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26 reviews for:
The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know about Soccer Is Wrong
David Sally, Chris Anderson
3.52 AVERAGE
26 reviews for:
The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know about Soccer Is Wrong
David Sally, Chris Anderson
3.52 AVERAGE
Very inspiring! So many things about soccer under challenged, and so many doors opened. Can't wait to find out more data and insights about this beautiful sport. And even want to land a job on it!!!
Was very analytical, while I enjoy non-fiction this was just a bit too much like a research paper for me to enjoy it. It's also sports focused and while I enjoy Soccer I just thought it was boring.
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
"moneyball for soccer" - that's fine as far as it goes, but I think people forget that a non-trivial part of moneyball's success is that it was written by one of the master storytellers of our time.
Being a huge fan of soccer and stats, this was an enjoyable book for me. I liked that it gave me some new ways of watching the game.
informative
inspiring
Not bad, but a little more simplistic than I was looking for. Lots of interesting nuggets, but I would've preferred a deeper analysis.
I had high hopes for this. Sadly, I’m disappointed.
Many of the statistics just don’t make any sense with regards to their argument. An example of this is when they calculated that such an oddly high percentage of players in soccer go for years without ever recording a single shot on target. Yes, they’re called goalkeepers and defenders, which is an average of 3 players per team!
The authors had some intriguing ideas, especially in the introduction of the book. Unfortunately, these were buried under mountains of confusing data.
Many of the statistics just don’t make any sense with regards to their argument. An example of this is when they calculated that such an oddly high percentage of players in soccer go for years without ever recording a single shot on target. Yes, they’re called goalkeepers and defenders, which is an average of 3 players per team!
The authors had some intriguing ideas, especially in the introduction of the book. Unfortunately, these were buried under mountains of confusing data.
This book is INCREDIBLY well done. If you aren't familiar with statistics but love soccer, everything is explained using enough layman's terms that you will have no trouble following and you'll understand the results of the analysis. If you aren't familiar with soccer but love statistics, the results are given with parallels drawn to other sports and non-sports areas. If you love soccer AND statistics, you are in for SUCH A TREAT because the statistics are so well discussed and presented in very well done graphs and charts, and the "beautiful game" is explained and analyzed beautifully.
I can definitely say that reading this book has already changed the way I watch soccer, as I watched the US Women's National Team in their victory to qualify for the 2015 World Cup while halfway through reading this, and found myself constantly thinking of the results found in the book and applying them to the match as it was happening. That's how clearly drawn out the statistical results are in this book - it is SO easy to start applying the concepts to games you're watching right away. And it didn't ruin any enjoyment of the game - just made me feel more informed and like an expert!
Definite recommendation to sports fans or stats fans, or sports-stats fans like myself!
I can definitely say that reading this book has already changed the way I watch soccer, as I watched the US Women's National Team in their victory to qualify for the 2015 World Cup while halfway through reading this, and found myself constantly thinking of the results found in the book and applying them to the match as it was happening. That's how clearly drawn out the statistical results are in this book - it is SO easy to start applying the concepts to games you're watching right away. And it didn't ruin any enjoyment of the game - just made me feel more informed and like an expert!
Definite recommendation to sports fans or stats fans, or sports-stats fans like myself!
Some interesting insights into the value of defense and the effectiveness of managers. Overall not terribly illuminating if you have any existing knowledge of analytics.