At the end of each year I like to look back at what I’ve written over the last twelve months and see what I’ve learnt. So, my own personal review of the year shows that: Football Covid has helped to shift attention from the Premier League’s continued dependence on gambling, where nearly half of all …
Tag Archives: premier league
The lowest points total in a decade is likely to win the Premier League
This year’s Premier League could be won with the lowest points haul in ten years. Is this a new trend or Covid related blip – and could we see another Leicester? Last week my blog was like a half-time report on the English Premier League. Looking at league position and points per game after most …
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The Premier League half-time review – winners and losers
The Premier League is highly competitive and an analysis of the first half of the season shows that it moving up the league requires significant performance improvement. This weekend marked the halfway stage of the Premier League for most clubs (although Covid postponements have not made it a perfect split). Since most teams have now …
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If your goal goes to VAR, expect the worst
If your team scores a goal in the Premier League but then it goes to VAR, don’t get your hopes up. So far this season 80% of VAR goals decisions have resulted in a goal being disallowed. Ten teams have had goals disallowed, while only four have had them confirmed, and only one team (Aston …
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Modern Premier League sponsorship and the two G’s – Gambling and Globalisation
Comparing Premier League shirt sponsors at the start of this season with those twenty years ago gives an insight into how the league has expanded into new territories, both geographic and industry type. The most commonly discussed change is probably the emergence of gambling sponsors, with five teams now advertising online. However, football sponsorship has …
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Which Premier League clubs got what they paid for?
It is a general rule of thumb in professional sport that the teams that pay the biggest salaries are the most successful. Looking at the final Premier League standings this year supports that trend, with the top four in the table also having the biggest payrolls*. However within the top four, some teams got more …
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An experiment in forecasting Premier League relegation (Part 2 – bad teams are really bad and embracing the uncertainty)
When the Premier League restarted I decided to develop a model to predict relegation. The model was based on an assessment of the quality of the opposition and their likely motivation. Four rounds of games might be a bit early to re-assess things, but I think I have learnt enough to make some revisions. After …
Liverpool are setting new records in the Premier League
There is an almost comic irony about the fact that Liverpool set a new record for wrapping up the Premier League in the shortest time during a season that will go down in history as the longest ever. When Manchester City lost to Chelsea on Thursday night it meant Liverpool had won the league with …
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Lockdowns, eSports and an experiment in football management
The current lockdown has seen the growth of a new type of eSports. This is where Sports and teams have used the existing professional gaming infrastructure to provide entertainment for fans starved of anything to watch. For example, the Formula 1 eSports Challenge brought together current and retired drivers, along with celebrities and professional eGamers, …
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Reasons to be cheerful
After 100 days, the restart of the Premier League feels like the start of a new season. And just like the start of the new season every fan can feel a sense of hope that this time things will be different. Below is one reason to be cheerful for every fan. Admittedly some are better …
Sport.dat 