Naby Keita. Just a few years ago, his name evoked fervent exaltation in some sectors of the soccer analytics community – he was the young midfielder who could do it all, with apparently unlimited talents both attacking and defending. Now, he can’t get a game for Liverpool. What happened? To answer this question, I think it’s important to understand where Keita started. Following an impressive maiden season in Europe at Istres, he began 2014-15 playing a combination of defensive midfield and central midfield at Red Bull Salzburg in the Austrian Bundesliga. Even as a defensive midfielder, he pushed the ball…
Read more →
liverpool
What does Manchester City’s win over Liverpool mean for the title race?
It was the biggest match of the season so far, at least at the top of the table: Liverpool, leading the Premier League by seven points, traveled to second-place Manchester City in hopes of ending the title race early. At least, that was the narrative coming from the media. Manchester City were narrowly victorious, but does this mean the title race is back on? Before the match, the bookies gave Liverpool roughly a 60-65% chance of winning the league, with Manchester City at about 30-35% and Tottenham around 5%. It’s worth pausing for a moment to consider what that meant….
Read more →
How good was Andrew Robertson at Hull?
Andrew Robertson, Liverpool’s left back, has been garnering plenty of plaudits for his performances in the Premier League and the Champions League, including a nomination for player of the week in the latter competition. He’s part of the raft of successful signings by Michael Edwards, the onetime analyst who is now the club’s sporting director. But to some, Robertson’s signing was a bit of a surprise: (By the way, I’d recommend following James on Twitter and reading his always entertaining prose.) Edwards apparently has a team of up to five mathematics and physics PhDs working for him. What did they see in the young Scottish fullback…
Read more →