Player Analysis Featured

Mateus Fernandes: Built For A Bigger Stage

The confirmation of Tottenham’s survival in the Premier League on the final game of the 25/26 season caused mixed reactions depending on club allegiances. Arsenal fans will have felt slightly disappointed that their best case scenario didn’t play out (although most of them are happy enough with

Player Analysis Featured

Elliot Anderson: Forest's All-Purpose Engine

We’re only about ten matches into the Premier League season, but it’s already possible to pick out some standout performers. Elliot Anderson is one of those players, and his links to Manchester United and Newcastle are just as unsurprising as his recent England callups. The Nottingham Forest midfielder

Transfer Analysis

Mbeumo to United: For Once, The Price Was Right

Manchester United have finally signed Bryan Mbeumo. It was something of a saga between United and Brentford: two bids were submitted in quick succession, followed by a month-long stalemate that only seemed to be broken by Newcastle’s pursuit of Yoane Wissa, sparked by Liverpool’s pursuit of Alexander

Player Analysis

One To Watch: Mika Biereth

In a world of false 9s, “9.5”s, and actual midfielders playing up front, it seems like the poacher is something of a lost art in football. You can call them tap in merchants or goal hangers, but the finishing ability and inevitability of a poacher is an asset

Player Analysis

One To Watch: Bryan Mbeumo

Some players don’t need to do a lot to get a lot of attention. Sometimes it’s justified: every goal from Mo Salah is either a record-breaker or close to one. Sometimes the attention can be questionable: it seems like Bruno Fernandes can’t catch a break, despite

Player Analysis

Omar Marmoush, The Bundesliga's Next Star Product

The Bundesliga is a very fun league. High pace transitions, lots of goals, and interesting battles in the Champions League and relegation places. We even got a non-Bayern winner last season. But one aspect of the Bundesliga that I love is the emergence of new superstars every year, especially

Player Analysis

Viktor Gyökeres, The Striker Your Club Needs

I’m going to skip the formalities here. Your club needs to sign Viktor Gyökeres from Sporting. An elite finisher, ball carrier and duellist, Gyökeres would be an asset to any team that he joined. Despite hitting 10 goals and assists in 6 games at the time of writing, it’

Transfer Analysis

Joshua Zirzkee, United's Jack of All Phases

Bologna were Serie A’s biggest surprise package this season, qualifying for Champions League football under Thiago Motta. One player who has been making his way into the headlines as part of this team is Joshua Zirkzee. When Zirkzee unceremoniously left Bayern Munich in the summer of 2022, it never

Transfer Analysis

Manuel Ugarte, United's Perfect Fix

Manchester United have had defensive midfielder issues for a long time. Since the days of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure, United fans have cried out for a player to sit in front of the centre backs and sure things up in possession. Failed pursuits of Frenkie de Jong and Declan

Transfer Analysis

Why Olise would be a Perfect Fit for United

Crystal Palace finished 10th in the Premier League this season. That doesn’t sound like much, but considering the precarious position the London club found themselves in earlier in the season, this is a big accomplishment. Considering the fact that Palace haven’t finished this high in the league since

The Nerd Corner

Replacing Fernandes With Mathematics

Bruno Fernandes. Signed from Sporting Lisbon by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, he was seen as a crown jewel in a very transitional Manchester United side. Four years later, he’s captain of the side and a mainstay in Erik ten Hag’s team. However, whilst he was once heralded as the

Player Analysis

One To Watch - Daichi Kamada

January always brings a certain type of player to the forefront of transfer discussions: the free agent. Thanks to a certain Mr Bosman, players can speak to clubs six months before the end of their current contract. If agreed upon, the player will be able to move for free after

Player Analysis

The Evolution of Jude Bellingham

You’ve probably seen the memes by now. Real Madrid’s latest hit no longer goes by “Jude Bellingham”, but now by “Belligol”. This name was bestowed on the Englishman after his goalscoring antics this season in La Liga. A single-handed snatching of 3 points against Barcelona this season

The Nerd Corner

How Principal Component Analysis Can Aid In Player Recruitment

Squad depth is very important in football. It’s why the likes of Manchester City have done so well over the past few years. Erling Haaland has a knock? There’s Julian Alvarez. KDB out? Phil Foden is around. Even in goal: an Ederson absence won’t be felt too

Transfer Analysis

Manchester United's Next Top Striker

Manchester United need a striker. That much is abundantly clear and serves as an asterisk above any analysis done on United players. Without someone leading the line, the likes of Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes cannot shine, and Erik ten Hag’s vision cannot fully be implemented. Over the course

Transfer Analysis

Declan Rice or Moises Caicedo... or Both?

Midfielders are a hot topic right now. A large amount of Europe’s elite teams are in a bit of a midfield deficit, and are looking to strengthen their ranks in this summer transfer window (unless you’re Manchester City, in which case you can just convert a centre-back

The Nerd Corner

The Art of Ballstriking

Expected goals can only tell us so much. When a player takes a shot from a certain location, with a certain number of players around him, xG can give us a general idea of how likely they are to score from that position. But what determines whether that shot is

Player Analysis

Jadon Sancho: Misfiring or Misunderstood?

When Jadon Sancho finally moved to Manchester United in the summer of 2021 after almost a year long pursuit, a lot of fans expected the winger to hit the ground running. That didn’t happen, and now in 2023, some are even questioning whether it might be best to part

The Nerd Corner

Data Viz: Bayern Didn't Need To Sack Nagelsmann

On the evening of the 24th of March, news broke out from Bayern Munich: Julian Nagelsmann had been sacked. But was it the right choice? One way that we can analyse a manager’s tenure is by looking at the difference between expected goal for and expected goals against. The

Transfer Analysis

Jorginho at Arsenal: Does It Make Sense?

Deadline Day, January 31st, 2023. Premier League clubs managed to spend the equivalent of an average 1850’s UK yearly GDP, most of which came down to Chelsea’s activity. Snatching Joao Felix on loan, swiping Noni Madueke from PSV and dumping £60 million on an attacker with only 13

The Nerd Corner

The Disgrace of Gijón: Why FIFA's World Cup Plans Won't Work

The World Cup in Qatar has recently come to its conclusion. The upsets, the shootouts, the storylines: despite the underlying controversies surrounding the location of the tournament, FIFA’s grandest showcase of football at least lived up to expectations on the pitch. However, FIFA and Gianni Infantino’s plans for

The Nerd Corner

Goals, Pressures and Economics: Finding Europe's One Man Teams

We’ve all heard it before. The saying “they’re a just a one man team” has been used to describe various teams over the years. Whether it’s been Kevin De Bruyne’s Manchester City, Robert Lewandowski’s Bayern Munich, or Cristiano Ronaldo’s… well, every team Ronaldo’s

Team Analysis

How Ten Hag set Manchester United Up to Beat Liverpool

So, Manchester United have beaten Liverpool against the odds. Both teams have had a slow start to the season with United looking particularly poor after a heavy 4–0 defeat at Brentford and a loss to Brighton. Liverpool on the other hand have simply been underwhelming. Klopp’s men were

Transfer Analysis

Casemiro alone is not the answer to United’s midfield problems

After the seemingly failed pursuit of Frenkie de Jong and rumours of Adrien Rabiot, it was a major shock to see Manchester United’s £70 million acquisition of serial Champions League winner Casemiro from Real Madrid. Undoubtedly, the Brazilian is in the upper echelon of defensive midfielders, and United have

Transfer Analysis

Can Aubameyang be the Goal Scorer Chelsea are Looking For?

Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea tactics have been fairly fluid within his typical five at the back system for the course of his tenure so far. Something that these tactics have sometimes lacked is an out and out striker who is the main goal threat in the team. When Tuchel has