Soccer Analytics

Ben and Kieran spoke to Matt Pfeffer about his origin in soccer analytics, the constructions of MLS from the viewpoint of financial markets, and a whole lot of hockey. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ben went to the Rapids game and hits us with some in person reporting, and the guys answer some listener questions including: how do we make more soccer analysts? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Muller patiently explains what he thinks are the most interesting metrics in soccer right now, the basics of how data is collected and used and sold, and some of the limitations of even advanced stats. Belz plays the data-inattentive everyman, which is, after all, what he is. They also discussed and assessed Gregg Berhalter's tenure and adaptability, the US men's player pool, and what John is working on next. Then he turned a few questions on Belz.

Mike and Michael are at the Statsbomb conference in London. They talk through some of the highlights of last weekend's matches in the Premier League and then discuss what they saw at the conference and the new key concept in soccer analytics introduced by Thom Lawrence, "The Valley of Meh" and what it means for understanding the game.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show

In this edition of the mailbag: What are the Two Mikes best and worst sports stats hot takes? Would you give Eddie Howe a shot at managing a Top 6 club? Is Arsenal's talent roughly at the level that expected goals predicts, or are they underperforming their talent level? Why do we evaluate soccer managers based on whether they have players to suit their system, when we don't do that in a sport like, say, basketball? What are the current challenges in soccer analytics as a scientific disciplin...

We talked to Ted Knutsen of Statsbomb and this was a premium episode of deep nerdiness. They have a new soccer data project, and we got into a bunch of questions about soccer analytics.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport the show

Four Premier League strikers are having very different seasons. What's wrong with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and is this a slump to ride out or do something about? Jamie Vardy's shots are way down, and there are a few reasons why. Romelu Lukaku isn't struggling at all, and yet doesn't seem to get the credit he deserves. And Spurs aren't the same without Harry Kane. The two Mikes dive into the unique situations confronting each striker and club before switching gears to chat with Joe Sykes of FiveThi...