Faster decisions, harder passes? Introducing Time-to-Execute in xPass-models
There was a time when I had the means and energy to write a new article every week,...
The Analytics Archive
Complete index of performance models, tactical scouting, and metric documentation.
Introducing Entropy-Adjusted Expected Goals (xG-adj)
You can’t escape it if you are interested in football: Expected Goals (xG). Every football app has it...
The stagnation or evolution of zone 14?
Once in a while, I have this illusion that I’m well-equipped enough to write a more data-journalistic piece....
Modelling Post-Save Rebound Sequences with Hidden Markov Models
Goalkeeper data analysis is one of the hardest things I have experienced doing in this space. So why...
Introducing Expected Second Ball Retention: adding value to second balls
Football metrics and models are also under the influence of trends within football. One of these trends is...
Introducing the Goalkeeper Value Model (GVM)
I am a very chaotic person by nature, and I need structure to make sure everything works right....
Expected Shot Danger: building an alternative to xG
Expected goals. I don’t even know where to start with how I feel about this particular metric, but...
Differences in shooting styles across Regionalliga — Germany’s 4th tier
“Data does tell facts and therefore always is the truth” — how often I’ve heard this, I can’t...
The idea behind the threat: Creating Pass Progression Score (PPS)
What has always fascinated me is the way we look at football players and the value we give...
Stina Blackstenius — Scout report 2023/2024
Do you ever look at a player and think: I don’t exactly know what to make of you?...
Proactive vs Reactive defence score: Measuring in what way defenders like to engage in defensive activities
I was thinking the other day that developing metrics is completely based on bias because the creator of...
Goalkeeper Sweeper Pass Score: Measuring how a sweeping action can contribute to progression
It’s been a few months now since I’ve started looking at data at a different way. Instead of...
Using Standard Deviation and Mean Absolute Deviation to rate Goalkeeper’s shot-stopping
For the last few years I’ve been dabbling with data in football, especially with data visuals that show...
Gamestate xG Score: Expected goals adjusted by game state
Expected goals. You might think oh no here we go again, but I think it might be the one...
Free kick Threat Score: Measuring the threat a player generates from indirect free kicks
For me, 2024 is going to be more about creating and applying existing data metrics across football. The...
Lauren James — Scout report 2023/2024
Chelsea is home to an exceptionally talented player who has surprisingly remained under the radar in terms of...
Corner Threat Score: Measuring the threat a player generates from taking inswinging and outswinging corners
In football, there are many things to look at from a tactical or coaching perspective and a data...
SCOUT REPORT – CODY GAKPO
The Eredivisie. The Dutch top tier has been either creating or developing talent, that later go on to...
A statistical analysis of Terzic’s Borussia Dortmund 2023/2024: Expected threat and Expected goals
The German Bundesliga is the highest tier in German football and while the most excitement can be found...
Kyra Cooney-Cross — scout report
On deadline day, Arsenal signed Kyra Cooney-Cross and I think I speak for many followers of Damallsvenskan and...
Arsenal in WSL 22/23: a broad scala of finishing
The new WSL season is set to start soon and one of the questions that is going through...
Samantha Kerr- Scout report 2022–2023
Samantha Kerr — not to be mistaken for Kerr from Chelsea- has signed for Bayern München. That’s a...
Weighted Z-scores and profiles in football
Z-scores, also known as standard scores, are a statistical measure used to assess the relative position of a...
Milos Kerkez — Scout report 22/23
With Owen Wijndal leaving AZ in 2022, it was a big question of who would step up to...
Tijjani Reijnders — Scout report 22/23
Tijjani Reijnders has been of the revelations of the Eredivisie 22/23 season and as one the best players...
Cutbacks and WWC 2023
I was watching Australia’s goal against France this morning, and what caught my attention was the assist —...
Precision by Numbers: Using data in set piece analysis
Set pieces, including corners, free kicks, and penalties, play a pivotal role in football, often holding the potential...
The art of comparing football players: The importance of equal comparisons and adjusted scores
Comparing football players can be a challenging task, as it requires careful consideration of various factors to ensure...
Complex GK Union: Unveiling the unresolved aspects of shot-stopping data in Football
The assessment of shot-stopping performance in football is a complex endeavor that relies on the analysis of data...
Preparing data for representative comparisons
Data can be a powerful tool to help assess and judge players and teams. I think we are...
Daphne van Domselaar — Scout report
Daphne van Domselaar has signed with English WSL team Aston Villa. The move isn’t weird in my eyes,...
Team strength: NCAA strikers going professional
In terms of football, the American soccer colleges system gives a great advantage into talent development. But, however,...
Coach principles: Arne Slot — Feyenoord
Arne Slot truly is the talk of the town in the Eredivisie and he is doing an amazing...
Ranking players: Percentile ranks, Z-Scores and Similarities
There has been a huge shift in the use of data in football in the last few years....
Finding the best goal-scoring U21 midfielders in elite women’s football
Football is about goals—scoring and preventing them. In order to do the attacking part of it you will...
The art of the cutback in WSL
Oh hi there. It has been a while since we spoke in this capacity, hasn’t it? There’s no...
Alessia Russo — Scout report 22/23
Manchester United almost did it this season, pushing Chelsea to the last matchday for the title. In the...
DATA SCOUTING BELGIAN CHALLENGER PRO LEAGUE: FINDING A CENTRAL DEFENDER
Who are the best defenders in the Belgian second tier, the Challenger Pro League? In this scouting piece...
PPDA SHOULDN’T BE USED TO MEASURE THE PRESSING INTENSITY
Okay, maybe that title is too strong. I’m not sure. But I know that using a single data...
VICTORIA PELOVA – SCOUT REPORT 2022
It’s happening. Victoria Pelova, arguably the Eredivisie Vrouwen’s best player, is getting her move to the WSL in...
REAL MADRID SUCCESSFUL CORNERS – SET PIECE ANALYSIS
Attacking corner routine #1: Real Madrid vs Cadiz In the video above we see Real Madrid in their...
SET PIECE ANALYSIS: EXPECTED GOALS ON TARGET (XGOT) IN EREDIVISIE 21/22
Whilst we are already a few rounds into the Eredivisie 22/23 season, it’s still very interesting to have...
CASE STUDY GOALS ADDED (G+): SOPHIA SMITH IN THE NWSL
The world of women’s football has been growing a lot in the last decade, but we can see...
XAVI SIMONS – SCOUT REPORT 22/23
We have played 10 games in the Dutch Eredivisie in the 2022/2023 season. Perhaps it’s too early to...
CODY GAKPO — SCOUT REPORT 21/22
A disappointing result for Dutch football last night was when PSV lost their game against Rangers and failed...
REAL SOCIEDAD FEMENINO 21/22 – TACTICAL ANALYSIS
We often speak about the competitive nature of teams in different leagues in Europe. There is this strange...
ZEĆIRA MUŠOVIĆ – GK ANALYSIS
It really is the most daunting thing alive, goalkeeper analysis – but I am still going to write...
IBRAHIM SANGARÉ – SCOUT REPORT 21/22
I remember the final days of the summer transfer market in 2020. PSV managed to sign Mario Götze...
Sebastian Szymański — scout report
I’m a great fan of Polish domestic football and of the products they have produced of the two...
Ruud van Nistelrooij — PSV’s coaching profile
If you are a follower of Dutch football or the Champions League in general, you will have heard...
Luis Sinisterra — Scout report
I started writing this piece as a general scout piece, but in the meantime it has come to...
Tyrell Malacia — Scout report
Finding a good attacking left-back can be very tricky. The Eredivisie has Owen Wijndal — who I spoke...
Owen Wijndal — Scout report
The Eredivisie is a league of developing and producing talent. While I spoke about developing talent in Jesper...
Frenkie de Jong — Scout report
It seems to be a common theme, but again — a Dutch player is being linked to Manchester...
Jesper Karlsson — Scout report
Looking at the Eredivisie 2021/2022 season, there is a lot of attention for the top players from sides...
Jurrien Timber — Scout report
The Eredivisie. Both underrated and overrated. In my opinion talents from Ajax get easily overhyped because of the...
Mitchell van der Gaag — Excelsior years
Manchester United have employed Erik ten Hag as manager of the first team. There has been said and...
Romelu Lukaku — Chelsea 2021/2022
The season has ended and it’s safe to say that Chelsea is a club where it’s never quiet....
ORKUN KÖKÇÜ — SCOUT REPORT 2021/2022
Feyenoord. One of the big clubs in the Netherlands with the potential to be the biggest club, but...
ERIK TEN HAG AT FC UTRECHT: AN ELITE COACH IN THE MAKING
With Erik ten Hag set to be appointed the next Manchester United manager, I thought it would be...
CRYSTAL PALACE AND THE ART OF THE LONG BALL
I have always been fascinated by the use of a long ball. In terms of using a long...
WÜRZBURGER KICKERS UTILISING ATTACKING CORNERS
Set piece analysis. It’s my favourite type of analysis, I think – mostly because of the depth of...
TACTICAL ANALYSIS AZ – FEYENOORD 2-1
I love the Eredivisie with a passion, although I understand I’m a bit biased in my views on...
JOËL PIROE – SHOT ANALYSIS
Joël Piroe was known as a talent in the PSV academy, but after he moved to Wales, to...
STINA BLACKSTENIUS – SHOT ANALYSIS BK HÄCKEN 2021
Stina Blackstenius has been the talk of the town in the land of the WSL. The Swedish striker...
LOÏS OPENDA – DATA SCOUTING
In this scouting piece, I’m going to look at Vitesse’ Loïs Openda. I wanted to have a look...
SET PIECE ANALYSIS: FC ST. GALLEN’S ATTACKING CORNERSv
Swiss football is truly amazing. It always feel like a bit of an acquired taste or for the...
TACTICAL ANALYSIS: ATTACKING STYLE OF PLAY MANCHESTER UNITED WOMEN 2021/2022
As said before, there has been a lot of talk concerning the WSL. It has been a lot...
DATA SCOUTING DAMALLSVENSKAN: FINDING THE BEST STRIKER
There has been a lot of controversy in women’s football in the last few days. What is the...
SET PIECE ANALYSIS: SPORTING CLUBE DE PORTUGAL ATTACKING CORNERS
It’s day 13 of blogmas already with this time’s attention for the Primeira Liga in Portugal. In this...
DATA SCOUTING DUTCH TWEEDE DIVISIE (3RD TIER): FINDING A STRIKER
Day 11 of Blogmas and this time I’m going to cover the Dutch 3rd tier. I was very...
SET PIECE ANALYSIS: HUDDERSFIELD TOWN ATTACKING CORNERS
It’s day 9 of blogmas already with this time attention for the Championship in England. In this article...
BORUSSIA DORTMUND II: ATTACKING THIRD PRESSING IN MINUTES 0-15
It’s safe to say that I’m a big fan of 3. Liga. There is something spectacular about that...
BARCELONA B 2021/2022: CHANCE CREATION FROM ZONE 14
I never thought I would write about Barcelona to be honest. So many people before have written about...
SIMON ADINGRA: DRIBBLE & SHOT ANALYSIS 2021/2022
Today is the time for me to delve into a player playing in Denmark. There is a variety...
SET PIECE ANALYSIS: OLYMPIQUE LYONNAIS FÉMININ
I think that analysis of French women’s football isn’t done a lot, but when it is done –...
DATA SCOUTING POLISH EKSTRAKLASA 2021/2022: FINDING A CENTRAL DEFENDER
In the last data scouting piece I spoke about the fact that I wanted to look further than...
HARRY WILSON – KEY PASS ANALYSIS
First day of December already? How time flies. In this first article of December, I will have a...
SET PIECE ANALYSIS: MANCHESTER UNITED’S ATTACKING CORNERS IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE 21/22
Manchester United. There has been plenty of buzz around that club lately and let’s be honest, there’s always...
ARSENAL’S ATTACKING CORNER EVOLUTION: 2018/2019 – 2021/2022
Huh? Me writing about a club that’s in a top 5 European league? Yes, that’s right. In this...
ALEXIA PUTELLAS – SHOT ANALYSIS
I’ve promised myself not to choose any players to analyse who are aesthetically pleasing in their game. I...
JACK HENDRY – KEY PASS ANALYSIS
The Jupiler Pro League has established itself from a lesser-known league to a relevant league with huge talents,...
SET PIECE ANALYSIS: KAS EUPEN ATTACKING CORNERS
The season has well started in most of the leagues and that means that set-piece analysis of goals...
DATA SCOUTING FINNISH VEIKKAUSLIIGA: FINDING A DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER
I think that many scouting pieces or analysis pieces love to look at Scandinavia, but that Iceland and...
MATTY CASH’S IMPACT THROW-INS AT ASTON VILLA
I love set pieces. I’m absolutely thrilled and hyped every time I see one. It’s something I cannot...
MAGDALENA ERIKSSON – DEFENSIVE ACTIONS
In my opinion, what deserves more attention, is the way we scout/recruit central defenders. They aren’t as popular...
ANNA PATTEN – SCOUT REPORT
For someone who loves defenders, I’ve written remarkably little about them. This is about to change, hopefully. In...
SET PIECE ANALYSIS: RANGERS FC ATTACKING CORNERS
The season has well started in most of the leagues and that means that set-piece analysis of goals...
DATA SCOUTING NORWEGIAN ELITESERIEN 2021: FINDING A STRIKER
In the last data scouting piece I spoke about the fact that I wanted to look further than...
JAN OBLAK’S PERFORMANCES 2016-2021 – PART I: 2016/2017
If goalkeeping is an art, surely Jan Oblak’s performances in the past 7 years will feature as centerpiece...
CASE STUDY RESURGENCE OF XG IN LIGHT OF NEW CONTRACT: CHRISTIAN BENTEKE
I used to go up to KRC Genk a lot. It’s just a one hour drive from where...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: MOLDE DEFENSIVE CORNERS
Euro 2020 has started to start, but I still am wondering about what happens in the Eliteserien in...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: KERALA BLASTERS – ATTACKING CORNERS
Another day, another set-piece analysis. Like, I previously said I wanted to look more into football on continents...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: LEEDS UNITED U23 ATTACKING CORNERS
It has been a few days since I’ve looked at set-pieces, but I thought I would get out...
CASE STUDY JUGENDLIGA U18: POSITION-ORIENTED ZONAL MARKING WITH A DEEP 4-4-2
Talking to some friend the other day and I was asked what I liked the most about football...
THROW IN ANALYSIS: CHELTENHAM TOWN’S LONG THROW INS
Set-pieces are not only corners. Corners might be the most obvious choice when you look at set-pieces, but...
SET-PIECE ANALYSES: SUCCESSFUL ATTACKING ROUTINES IN ITALIAN PRIMAVERA 1
You will have guessed it by now, but I’m really interested in all things set-pieces. I’m definitely not...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: TERNANA CALCIO OFFENSIVE CORNERS
It’s a been a few days since I wrote the set-piece analysis, but today I’m writing another one....
PLAYER BEHAVIOUR AFTER SCORING A LOW XG CHANCE: OPPORTUNITY ANALYSIS WITH LOW AND HIGH XG IN ZONE 14 – RED BULL SALZBURG’S STRIKERS
This is the 22nd day of consecutive writing and the 25th article that will be published. I don’t...
EREDIVISIE 2020/2021 ANALYSIS: USED FORMATIONS AND THEIR PERCEPTIONS
The Eredivisie 2020-2021 season is coming to a close. The champion has been known for quite some time...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: OFFENSIVE CORNERS TOP-4 WSL 2020-2021 – PART II: ARSENAL & MANCHESTER UNITED
Earlier this week I wrote about OH Leuven’s attacking corners. I didn’t only look at their routines but...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: OFFENSIVE CORNERS TOP-4 WSL 2020-2021 – PART I: CHELSEA & MANCHESTER CITY
Earlier this week I wrote about OH Leuven’s attacking corners. I didn’t only look at their routines, but...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: ALMERE CITY OFFENSIVE CORNERS
One of the things that I wanted to do more in 2021 was to explore more. By exploring...
PERNILLE HARDER: ATTACKING NUMBERS & THROUGH PASS ANALYSIS
I’ve always felt unequipped to write about women’s football. Not that I don’t possess the knowledge about football,...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: OH LEUVEN OFFENSIVE CORNERS
I live in the Netherlands and that’s definitely not a surprise to many, but it does make me...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: ODENSE BK OFFENSIVE CORNERS
Another monday, another article on set-pieces. This time I travel to Scandinavia and focus on the clubs in...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: USL CHAMPIONSHIP ATTACKING CORNERS
One of the things that I wanted to do more in 2021 was to explore more. With exploring...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: SWEDEN WOMEN’S NATIONAL TEAM OFFENSIVE CORNERS
I’ve only written one set-piece article on women’s football before this one and I want to write more....
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: DUNDEE UNITED OFFENSIVE CORNERS
O Flower of Scotland. When will we see your like again? The first lines of the Scottish anthem...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: LINKÖPING FC OFFENSIVE CORNERS
Since I’ve started writing about set-pieces I’ve only concentrated on set-pieces in men’s football. This has no specific...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: PARIS FC DEFENSIVE CORNERS
Until now I’ve based my analysis on attacking corners of several clubs that don’t feature in the top-5...
WHAT THE SUPER LEAGUE NEGLECTED: COLLECTIVE IDENTITY AND REGIONALISM
Something slightly different today. As many of you have done too, I have watched the news surrounding the...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: MONZA OFFENSIVE CORNERS
Analysing set-pieces is what I’ve been doing the most over the past week or two, and it’s very...
CASE STUDY DANISH U19 LIGAEN: 4-4-2 WITH DOUBLE FALSE 9
One of the reasons I love to go deeper into academies and youth teams is the fact that...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: GRULLA MORIOKA OFFENSIVE CORNERS
I’m genuinely intrigued, captivated and enchanted by set-pieces at this point. You might have seen that this is...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: DUNDALK FC OFFENSIVE CORNERS
Last week I posted the first part of the offensive corners analysis on Hansa Rostock and today I’m...
SET-PIECE ANALYSIS: HANSA ROSTOCK’S OFFENSIVE CORNERS
This website is a place for me to share my work with you in the hope that you...
LEWIS FIORINI: ANALYSING HIS ATTACKING QUALITIES
I might have upset a few people by not talking about this earlier, but this piece is fully...
Ryan Gauld – Through pass analysis
Ryan Gauld is somewhat of a hype at the moment, and I’ve seen a few pieces on his...
INSIDE DUTCH ACADEMY SCOUTING
Being a scout or scouting in general is not as easy as it looks like. This is not...
Case study men’s football Italy: Defending with a 3-1-4-2 in the Italian Primavera
I love to make these analyses of case studies and in this piece I will look at the...
Mees Hoedemakers – 1st Scout report
Perhaps you know a lot about the Keuken Kampioen Divisioe or Dutch Eerste Divisie (2nd tier). Perhaps you...
Data scouting: on the hunt for the best wingers in MLS 2020
So, the reason why I started this blog was to write articles about the beautiful game from a...
Case study Northern-Ireland: Roles in the 5-3-2 formation in U18’s
A few of you might know this, but I have done a year abroad in Northern-Ireland. Belfast to...
Mental health in football academies
I’ve been sitting on this particular topic for quite some time now. Why? Well, my experiences do tell...
Case study: 4-2-3-1 formation analysis
My fourth and last case study in Dutch academy football concentrates on formations. More specifically, I’ve looked at...
Data scouting: on the hunt for a complete central midfielder in German 2. Bundesliga
It’s time for a data piece again isn’t it? I haven’t written anything on my blog about data...
Data scouting: on the hunt for a complete central midfielder in German 2. Bundesliga
It’s time for a data piece again isn’t it? I haven’t written anything on my blog about data...
Case study: 4-3-3 formation analysis
My fourth and last case study in Dutch academy football concentrates on formations. More specifically, I’ve looked at...
Case study: Corners – Defensive positioning with Man marking vs Zonal marking in Dutch U16 and U18 leagues
This is the third piece in my series of case studies in the Dutch youth leagues. In this...
Case study: Corners – Defensive positioning with Man marking vs Zonal marking in Dutch U16 and U18 leagues
This is the third piece in my series of case studies in the Dutch youth leagues. In this...
Case study: Ball-playing centre backs in the Dutch U18 and U21 league
This is another case study I have conducted in the Dutch U18 and U21 leagues in the years...
Finding the best strikers in the second tiers of the Top Five
Central forwards or the more general accepted ‘strikers’ are very important for a team for obvious reasons. You...
Finding the best strikers in the second tiers of the Top Five
Central forwards or the more general accepted ‘strikers’ are very important for a team for obvious reasons. You...
Brexit is another turning point for recruitment in the Netherlands
Brexit. The word has been used so much that SEO on websites must be greener than green. It...
Working for the club you support
2020 is coming to a close and it’s time to reflect on the past year. Well, that’s what...
Case study: systems with inverted full-backs in the Dutch U18 and U21 leagues
I’ve been scouting a lot this year and when watching games, I’ve come across a very interesting phenomenon...
Finding a young central defender in the Championnat National
Leagues like the Dutch Eredivisie, the Scottish Premiership, The Danisch Superligaen and the Portuguese Liga Primeira are great...
Attacking threat in Scottish Championship 2020/2021
As I have vowed to look at leagues beyond the first tier leagues, I was very interested in...
Zinédine Machach – Scout report
Zinédine Machach has joined VVV-Venlo on loan from Napoli with an option to buy included in the deal....
VVV-Venlo 2019/2020 season review
VVV-Venlo is a relatively small club in the Dutch professional game. Just a little bit too big for...
Lukas Schmitz – Scout Report
VVV-Venlo lost Roel Janssen to Fortuna Sittard and needed a new left-back in their squad. This has been...
How many minutes do U25 players get in professional football in Limburg
This is a quite niche article, but I wanted to look at the minutes that the youth get...
Plymouth Argyle’s counter-attacking 3-5-2 vs Macclesfield
Plymouth Argyle has been promoted to the League One after a very strange end to the season, but...
Data analysis: looking for an attacking right-back in the Dutch Keuken Kampioen Divisie
Data can be pretty useful in football recruitment. I would say vital. In this post I’m going to...
Data analysis: looking for an attacking right-back in the Dutch Keuken Kampioen Divisie
Data can be pretty useful in football recruitment. I would say vital. In this post I’m going to...
Serie B scout report: Alex Cordaz |24-03-2020
Crotone was doing really well in the Serie B before Corona madness struck Italy. Right now there is...
Serie B scout report: Alex Cordaz
Crotone was doing really well in the Serie B before Corona madness struck Italy. Right now there is...
VVV-Venlo 2019/2020 Robert Maaskant hoge lijn
Het seizoen is klaar. Een goed moment voor mij om mijn eigen voetbalblog te beginnen lijkt mij. Op...