Precision Play: Why Mechanics Matter
This essay argues that mechanics is the single most important predictor of skill transfer between footballing environments – and suggests a roadmap to understanding it.
Topic
Mechanics
A collection of 8 issues
How to Classify Running Capacity among Elite Players
And why those who can run and carry aggression into subsequent duels are in high-demand.
Precision Play: The Stiff Arm
This essay examines the stiff arm action and explains why it is a valuable tool for runners or carriers in open-field sports.
Outlets: Football's Pressure Valves
This essay examines qualities of outlets, introduces the concept of outlet value, suggests ways to spot (potential for) outlets, and attempts to establish a broader definition for this attribute of football players.
Precision Play: Features of a Great Sho(o)t(er)
Some features of a great shot and great shooters
Deducing a Player's Fit From Their Tackling Mechanics
Background
Coaches and scouts project players’ skillset and how they might align with their specific game model. While discussions abound on player statistics, potential, and performance, the biomechanics behind these attributes often go unnoticed in public discourse, take tackling for instance.
Methodology
To understand how a player’s tackling mechanics
Role Transition: Unpacking Iwobi’s Move to Midfield
Alexander Chuka Iwobi has been phenomenal this season. The 26-year-old Nigerian has become a key cog of Frank Lampard’s midfield, featuring in every available minute for the Toffees in the Premier League this season. He also leads Everton’s charts in key creative statistics: assists, expected assists, passes completed,
On 2nd-Balls & United's Case for Casemiro
In their first two games of the Premier League season, Manchester United faced sides who deliberately went long.
Here are the numbers vs Brentford:
Here are the numbers vs Brighton:
Pass Directness = progressive distance/total distance for all pass attempts
After United lost those two matches, conversations sparked about Lisandro