Packing was developed in Germany and if you engage Impect and give them money they will provide you with loads of meaningful and insightful data. But if you don’t have loads of money you are stuck with me. Packing covers a multitude of on-ball and off-ball actions and is therefore very useful. Let’s see who … [continue reading]
Hatate
The Midfield Minefield
This analysis lark is much about pilfering and refining the fine work of others. It’s all fair game so long as you attribute! So, props and shout outs to @CannonStats on Twitter. You might want to follow them if your schadenfreude extents to giving support to Ange Postecoglou’s new big rivals. In this tweet, the … [continue reading]
Risk / Reward in Midfield
A short (lol) piece on assessing the risk versus reward dynamic amongst the central midfielders. Many supporters appreciated that “giving the ball away” is not always a negative per se, but the corollary to attempting high risk or creative passes. Losing the ball is worth it sometimes if there are chances being created and opponents … [continue reading]
O’Riley Does It Again
An aspect of packing I had not captured until this season concerns turnovers and recoveries. “What does all that jargon mean?” comes the plaintive cry. Let me unpack it. (Lol – I’m here all week.) Definitions Packing is the count and assignment of a value to score the taking out of opposition players with forward … [continue reading]
Reo Hatate’s Week
On the last Huddle Breakdown episode (please subscribe!), I opined that Reo Hatate’s performance against Hibernian in the 6-1 home win was one of the worst I’d ever seen. I hope you understand I am not usually one for Talksport levels of sensationalism, and I was just giving my honest opinion. What I am happy … [continue reading]
The Power of Recovery
When I started Celtic By Numbers the data I collected was very basic. Mainly defensive actions and passing and shot data but no xG. It has developed over the years as you learn more techniques and best practise. Now I rarely add “new” data points a) because it’s a real pain to do and b) … [continue reading]
Hatate, O’Riley, Rogic, Turnbull. Who do you pick?
If all four of Hatate, O’Riley, Rogic and Turnbull are fit, which two do you pair with McGregor to form the midfield three for the next match? Defending Let’s start with the dirty stuff. Midfield is an allrounders game. Even the attacking midfielders have to press and compete in Postecoglou’s system. The framework I use … [continue reading]