Ticket to ride? Fifa premium makes this the World Cup that actively hates you | Jonathan Liew The $95 bus trip to Foxborough highlights a tournament unique in modern times – one that ultimately makes no secret of its disdain for the paying public

The World Cup, in theory, is an event which should belong to all of us - it doesn’t (analysis via @jonathanliew.bsky.social for @theguardian.com)
www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Why Lincoln City just built their own software team Lincoln City have quietly built something that most clubs only talk about: their own in-house software development team.

Lincoln City have quietly built something that most clubs only talk about: their own in-house software development team (story via the Training Ground Guru)
trainingground.guru/why-lincoln-...

After 28 years, sadly my time at Opta has come to an end. Through seven different owners, some good, some bad, I've helped the companies grow the brand from start up to global behemoth and I've been very lucky to have a job that was also my hobby.

Marie-Louise Eta becomes first female coach in Europe’s top five leagues Union Berlin appoint the former Germany youth player, 34, for last five games of the season after sacking Steffen Baumgart as they fight to stay in the Bundesliga

Marie-Louise Eta has become the first female head coach in Europe’s top five men’s leagues by taking interim charge of Union Berlin (story via @thetimes.com)
www.thetimes.com/sport/footba...

The national children’s hospital, originally budgeted at €650 million for completion in 2020, reached €2.24 billion by 2025 - an overrun of over 220 per cent (analysis via David McWilliams for the @irishtimes.com) @davidmcwecon.bsky.social
www.irishtimes.com/opinion/2026...

Social media is populist and polarising; AI may be the opposite Large language models elevate expert consensus and moderate views, in sharp contrast to social platforms

There is cause for optimism that the next information revolution may take us in a less corrosive direction than the last - LLMs elevate expert consensus and moderate views, in sharp contrast to social platforms (analysis via @jburnmurdoch.ft.com for @financialtimes.com)
www.ft.com/content/3880...

Italy’s latest World Cup failure no longer feels like ‘The End’ but the same sad song on repeat | Nicky Bandini Roberto Baggio proposed an overhaul of talent pathway in 2011 but it was never acted on and the national team’s approach now is just not working

Roberto Baggio proposed an overhaul of Italy’s talent pathway in 2011, but it was never acted upon - the national team’s approach is just not working (analysis via @nickybandini.bsky.social for @theguardian.com)
www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Managers on the rise: Cesc Fabregas – the tactical tyro ruffling the feathers of Serie A’s traditionalists The cultural resistance to Fabregas and the project of his club, Como, is intensifying with every win

In the space of two seasons, Como could go from preparing to play Bari to Barcelona, Modena to Man City and Palermo to Paris Saint-Germain. The management of Cesc Fabregas is a key reason why (analysis via @jameshorncastle.bsky.social for @theathleticfc.bsky.social)
www.nytimes.com/athletic/714...

The Opta-stat-packification of football: Why are the game’s milestones getting weirder? To paraphrase the anti-VAR mantra: data itself isn’t the problem, it’s often the people using it

“It isn’t much of a betrayal of industry omerta to reveal that Opta’s stat packs, issued to paying media outlets before a Premier League weekend and after each individual game, are the unsung heroes of football match reporting” (via @theathleticfc.bsky.social)
www.nytimes.com/athletic/714...

Handling of Chelsea is shameful. They should be stripped of titles After ignoring Abramovich’s dubious wealth for years, the Premier League’s meagre fine for cheating shows it’s one rule for the elite and another for the rest

All football fans should read this piece of analysis from Matthew Syed - after ignoring Roman Abramovich’s dubious wealth for years, the Premier League’s meagre fine for endemic cheating shows it’s one rule for the elite and another for the rest (via @thetimes.com) www.thetimes.com/sport/footba...

Access all areas with Motherwell: Britain’s most tactically interesting football team Jordan Campbell spent the week with Jens Berthel Askou and his upwardly mobile team as they prepared to visit Celtic

Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou is a serious operator (story via Jordan Campbell for @theathleticfc.bsky.social)
www.nytimes.com/athletic/711...

The Welsh Wall: How Wales Frustrated Ireland Without Fighting for the Ball | Opta Analyst Wales may be heading for the Wooden Spoon in this year's Six Nations, but their defensive discipline away against Ireland showed a team growing in confidence.

During their #6Nations clash, Wales chose not to compete at ruck time against Ireland - Jonathan McCormick uses @statsperform.optajoe.com data to explain how and what impact the strategy had (via @optaanalyst.optajoe.com)
theanalyst.com/articles/wal...

Why Atalanta are Italian football’s last bastion of hope The Bergamo side — Serie A’s only remaining team in the Champions League — point the way back to respectability for country’s traditional powerhouse clubs

It is fitting that Atalanta will have the final word for Serie A in the Champions League; a club with its own stadium and a clear identity, that promotes young players, signs smart, and plays enterprising football (analysis via Alasdair Mackenzie for @thetimes.com)
www.thetimes.com/sport/footba...

Higher Position, Smarter Runs and Less Build-Up: João Pedro is the Premier League's Most In-Form Forward | Opta Analyst João Pedro is in the form of his life under Liam Rosenior. We look at how the new Chelsea coach has helped him become one of the leading strikers in Europe this year.

João Pedro is playing a different role under Liam Rosenior - with the help of Opta Vision data, @mattfurniss.bsky.social captures exactly how a change in the runs made by the Brazilian have transformed the Chelsea attack (for @optaanalyst.optajoe.com )
theanalyst.com/articles/joa...

Why Angel Gomes exposes England’s flawed attitude to midfielders Once a Man United jewel, the 5ft 6in Wolves technician’s fate underlines why English football doesn’t produce the sort of player who knits together tournament-winning teams

Fans of English football, read this (analysis via @jamesgheerbrant.bsky.social for @thetimes.com)
www.thetimes.com/sport/footba...

The 24-year-old me who published Football Against the Enemy in 1994 did not imagine this, but in April we're republishing the book as a "classic edition" 32 years on, with a new introduction + a "Where are they now?" from me. Will feel weird. Preorder here geni.us/OpNA Plus our first ever audiobook

Great work Brett, you will have to do a prompting seminar for the rest of us

Steady, Reliable, Authoritative: Senne Lammens Is Proving Himself to Be Everything André Onana Wasn’t | Opta Analyst Senne Lammens played a starring role in Manchester United's 1-0 win at Everton, putting his debut season under the spotlight.

If Monday told us anything, it’s that Manchester United appear to be in very steady hands with Senne Lammens (analysis via @rbenson92.bsky.social for @optaanalyst.optajoe.com)
theanalyst.com/articles/sen...

New Vacancy - Data Engineer I am excited to share we are recruiting for a Data Engineer to join our Research team at Liverpool Football Club - this is a fantastic opportunity for someone to be a… | ... New Vacancy - Data Engineer I am excited to share we are recruiting for a Data Engineer to join our Research team at Liverpool Football Club - this is a fantastic opportunity for someone to be a par...

We’re recruiting for a Data Engineer to join our Research team at Liverpool FC. In my (perhaps biased) view, it’s a great opportunity to join an excellent team, work at the forefront of sports analytics, and have a tangible impact.
www.linkedin.com/posts/conorq...

Kim Hellberg: Behind the scenes with the coach driving Middlesbrough towards the Premier League Boro's Swedish coach talks rollercoaster football, overcoming a fear of public speaking and how Hellball could restore the club to the elite

This is a good profile of up-and-coming Middlesbrough coach Kim Hellberg (via @mwalkerfoot.bsky.social for @theathleticfc.bsky.social)
www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...

Only sharing the work of someone else, can't claim any credit.

He made $150m via betting but got bored. Now he’s leading a club to La Liga Haralabos Voulgaris has taken data-led approach that kept him a step ahead of bookmakers into football club ownership with second division Castellon

CD Castellón are a very real candidate to earn promotion from the Segunda División in Spain - Haralabos Voulgaris has adopted a data-led approach and, interestingly, has also partnered up with Jamestown Analytics (story via @trlkershaw.bsky.social for @thetimes.com)
www.thetimes.com/sport/footba...

Real Sociedad Needed A Revolution, Not Continuity – Pellegrino Matarazzo Is Delivering It | Opta Analyst Real Sociedad hired Pellegrino Matarazzo in December as the first American manager in La Liga history. It's proven an inspired decision.

Real Sociedad hired Pellegrino Matarazzo in December as the first American manager in La Liga history - his impact has been significant (analysis via @robbiejdunne.bsky.social for @optaanalyst.optajoe.com / @statsperform.optajoe.com)
theanalyst.com/articles/rea...

The soccer analytics experts aiming to transform a club in Portugal’s fourth division Sport Uniao Sintrense have never featured in their nation's top-flight before, but four men are aiming to change that

A team of football analytics experts (featuring @worville.bsky.social as head of data intelligence) aim to transform Sport Uniao Sintrense in Portugal’s fourth division (story via @markcarey93.bsky.social for @theathleticfc.bsky.social)
www.nytimes.com/athletic/701...

The star investor and sports data pioneer disrupting Scottish football Fresh investment and computer algorithms that have redefined player recruitment fuel Hearts’ transformation

Fresh investment and computer algorithms that have redefined player recruitment fuel Hearts’ transformation (via Robert Orr for the @financialtimes.com)
www.ft.com/content/a0de...

Need to update my list of soccer analytics and tactics accounts, tell me who's posting good stuff

Why doesn’t La Masia produce strikers for Barcelona? The Catalan club's celebrated youth academy turns out scores of players for their first team, so why don't centre-forwards break through?

At youth level at Barca, the emphasis on link-up play and connecting with others means the responsibility for goalscoring is often shared, but the profile of the serial goalscorer is missing (via @laiacervello.bsky.social for @theathleticfc.bsky.social)
www.nytimes.com/athletic/703...

Long Balls, Careful Shot Selection, and Continuity: How Keith Andrews Made Brentford European Challengers | Opta Analyst Brentford were among the favourites for relegation at the start of the season, but Keith Andrews has them dreaming of Europe.

Brentford were among the favourites for relegation at the start of the season, but now Keith Andrews has them dreaming of Europe (analysis via @davidsegar.bsky.social for @optaanalyst.optajoe.com / @statsperform.optajoe.com)
theanalyst.com/articles/bre...

How France’s Offload Game Took Ireland Apart in Paris | Opta Analyst France kicked off their Six Nations defence in style, with a commanding home victory against Ireland. Their offloading played a huge part in that.

France kicked off their Six Nations defence in style, with a commanding home victory against Ireland. The key to their victory? The humble offload (analysis via Jonathan McCormick for @optaanalyst.optajoe.com / @statsperform.optajoe.com)
theanalyst.com/articles/fra...

The 12 Numbers That Defined the Seahawks' Dominant Super Bowl Win Over the Patriots | Opta Analyst We've got some of the key numbers that tell the story of a one-sided Super Bowl 60 in which the Seahawks cruised to a win over the Patriots.

Here are 12 numbers that tell the story of Super Bowl 60, in case “29-13” doesn’t do it on its own (analysis via @alexkirshner.com for @optaanalyst.optajoe.com / @optaanalystus.optajoe.com)‬
theanalyst.com/articles/num...