Frank Lampard
A Deep Dive Into Frank Lampard Style Of Play And Managerial Career At Chelsea And Everton
Wayne Rooney’s tenure at EFL Championship side Birmingham City lasted a mere 83 days this season. Not quite double the amount of Brian Clough’s ill-fated spell in the dugout at Leeds United in 1974. Whilst this doesn’t warrant a film production in the same vein as ‘The Damned United’, the former Manchester United forwards’ struggles [...]
Analysis
FC Nordsjælland is a club characterised by its commitment to youth development. The Danish club has gained recognition for its emphasis on nurturing young talents and providing a pathway for them to progress from the youth ranks to the first team. The club strongly emphasises technical proficiency, tactical intelligence, and a holistic understanding of the [...]
FC Copenhagen
This season, FC Copenhagen has been very impressive in the UEFA Champions League, qualifying from a group containing Galatasaray, Manchester United, and Bayern — an impressive feat, considering the Danish champions had to play six games in the qualifiers just to reach the group stage, now facing Manchester City in the last 16. There are many analyses available covering Roony Bardghji, a very [...]
Marie-Yasmine Alidou: The Canadian star with eye-catching performances in Portugal
The 2023/2024 edition of the Women’s Champions League has been one filled with surprises and topics for further discussion, from the early qualifying exits of continental heavyweights like Wolfsburg Frauen and Juventus Femminile to the elongated stay in the competition of sides like Ajax Vrouwen and Benfica Feminino. In the case of the latter, their [...]
Analysis
Scouting The EFL: Which U23 League One And Two Players Are Ready To Climb The EFL Ladder?
Football fans love a good story about a player working their way up the leagues to go on to play in the Championship and the Premier League. We’ve seen countless instances of players honing their craft in EFL League One and League Two before earning a move higher up the footballing ladder. Names like Ivan [...]
Project Moscow: Why Marcel Licka’s vision is drawing attention from top clubs
Dinamo Moskva are one of Russia’s most renowned clubs, having celebrated their 100th birthday only last year. As a result, the way their 2022/23 campaign unravelled was a surprise to many. Dinamo finished the Russian Premier League (RPL) in ninth place with just 45 points from 36 matches, 25 points adrift of champions Zenit St. [...]
Short Free-Kicks: Explaining why more coaches should implement this strategy
When a team is awarded a free kick in the final third, they have two options: Firstly, they can pass it short to recycle possession and revert to an open-play phase, or, secondly, they have the option of preparing for a cross, thereby challenging the defending team's structure and readiness to follow a specific defensive [...]
Ilia Gruev Jr.: Leading Leeds’ charge to EFL promotion
Leeds United are trying to earn their way back to the Premier League with a convincing performance under Borussia Mönchengladbach’s ex-manager Daniel Farke. There are a few players who have been impressive since the start of the season, pushing the team forward and making the most out of their chances. Their goal scorer, Crysencio Summerville, [...]
Napoli: A closer look at their 2023/2024 implosion
Fans of Gli Azzurri were in dreamland throughout the 2022/23 campaign, having strolled to their first Scudetto title in 33 years by a whopping 16 points. It encapsulated a remarkable season under the tutelage of Luciano Spalletti, who propelled his side to glory with inventive and explorative tactics designed to get the best out of [...]
René Hake
René Hake Tactics & Formations At Go Ahead Eagles 2024/25
Who Is René Hake? Go Ahead Eagles appointed René Hake in May of 2022 after he was dismissed as head coach of FC Utrecht only a couple of months prior. He was tasked with leading the club back into the Eredivisie for the 2022/23 campaign, with the Dutch club winning promotion the season before after [...]
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer Leverkusen Tactics Explained – Case Study On Xabi Alonso Tactics Of Fluid Attacking
With each passing week, Bayer Leverkusen can taste the treble. Having dispatched Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga to achieve a five-point lead, the German side is also in the semi-finals of the DFB-Pokal and won all six matches in their Europa League group. Xabi Alonso's men are flying high and poised to end FC Bayern Munich's [...]
Premier League 2023/24: Number of goals scored each matchweek by all the teams
The 2023/24 Premier League season has seen Newcastle United score eight against Sheffield United and five against Aston Villa, Fulham bag five in back-to-back match weeks against Nottingham Forest and West Ham, and Liverpool net four on three consecutive weekends. This season has been nothing short of a goal fest. The below visualisation shows the [...]
La Liga 2023/24: How many players have each team used this season?
The 2023/24 LaLiga table sees Real Madrid running away with the title at the top, with Girona, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid closing out the UEFA Champions League spots. Almería, Granada and Cádiz are in the relegation zone, and the former two will likely go down. The below visualisation shows the number of players each LaLiga [...]
Serie A 2023/24: The most lethal teams at home and away
Inter seem to be well on course to win the 2023/24 Serie A title. Simone Inzaghi’s men lead the pack with 60 points to their name, having lost only once all season in the league while scoring the most goals and conceding the fewest; Inter are deserving of their position on the table. This season, [...]
Bundesliga 2023/24: Top-six scorers this season versus last
The top six goalscorers of the 2023/24 Bundesliga season are entirely different from last season’s top six at present. In fact, only two of last season’s top 10, Niclas Füllkrug (10 goals) and Marvin Ducksch (nine goals), make this season’s top 10 at the time of writing. Two players — Harry Kane (24 goals) and [...]
Ligue 1 2023/24: The race to avoid relegation
Unsurprisingly, things are not very tight at the top end of the 2023/24 Ligue 1 table. However, at the bottom end, they are! Five teams are separated by just four points after 21 match weeks, and the below visualisation highlights how teams have moved up and down the table over the course of the campaign; [...]
EFL Championship
Best Attacking Fullbacks In EFL Championship 2023/2024 – Scouting Report
It has become increasingly important these days that full-backs are judged mandatorily based on their attacking contributions. Even if they are excellent defensively, checking their assists or chance creation numbers and comparing them with the other full-backs has become very common. Every manager wants one, if not both, of his team’s full-backs high up the [...]
EFL League One 2023/24: Average squad age in 2023 versus 2024
The youngest player to feature in EFL League One this term is Jack Shorrock of Port Vale (16 years old), while the oldest player is Curtis Davies of Cheltenham (38 years old). Between these two, a number of teenagers and over-thirties have made their mark this term. The below visualisation depicts how the mean age [...]
EFL League Two 2023/24: Which teams have the best defensive units?
The EFL League Two season is approaching the business end, and Stockport County are top of the table. Wrexham, pushing for back-to-back promotions, occupy third place, while Mansfield Town, who missed out on the playoffs on goal difference last time around, are in second place. The visualisation below looks at the major defensive numbers of [...]
Andreas Schicker: The art of Sporting Directing
As of July 1st, the question of who will be Werder Bremen's new Sporting Director, succeeding Frank Baumann, remains a topic of speculation and anticipation. Numerous names, including Oliver Ruhnert from Union Berlin, Carsten Wehlmann, formerly with Darmstadt, Simon Rolfes of Bayer Leverkusen, and Markus Krösche from Eintracht Frankfurt, have been circulating in recent months. [...]
Barcelona Femení B: Three players their parent club should consider calling up
Barcelona have set the standard for Spanish Women's football over the past decade, winning the last four Liga F titles and claiming six of the previous ten. In addition to this recent dominance at the national level, they have achieved similar levels of success in Europe, reaching four of the past five UEFA Women’s Champions [...]
Ilian Iliev: Why his Cherno More legacy earned him the Bulgaria job
With Bulgaria rock bottom of their UEFA EURO 2024 qualification group, the decision was made to part ways with manager Mladen Krstajić in October. Ilian Iliev was appointed the boss, taking charge of his first pair of international games in November’s EURO qualifiers and overseeing two draws — that doesn’t sound very impressive. Still, when [...]
Montpellier Women: Chasing that elusive UWCL spot
Montpellier Women are having a very positive season in a battle with the Division 1 Féminine giants Olympique Lyonnais, PSG and Paris FC. They currently occupy fourth spot in the league, and following the most recent changes in the league system, this position will qualify its holder for the playoffs (the final phase) alongside the [...]
Set-Piece Roundtable: Dissecting the most effective set-plays in Serie A
Welcome to the set-piece roundtable! Each month, we will travel to new leagues and nations worldwide to bring to the limelight the most exciting and innovative tactical set-piece tweaks/ideas or any routines that stand out. These ideas will range from highly effective to ineffective, but we will inform you of the thought processes behind these [...]
Away from the Spotlight: Five players shining in 2024 from the second tiers of Europe
The top-five leagues in Europe are well established now as England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France, probably in that order, with the likes of Portugal, Belgium and the Netherlands pushing hard at their heels. The quality of teams and football played in these top leagues, however, means that the second tiers of the top leagues [...]