?

15. Turnovers
1.52
goals per game
1.18
goals per game
Goals conceded
1.15
goals per game
1.42
goals per game
Goals scored
Teams with
most
turnovers
Teams with
fewest
turnovers
Data based on all premier League game’s 2008-11

16. Turnovers

17. Possession- Observations
Core capability of the
modern game
Movement and positioning
as important as pass
accuracy
Low touch fast penetrative
movement key in final third
Capacity to exploit
turnovers is key
Capacity to change pace
based on strategic triggers

18. Some Suggestions!
Possession!
Training
Needs to be directional
Should include strategic
triggers - quick/slow etc
Movement and positional
work as important as pass
accuracy
Final third low touch coupled
with penetrative movement

19. Finishing

20. Finishing
% of Goals scored
inside the area
La Liga 87.1%
Bundesliga 86.7%
Premier 84.6%
Serie A 84.1%
Ligue 1 83.9%

21. Finishing -Observations
The 80%+ scoring zone
appears to be universal
across all elite leagues
Goal to chance conversion
rates at the top end 25%+
One of our poorest game
attributes
How do we replicate scoring
in training?

22. Suggestions!
Scoring!!
Frequency of use of keepers
in sessions
Frequency of the use of goals
in training
Emphasis on development of
subconscious capability in the
80% zone

23. Dribbling

24. The most successful
dribbler in Europe was
Frank Ribery he averaged
4.5 successful dribbles per
game
Dribbling is not overly
dominant in the modern
game
Dribbling is obviously an
essential and effective skill
provided it is part of a bigger
package e.g. Messi, Ribery
and Diego - high on
dribbles, goals and assists
Dribbling - Observations

25. Defending

26. Tackling - a
perspective
Xabi Alonso’s response to a question
posed by “The Guardian” re:How he
was surprised to see so many young
players at Liverpool herald tackling as
1 of their strengths
“I can’t get into my head that football
development would educate tackling
as a quality, something to learn,to
teach, a characteristic of your play.
How can that be a way of seeing the
game? I just don’t understand football
in these terms. Tackling is a last resort
and you will need it, but it isn’t a
quality to aspire to”
To Alonso tackling happens when
something goes wrong not right

27. Averaged 1
tackle every 2
games

28. Attack v Defence
The Italian way
5 v 10
Arrigo
Sacchi’s
great Milan
team of the
80’s / 90s
would run
this drill to
prove how
strong they
were
defensively

29. Defending - Observations
The modern day defender
appears to be more adept at
Forcing errors
Anticipating danger
Defending as part of a unit
Tackling appears a necessary
attribute rather than an
aspirational one
Tackling and winning aerial
duels are not overly dominant
within the modern game

30. Position specific profiles!
The data highlights
a number of
position specific
attributes e.g.
Attacking
midfielders masters
of assists from and
through Zone 14.
We need to create
prioritised position
specific profiles -
probably age
specific!!!

31. Measurement!
Measurement and
KPI’s are
increasingly
prominent in the
modern game we
need to develop a
suite of measures
that we universally
use to interpret
performance
individually and
collectively