Personal news: Iโm excited to announce Iโm joining City Football Group as a Football Insights Analyst.
My journey in football has been an absolute ride โ incredibly grateful for whatโs come and whatโs in store!
Iโm very proud to say Iโve completed my MSc in Data Science with First Class Honours, having done my thesis in Valuing Runs and Off The Ball Movement to Predict Goal Probability In Football.
On to the next one ๐๐ฝโโ๏ธโฝ๏ธ
Excited to announce I've joined
@TheAthleticUK
.
For my first piece I unpick the reasons why Harry Maguire is more than a defender for
#MUFC
, despite his recent form.
GOAL CAM: Mason Greenwood may have only scored one goal in Manchester United's 5-1 thriller over Leeds United, but he was involved in every. single. goal.
Off The Ball Movement โโ a thread:
I donโt care Iโll say it again. With Ole weโll never be truly bad enough to get him sacked because of the individual quality we had and weโll never be good enough to challenge for trophies. Weโre stuck.
Many times โ Harry Maguire is criticized for not being a โvocalโ captain.
With a 4-1 lead, this is him rallying his players on to maintain their intensity and concentration.
โCome on! Keep going!โ
I have not stopped watching this ever since it's been released. Ole's Sancho mug, Sir Alex in that empty stadium, Bruno in a throne, Pogba pouring salt. So so good.
I'm hyped for the new season.
TACTICAL CAM: Manchester Unitedโs subpar draw against Southampton was more than just poor player performances. It was the entire team โ let me explain why.
Passing Networks: a thread.
It is literally the same issue over and over again โ De Geaโs weak long range distribution means they can never play over a press. Their midfield will struggle playing through it.
When buildup starts with DDG he plays the trap โ he sees the pressing trigger yet passes anyways.
Manchester United's Passing Network vs. Crystal Palace. The biggest difference is how advanced the entire team shape โโ especially how high and wide the fullbacks are.
You cannot, I repeat, you cannot play in the Premier League with a goalkeeper that refuses to move off his line.
Youโre one man down in buildup immediately and you struggle playing out of the press. You also have one less defender claiming crosses.
Player Territorial Maps โ Manchester United vs. Aston Villa.
I looked at the starting location of each pass every player made in open play. The results:
Solskjรฆrโs quote after the Arsenal stalemate โ โeveryone around me would say โyou were there to miss the chances.โ
Except Rashford scored here โ centered between the gap of SOUโs first and second line.
Positioning, movement, runs are very important.
The only facet De Gea offers, you can argue, as a goalkeeper is shot-stopping.
He doesnโt come out of his line & he isnโt comfortable ball-playing โ it means heโd have to be shot-stopping at an abnormal rate to compensate.
So what does he offer when he lets shots like that in?
Marcus Rashford in 20/21 so far:
vs. LUT โฝ๏ธ
vs. BHA โฝ๏ธ
vs. BEL โฝ๏ธ
vs. NEW โฝ๏ธ๐ ฐ๏ธ๐ ฐ๏ธ
vs. PSG โฝ๏ธ
vs. RBL โฝ๏ธโฝ๏ธโฝ๏ธ
vs. EVE ๐ ฐ๏ธ
vs. IBSK โฝ๏ธ
vs. SOU ๐ ฐ๏ธ
vs. PSG โฝ๏ธ
14 G/A in 18 appearances (1287 minutes) across all competitions โ club and country.
We should normalise not knowing things in football. It is okay to not know how a Ten Hag Ajax side plays if youโre primarily a Premier League fan. It is also okay to admit that.
Many opinions on here for wanting (or not) a manager isnโt well researched.
My god is our club finally moving like a serious club? Camavinga at โฌ30m is a steal for one of the biggest midfield prospects in the world. Sancho for ยฃ73m with zero add ons and equal payable 5 year instalments. Varane pending too. I am.. shocked.
When you have Pogba and Sancho to create โ you have the dribbling, the crossing, the passing, the carrying. It allows Bruno to focus on making more runs into the box instead of trying to do everything. Itโs.. beautiful.
We spent a year [you can even say two] chasing Jadon Sancho to revive our right wing only not to play him, especially when United are struggling with chance creation. It.. makes no sense.
The brilliance of Pogba is the intelligence to get into those pockets of space, the physicality to guard the ball from his opponent and the technical quality to dribble or release. Just: beautiful.
Some of you [a lot of you] should be ashamed at yourselves with some of the abuse, insulting and misogynistic comments Iโve received.
We all want the best for the club โ we just happen to see it in different ways.
That performance deserved a better result but I think itโs time to revise what Ronaldo actually adds to this side going forward and whether thatโs enough.
Manchester United beat Liverpool for the first time under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer โ and how fitting it to be a comeback win with two of those scorers academy graduates?
With Ole Gunnar Solskjaer โ we have seen fundamental changes both on and off the pitch, whether that be structure, mentality and youth.
No manager has ever had the courage to tear the building down and start again before him. This is a rebuild โ long term sustainable success.
Maguire has the spatial awareness, technical ability and progressiveness of a midfielder.
The man can break lines, disrupt defenses by carrying it forward while also being excellent in his defensive duties like aerial duels. He is special.
Growing up I always imagined someone that looks like me in the industry.
When I started, I never could have imagined my name in a book. ุงูุญู ุฏููู
David de Gea is no longer enough.
His deficiencies in shot stopping, sweeping, cross-claiming and ball-playing means Manchester United are often one man down.
My (personal) opinion is that Casemiro isnโt a deal United should be making.
One of Unitedโs biggest problems in buildup is the lack of a deeper midfielder able progress the ball โ and while he is good, he is not that.
United can spend all they want on the best forwards of the world โ if they donโt have a) the personnel i.e a DM and b) the structure in buildup and progression that aids player positioning, the ball will never reach said forwards.
Iโm not going to lie, some phases in Oleโs stint made me love football again. Not just United โ football. Rashfordโs 19/20 run man was such a good time.
Varane and Maguire automatically become one of the best partnerships in the league. So complimentary, whether it be pace and mobility, defensive proactivity or ball playing.
That's a backline that can perform better under transitions *and* settled possession. Great business.
I canโt lie the irony is quite hilarious to me that United for long has struggled to create good quality chances consistently and now that they do they just.. refuse to score.
Look. Iโd love to be proven wrong โ thereโs nothing more I want than the success of this club.
This signing has taken away minutes from the likes of Greenwood, budget away from a midfielder and decreased the odds of Haaland.