There's a great chapter on Charles Hughes's 'performance match analysis'

in Jonathan Wilson's 'Inverting the Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics'.

Basically, Hughes had a thesis that he wanted to prove - that direct football was more effective than slow, short passing - and set about doing so through years of apparently scientific statistical analysis of English league games. (As always with these things, the metholodogy was full of holes, which Wilson highlights.)

Hughes was close to Graham Taylor during Taylor's Watford days: there's a particularly good bit about Watford being 5-1 down to Southampton after the first leg of a League Cup tie, and Hughes going to Taylor and saying "According to my system, you should attack in the second leg."

Amazingly, Watford won the second leg 7-1 and even more amazingly, Hughes tried to take the credit for it. Hughes was eventually instrumental in getting Taylor appointed as England manager where he finally discovered that, at the highest level, direct football is generally not more effective than the ability to retain the ball.

Posted By: Ottosson Foxtrot on October 14th 2010 at 10:36:22

Message Thread

Have to say that Liverpool's efforts in the courtroom are far more entertaining than (Other Football) - Old Git, Oct 14, 09:32:38
- "I don't know much about legal documents, but I looked at the PDF of the restraining order (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 10:42:28
  - That's a little bit roflmongous. (n/m) (Other Football) - Arizona Bay, Oct 14, 10:46:25
    - i love the Guardian's rolling newsy coverage things (n/m) (Other Football) - Ralf Scrampton, Oct 14, 11:17:23
- I heard a Texan lawyer on Today at the crack of dawn (Other Football) - Arizona Bay, Oct 14, 09:41:29
  - Yes, he's quite right (Other Football) - Old Git, Oct 14, 09:48:09
    - I WANT LIVERPOOL TO GO INTO ADMIN (Other Football) - shoddy, Oct 14, 10:11:19
      - I don't. (Other Football) - Johnny Comecardiff, Oct 14, 10:21:54
        
        Fat Sam will happen (n/m) (Other Football) - Ralf Scrampton, Oct 14, 10:27:27
        
        So you want Liverpool to do well then (n/m) (Other Football) - duke of york, Oct 14, 10:23:36
        
        Be interesting to see what a purely analytical approach did to the game though. (n/m) (Other Football) - Arizona Bay, Oct 14, 10:26:28
        
        There's a great chapter on Charles Hughes's 'performance match analysis' (Other Football) - Ottosson Foxtrot, Oct 14, 10:36:22
        
        Taylor still hasn't accepted your final point though (Other Football) - Tricky Hawes, Oct 14, 10:43:12
        
        Why England Lose (prev. Soccernomics) goes on a lot about Moneyball and its impact (Other Football) - Ralf Scrampton, Oct 14, 10:31:50
        
        ^^^ Pens Boy wetting his knick-knocks with excitement ^^^ (n/m) (Other Football) - Old Git, Oct 14, 10:30:19
        
        Naah, I'm not really into statistical penmanship. (Other Football) - Arizona Bay, Oct 14, 10:37:44
        
        In my opinion, football is too free-flowing for it to make (Other Football) - duke of york, Oct 14, 10:29:14
        
        Sort of been done n'all... (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 10:31:29
        
        altho given the success of SPain and Barcelona (Other Football) - Tricky Hawes, Oct 14, 10:33:19
        
        Barca & Spain are a joy to watch when in full flow. Lovely stuff. (n/m) (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 10:37:44
        
        you're trying to provoke a row, jaffers (Other Football) - Tricky Hawes, Oct 14, 10:47:05
        
        I'm not trying to provoke. I'd just like to see teams pass it on the ground. (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 10:59:10
        
        Spain's football is technically brilliant, and when they take risks to break down defences (Other Football) - Ottosson Foxtrot, Oct 14, 11:07:27
        
        "footballing equivalent of a Joe Satriani solo" (Other Football) - Arizona Bay, Oct 14, 11:19:04
        
        Technically brilliant yet utterly joyless: the perfect analogy. (n/m) (Other Football) - Ottosson Foxtrot, Oct 14, 11:25:38
        
        Otto (Other Football) - Old Git, Oct 14, 11:15:46
        
        A lot of words there and I saw the word 'palpable' so I didn't read it all. (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 11:14:25
        
        That wasn't their fault imo. It was other teams trying to counteract their style. (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 10:55:16
        
        And i do think that british terams are better when playing at (Other Football) - duke of york, Oct 14, 10:53:18
        
        There's higher tempo and there's hoof. Don't have to be the same thing. (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 10:56:32
        
        Yes, but Englabnd often do neither (n/m) (Other Football) - duke of york, Oct 14, 10:59:39
        
        Yes. We are caught between two philosiphies, we know the old way is wrong yet can't find (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 11:03:50
        
        Last Sunday (Other Football) - Old Git, Oct 14, 11:09:42
        
        Don't worry, they'll soon coach that out of them when they get to the seniors. (n/m) (Other Football) - Arizona Bay, Oct 14, 11:17:05
        
        Under 16s (Other Football) - Old Git, Oct 14, 11:26:07
        
        ^^^ that is given as part of the reason Why England Lose (Other Football) - Ralf Scrampton, Oct 14, 11:35:00
        
        Can't be true (Other Football) - Old Git, Oct 14, 11:41:35
        
        Not just "posh", but middle class (n/m) (Other Football) - duke of york, Oct 14, 11:42:38
        
        'Posh boy football' (Other Football) - Garry Brooke, Oct 14, 11:31:24
        
        Yes, met a few of them (Other Football) - Old Git, Oct 14, 11:36:14
        
        Oi, my Dad went there! (n/m) (Other Football) - Garry Brooke, Oct 14, 11:39:19
        
        quod erat demonstrandum (Other Football) - Old Git, Oct 14, 11:42:15
        
        Pfft. (Other Football) - Garry Brooke, Oct 14, 11:43:12
        
        That's good but a higher level. The general standard of youth coaching is poor. (n/m) (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 11:15:19
        
        Exactly - Germany this summer were very high-tempo, but never hoofy. (n/m) (Other Football) - Ottosson Foxtrot, Oct 14, 10:58:12
        
        Yes. We all agree, Hurrah. (Other Football) - Tricky Hawes, Oct 14, 10:59:08
        
        THey are one extreme, but personally I'd prefer to watch that than endless hopeful long (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 11:00:58
        
        ^^^ This ^^^ (n/m) (Other Football) - Ottosson Foxtrot, Oct 14, 10:52:40
        
        the one against the swiss was good tho (n/m) (Other Football) - SCC 28, Oct 14, 10:50:30
        
        loliga (Other Football) - Arizona Bay, Oct 14, 10:48:33
        
        No. See? (Other Football) - Tricky Hawes, Oct 14, 11:16:11
        
        No, *I* was blatently stirring by posting "loliga" (Other Football) - Arizona Bay, Oct 14, 11:20:35
        
        ^^^ i'm with dampy (n/m) (Other Football) - Ralf Scrampton, Oct 14, 11:36:18
        
        Lol (liga) (n/m) (Other Football) - Ottosson Foxtrot, Oct 14, 11:26:11
        
        ha ha (n/m) (Other Football) - Tricky Hawes, Oct 14, 11:21:42
        
        The Lol Liga gay-off gang must all be indisposed ... (n/m) (Other Football) - Ottosson Foxtrot, Oct 14, 11:18:33
    - Not sure I really see why a 9-point penalty would be good news for H&G (Other Football) - Tricky Hawes, Oct 14, 09:53:13
      - 9 points would follow admin and surely admin means they don't get any money? (n/m) (Other Football) - Ralf Scrampton, Oct 14, 09:58:27
        
        I suspect it's a Mexican stand off (Other Football) - Old Git, Oct 14, 10:02:41
    - YOu can almost hear the money being made by the lwayers can't you? (n/m) (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 09:49:35
      - they ain't being paid in coins though sonny (Other Football) - Ralf Scrampton, Oct 14, 09:52:28
        
        lol (n/m) (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 09:55:49
      - Hey, don't blame us matey (Other Football) - Old Git, Oct 14, 09:50:32
        
        I wasn't blaming you, just marvelling at the whole sorry spectacle. (n/m) (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 09:54:16
  - Is 'repecting' a legal term? (n/m) (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 09:45:50
    - Yes. (Other Football) - Arizona Bay, Oct 14, 09:49:30
      - Thought so. (n/m) (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 09:50:00
- I thoght it summed up what football has become at that level. Hordes of drunken fans cheer (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 09:34:49
  - Because they think their club will change hands from one set of American tycoons (Other Football) - Ottosson Foxtrot, Oct 14, 09:44:44
    - Indeed it is, it's all part of the general grubby, grabby, me first society. (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 09:48:02
  - THey'll start heckling the lawyers from the public gallery next... (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 09:36:01
    - Nice silks crap case, nice silks crap case. (n/m) (Other Football) - Arizona Bay, Oct 14, 09:44:26
      - Follow, follow, follow. Follow the Wig that's yellow. Ish. (n/m) (Other Football) - Tricky Hawes, Oct 14, 09:46:16
        
        "11-1 and you fucked it up." (n/m) (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 09:48:38
        
        Your barister (your barister), is full of shit (is full of shit) (Other Football) - Arizona Bay, Oct 14, 09:51:14
        
        "You're not suing any more" (n/m) (Other Football) - Old Git, Oct 14, 09:49:40
    - Ha ha, that would be good (Other Football) - Old Git, Oct 14, 09:38:28
      - Marvellous. (n/m) (Other Football) - jafski, Oct 14, 09:46:34
- it's not (Other Football) - SCC 28, Oct 14, 09:33:47

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