Andy Forrester

One of the earliest examples of match analysis + statistics you will find, all fully tracked from cameras at Old Trafford & presented on Prozone3 software. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿Man United vs 🇪🇸Real Madrid 2003 Champions League Insights from the game below🔽 (Shared courtesy of @rammyl)

@Jon_Mackenzie Looking forward to this Jon! 👏

Some news: I've written a book about how football has evolved over the last fifteen years or so. It's called The Spectre of Pep: How Guardiola haunts modern football tactics. It's out in August and you can pre-order it right now from this link: geni.us/TheSpectreOfPep

More pens are hit left than right. If you’re going down the middle go slightly left. Hitting roof is 100% guarantee. If going left you have to hit side netting to avoid most saved zone. Always thought shootout conversion would be < than in-game pens but doesn’t seem to be.

You simply cannot be max intensity in possession... out possession... every minute of every game. The squad needs diverse options to manage games at different stages of the season

#NUFC rank 15th in the league for % time spent in build up. The top teams spend 4.5 mins more per game in buildup IMO they are far too vertical with the ball to be sustainable, when they are also 1st for % sprinting out possession AND juggling multiple comps...

Which PL team suffers the most after a UCL/UEL midweek? Here are the most underperforming (xG and points per game): Newcastle 25/26: −0.68 xGD; −0.34 PPG Arsenal 24/25: −0.63 xGD; −0.35 PPG Liverpool 25/26: −0.48 xGD; −0.41 PPG Man City 24/25: −0.44 xGD; −0.77 PPG

Over reliance on physicality and rigid tactical structure getting undone by teams who prioritise quality and decision makers on the pitch. People say the game has changed. But the skeleton will remain. It’s obvious. IQ, technique and better footballers have more capabilities than teams who lean more into physicality. If you have better players, and they’re more unpredictable, of course it’s going to be harder to play against than the ones who are - worse footballers overall - more predictable - physically worse because they become so reliant on intensity and physicality but also don’t train correctly / enough in the week to make them robust enough to cope with it

Let the ball do the running

I think it’s time to retire “intensity is our identity” #nufc

@TalkinTactics I like the psychology of shifting accountability to the coach. For the record I’m all for freedom of decisions in open play

@AndyForrester1 You think? Can’t remove many more decisions from the players

Once you have done a clever penalty the GKs are not gonna over commit too early.

Styles built around constant defending or transitions may be harder to sustain across a 50/60 game season. Food for thought for certain teams..

It's more NB than ever, from a physical load perspective, to be a top team you need to keep the ball. High-possession teams still work hard off the ball but they simply spend less time in the most physically demanding phase. The top 6 possession teams are all in the top left 👇

How do the top teams manage 50+ games from fatigue perspective? Do possession styles lead to less exposure to fatigue? In the Premier League this season, teams perform 27% more High Intensity running 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 than in possession 🧵

@sidlowe @caskale93 You can have a high % ball in play but also have a high average delay time. Eg If you keep the ball for long periods and don’t have as many restarts, but when you have restarts they are heavily delayed. Arsenal average 4th highest time in possession excluding ball out play

@caskale93 Is it, though? This is part of my question, at heart: is time in play the same as delays? (and how are we defining the latter, and who are we seeing as responsible for each?) Is restart delay the same as not-in-play?

This number sounds absolutely mind-blowing to me but I'd like to know what a "normal" number would be: is it actually far higher than we imagine? Are Arsenal even an outlier? (I'm also interested in the measurement of it: responsibility for and intention of delay etc)

10th highest speed recorded in the Prem this season 🔥

@LukeEdwardsTele This one Luke?

There was a moment in the first half yesterday when Nick Woltemade ducked out of a header. Brilliant cross to the far post from Gordon and he just stood there. Didn’t attack it, didn’t look like he wanted to compete for it. You can’t do that as a centre forward in the Premier League. No touches in the opposition box against Everton. No shots. His stats are damning him as a striker now. In midfield, before that, he turned and turned and turned in possession and lost the ball deep in his own half. He doesn’t win tackles, headers and he can’t run. He’s not a midfielder either. But I still think there is a good player in there. He looks low on confidence, he looks shattered too. This is his first season in England. Patience is needed but that’s in short supply at the moment. He’s not to blame for Newcastle’s problems but he is a problem. People saying he has to play as a CF are ignoring the fact he has been totally ineffective in that position for months #nufc

@FathalliMo 35.6km/h. About 30th quickest sprint in PL this season

The acceleration & top speed from Sesko here, someone needs to clock that! Then the deceleration & footwork to open his body. Planted foot towards the far post and ankle locked to guide the ball across. Deserved goal that!

What happens in this situation if the size of these two players are swapped?

Since that game, they are now conceding 6 more counter attacks per game than before.

Since the 2–2 draw with Chelsea on Dec 20, Newcastle have gone from the league’s best at controlling opposition counter attacks… to the worst. #nufc 📊 @footovision