Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski decide to become number crunching bots for a couple of years and painstakingly analyse a lot of phenomenon on why they happen and how real world data disagrees with the noted football clichés.
Using the data available, they try to find out why England lose regularly in big tournaments [if they qualify, that is] and whether England actually over perform considering their resources [I hear your chuckles]. Along with that, we also find answers for
- which team will dominate the scene in near future
- why so many football clubs exist in the north west of England
- why glory seems to escape the London clubs compared to Lancashire/Merseyside ones
- is it really worth hosting a big tournament [World Cup or Euro]?
- the most underachievers [I'll save you the trouble and answer it now - India] and most overachievers in football
- how Chelsea’s perfect penalty plan got ruined by rain and a bald head with due credit to a smart Dutchman
- how many fans are really like Hornby (author of Fever Pitch – another must read) and not Basking-In-Reflected-Glory types
- why Manchester United is the greatest club ever [the book doesn't mention it, but it's obvious :p]
- does discrimination still exist in football?
- does a team's loss in Biggest Cup lead to mass suicides or does football really help in saving people's lives?
- and more
If you're a football fan and have a thing for numbers [I mean, you don't have to think of statistics on a cold winter night, but a bit of interest in a wow what a game that was, wonder who made most passes? sort of way would be fine], do read this book for some interesting and eye opening facts.
2 comments:
Too much of numbers eh? :-/
Anyways I liked Simon Kuper, so should give this a try.
"Football Men" will be reaching you soon, Michael.
Post a Comment