Reddit Reddit reviews The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong

We found 13 Reddit comments about The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong
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13 Reddit comments about The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong:

u/Biged123z · 67 pointsr/Habs

For those stuck behind the paywall, here are a few key sections

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>There is a theory, most notably explored in the book “The Numbers Game” by Chris Anderson and David Sally, that some sports are strong-link games and others are weak-link games. The point of the book, and a subsequent podcast on the subject by Malcolm Gladwell, was to demonstrate how soccer is a weak-link game in that a team would be better served making sure its worst players are better than the other team’s worst players in order to win more games. Basketball is on the opposite end of that spectrum, quite clearly a strong-link game in which the team that has the best player on the court is most likely to win that game.
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>Where hockey sits on that spectrum is not quite clear. Arguments have been made it is clearly a strong-link game, but it’s not quite as obvious as it is in the cases of soccer and basketball. But on that weak-link/strong-link spectrum, the Canadiens are undoubtedly closer to the weak link end of it and the Maple Leafs are at the strong link end of it. It is not possible to see it any other way.
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>They are a study in contrasts. Contrasts that are born out of necessity. Contrasts that manifested themselves Saturday at Scotiabank Arena.
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>The question of strong-link versus weak-link sports was posed to Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock on Saturday morning. He coaches the three highest-paid players in the NHL this season; Tavares, Marner and Matthews, Babcock’s three shooters in the shootout, will make $47.8 million among them this season. All the Canadiens forwards combined will make $35 million.



>Having a team’s best player in goal is a debatable strategy, but it is one the Canadiens have embraced and it is their reality, debatable or not.
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>When the Maple Leafs wind up with breakaways from Marner and Tavares in overtime and Price turns them aside, when Tavares makes an incredible move with five seconds left in overtime and Price gets across to stop it, when Price stops Matthews, Marner and Tavares in the shootout, the Canadiens’ strong link essentially wins it for them.
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>But what gave Price that opportunity to shine is the Canadiens’ weak-link offence, the one that allows them to roll four lines and stay fresh and forecheck and force mistakes. They find themselves in a division with three of the strongest-link teams in the NHL in the Maple Leafs, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins. For the Canadiens to survive, they will need to make the argument hockey is a weak-link game.
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>For one night at least, they made that argument quite convincingly.

u/Matt2142 · 30 pointsr/soccer

Inverting the Pyramid - Jonathan Wilson
A pioneering book that chronicles the evolution of soccer tactics and the lives of the itinerant coaching geniuses who have spread their distinctive styles across the globe.

Teambuilding: the road to success - Rinus Michels
The late Rinus Michels, FIFA's Coach of the Century, offers his unique insight into the process of "teambuilding".

The Coaching Philosophies of Louis Van Gaal and the Ajax Coaches - Henny Kormelink and Tjeu Seeverens
Louis van Gaal, Frans Hoek, Co Adriaanse and fitness coach Bobby Haarms discuss their training methods and philosophies in this book full of creative ideas for soccer coaches at any level.

Dutch Soccer Secrets - Peter Hyballa & Hans-Dieter te Poel
This book is a first attempt to present expert knowledge of internationally proven useful and effective Dutch soccer coaching in theory and practice, based on qualitative data collection.

Attacking Soccer: a tactical analysis - Massimo Lucchesi
This book examines match strategies for creating goal scoring opportunities out of various systems of play.

Outliers: The Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell
Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?

The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong - Chris Anderson, David Sally
Innovation is coming to soccer, and at the centre of it all are the numbers—a way of thinking about the game that ignores the obvious in favour of how things actually are.

Football Against the Enemy - Simon Kuper
Kuper travelled to 22 countries from South Africa to Italy, from Russia to the USA, to examine the way football has shaped them.

u/BBQ_HaX0r · 9 pointsr/reddevils

They talk about this in "The Numbers Game." I actually think they mention Jose Mourinho and how he parrots or says a similar line about the English applauding corners when they're such lowly propositions. The chance to score from a corner is like <1% and yet people genuinely believe them to be good chances.

u/milkplantation · 6 pointsr/leafs

>Except you can play your 3 max contract guys 40/48 minutes in the NBA. Not so much in Hockey.

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Good point. There have been books written about this: Strong link vs weak link sports. But it appears hockey is a strong link sport. So you're better off upgrading you're high end talent. Good article on it here.

u/lawofmurphy · 5 pointsr/sixers

Basketball is a Strong Link sport. One player can cover up the ills of subpar players. One Michael Jordan or one LeBron James makes you a contender.

Football is more of a Weak Link sport. One weak corner can submarine a defense. A leaky left tackle can be a huge problem for an offense. Obviously, an elite, all-world QB (Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers, etc.) can be a different story, but in general, a football team just needs a higher percentage of good players to make a great team.

That's why basketball has less "Mortgaging everything for the #1 pick". No team will give up a shot at the next Michael Jordan or LeBron James for anything. It is not sound strategy like it is in football.

u/MonkeyParadiso · 4 pointsr/soccer

I don't disagree with your point. And im making the broader claim that working to improve your worst, rather than your best is a more effective strategy in soccer, and perhaps many aspects of life/society at large:
https://www.amazon.com/Numbers-Game-Everything-About-Soccer/dp/0143124560?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

u/i_made_your_pizza · 4 pointsr/funny

There was a great study recently comparing the competitive advantage of spending money on superstars vs using that money building up a solidly above average rest of the team.

They did this with football/soccer and basketball. Basically what they found is spending money on superstars is pretty wasteful in soccer and doesn't really improve your team as much as investing in the whole team. Whereas in basketball the opposite is true. It actually is worth spending a lot of money on a Lebron James or Steph Curry.

So all in all he might be right. In the big picture Ronaldo is probably overpaid while Lebron is probably not...

Source: this book https://www.amazon.com/Numbers-Game-Everything-About-Soccer/dp/0143124560

u/sinabac · 2 pointsr/MLS

I'm working my way through "The Numbers Game". It looks at soccer analytically and delves into different tactics, managers and clubs. Also challenges a lot of conventional wisdom the same way Moneyball did for baseball. Really helped me get an understanding of what to look for and get a better appreciation for what's really going on during the game

http://www.amazon.com/The-Numbers-Game-Everything-Soccer/dp/0143124560

u/DoHimJob · 2 pointsr/MLS

Have you read The Numbers Game, and if so, what did you think?

Do you have any other recommendations for soccer statistics reading?

u/DontToewsMeBrah · 1 pointr/soccer

The Numbers Game, sometimes he gets a little wrapped up in his own little stat world, but theres a lot of interesting stuff in there.

u/gchrisdean · 1 pointr/mealtimevideos

I love this stuff. For anyone interested in surprising statistical analysis of a sport check out The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong by Chris Anderson. https://www.amazon.com/Numbers-Game-Everything-About-Soccer/dp/0143124560

u/Santiclause · 1 pointr/SoccerBetting

I read the book The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong by Chris Anderson. Its not specifically about betting but it covers alot of great analysis about football that can totally apply to betting. It was a great read, definitely changed the way I understand the game and what kind of bets I was making.

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.ca/Numbers-Game-Everything-About-Soccer/dp/0143124560/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465081904&sr=8-1&keywords=the+numbers+game

u/California_Fresh · 0 pointsr/leagueoflegends

I think that makes the game better.

I know it sounds weird, but for me, this makes the game more like an actual sport, which is the biggest draw for me. It allows for more strategies and more emphasis on learning what went wrong the prior game besides just mechanical mistakes. Furthermore, I think the team based aspect allows for more comebacks.

I understand people have different opinions, but the quality of playing and watching League feels better when it is driven by having your worst player being better than the teams worst player. League is most similar to soccer in that respect. I respect all other opinions though, just my thoughts

Edit: https://www.amazon.com/Numbers-Game-Everything-About-Soccer/dp/0143124560
Here is the book that I got the fact that in soccer it is more important for the worst player to be better than the best player.