Blog Post 8: Reflection

Throughout this project, I have learned many new things about myself, soccer, and analytics.

Unfortunately, however, to learn many of these new things, despite many things going well, there were some things that did not go that well, or as I had originally planned. I had the goal of rating every position, and doing so during a period of five matchweeks. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet this goal because of the time creating each rating consumed. The process of choosing a player of the week took around three hours, with the process of rating each player taking around another two, making a total of about five hours, which was a very large amount of time to spend on this while trying to balance many other tasks, both in and out of school. Although I did not meet the original goal I set, I still feel what I achieved was beneficial. I was still able to pick up the skill of learning how to rate players, which would make rating any other players much easier. So, although I did not complete my goal, I learned how I would be able to and know I can if I want to in the future. Also, on a more positive note, this taught me that everything can be analyzed. I broke down how soccer players performed using statistics, which showed me that I can analyze things in whatever field I choose, using whatever analysis strategy I choose, which will surely become beneficial for me in my future.

Blog Post 7: Prince Harry (MW 30)

Throughout every Premier League season, there are many players who surprise people by how well they perform. Last year there was Luis Suarez, who had high expectations, but outplayed his expectations by shattering many records despite his suspension for the season's first ten games. Last year there was also Adam Lallana, (who, this year, was purchased by Liverpool with a portion of the money gained from their sale of Suarez to Barcelona) who was a player struggling to find success at Southampton, but greatly outdid the small expectations put on him.

This year, Harry Kane has risen to the top of the Premier League, but much differently than Suarez or Lallana did last year. Kane, who is just 21 years of age, was not expected to do much for Tottenham this year. Despite this, he was still a player who was looked at positively because of the bright future he was thought to have. Kane has broken into the spotlight by averaging nearly a goal a game in the Premier League and earning himelf the nickname, "Prince Harry" as well as comparisons to Jesus.

Prince Harry (pictured as Jesus) as his Tottenham teammates and manager hail his goal-scoring ability

Player of the Week:

Harry Kane (Striker, Tottenham)

This week, Harry Kane finally put in his first Premier League hat-trick, which seems like it took a while because of the high rate he has been scoring at. He dominated lowly Leicester's back line to lead Spurs to a narrow 4-3 victory. I estimate his match rating should be between 9 and 10.

The responsibilities of a striker are very simple: to score and to set up goals. Without any defensive responsibilities, these are the only two things a striker is worried about on the pitch. These are the stats I think show how a striker's responsibilities are fulfilled (Kane v Leicester):

• Goals (3)
• Shots (4)
• Shots on target (3)
• Assists (0)
• Key passes (0)
• Passes (34)
• Pass completion percentage (73.5%)
• Dribbles (2)
• Dispossessions (7)
• Unsuccessful touches (4)

via WhoScored

To put each stat into a percentage, I grouped them into three categories: shooting, passing, dribbling.

Percentages (weight in formula):

• shots on target + goals(x2) / shot: 225% (40%)
• assist + key pass / pass: 0% (30%)
• pass completion percentage: 73.5% (10%)
• dribbles / dispossession + unsuccessful touch: 18.18% (20%)

Step-by-Step:

1. 225 X 0.4 = 90
2. 0 X 0.3 = 0
3. 73.5 X 0.1 = 7.35
4. 18.18 X 0.2 = 3.64
5. 90 + 0 + 7.35 + 3.64 = 100.99
6. 100.99 ÷ 10.5 = 9.6

Kane's Rating: 9.6

To verify:

Olivier Giroud (Striker, Arsenal)

After watching Arsenal's narrow victory over Newcastle, I feel Giroud's match rating should be between 7.5 and 9

• shots on target + goals(x2) / shot: 200% (40%)
• assist + key pass / pass: 2.6% (30%)
• pass completion percentage: 81.6% (10%)
• dribbles / dispossession + unsuccessful touch: 0% (20%)

Step-by-Step:

1. 200 X 0.4 = 80
2. 2.6 X 0.3 = 0.79
3. 81.6 X 0.1 = 8.16
4. 0 X 0.2 = 0
5. 80 + 0.79 + 8.16 + 0 = 88.95
6. 88.95 ÷ 10.5 = 8.47

Giroud's Rating: 8.47

Vlog: Please Allow me to Introduce Myself!

Please allow me to introduce myself! from Sam Langman on Vimeo.