The Numbers Game
  • Published: 10 July 2014
  • ISBN: 9780241963623
  • Imprint: Penguin General UK
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 400
  • RRP: $22.99
Categories:

The Numbers Game

Why Everything You Know About Football is Wrong

Formats & editions
Paperback
10 Jul 2014
EBook
30 May 2013
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A new sporting classic - 'The book that could change the game forever' (The Times)

Football has always been a numbers game: 4-4-2, the big number 9 and 3 points for a win. But what if up until now we've been focusing on the wrong numbers? What if the numbers that really matter, the ones that hold the key to winning matches, are actually 2.66, 53.4, 50/50, and 0 > 1? What if managers only make a 15% difference? What if Chelsea should have bought Darren Bent?

In this incisive, myth-busting book, Chris Anderson, former goalkeeper turned football statistics guru, and David Sally, former baseball pitcher turned behavioural economist, show that every shred of knowledge we can gather can help us to love football and understand it even more. You'll discover why stopping a goal is more valuable than scoring one, why corners should be taken short, and why it is better to improve your worst player than to buy a superstar.

You'll never play, or watch, a game of football in quite the same way again.
  • Published: 10 July 2014
  • ISBN: 9780241963623
  • Imprint: Penguin General UK
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 400
  • RRP: $22.99
Categories:

About the authors

Chris Anderson

Chris Anderson is a former Officer of the Ulster Defence Regiment and also worked for five years in Intelligence Gathering. He is now a freelance journalist and contributes to numerous newspapers including the Irish Times, the Irish Independent and the Belfast Telegraph. He lives in Portadown.

portrait photo of Chris Anderson

Praise for The Numbers Game

Does the impossible of making the beautiful game even more beautiful

Malcolm Gladwell

A must-read . . . Chris Anderson and David Sally have the ability to see football in a way few have before them. Be warned: The Numbers Game will change the way you think about your favourite team or player, and change the way you watch the beautiful game.

Billy Beane, General Manager of the Oakland A's, the subject of <i>Moneyball</i>

A fascinating and stylish investigation into a rapidly developing way of understanding football

Jonathan Wilson, author of <i>Inverting the Pyramid: The History of Football Tactics</i>

Whether you are a traditionalist or a numbers nut you can enjoy this book. It's thorough, accessible, and devoid of the absolute truths so many on both sides of the debate peddle.

Gabriele Marcotti, football broadcaster and author

It is the book that could change the game forever

Times

You need to like football. Millions of people do. And they should rush to read this book immediately. The game they love will take on new depth, colour and subtlety

Ed Smith, The Times
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