Hello!
Each week we’ll put together a curated list of the best of what we’re reading from around the web. This list won’t feature much on Brentford, directly, and sometimes it won’t even feature football.
This week’s curated list is below. Enjoy.
David Sumpter is a Professor of applied Mathematics and Lecturer at Uppsala University in Sweden.
He is also the author of Soccermatics, one of the best football data crossover books ever written. Following Soccermatics he penned Outnumbered, a slight change in tact and a steer towards the statistical techniques used in big data and particularly the claims that Cambridge Analytica influenced elections. They wish.
His latest book "The Ten Equations that Rule the World" sees him explore a range of powerful mathematical formulas that can be studied and applied by all, some of which have literally changed lives. So why have so few outside of what we’d deem as “successful people” heard of them?
Everything David Sumpter writes is engaging yet still meticulously technical, and it is his broad range of experiences that give him the ability to effortlessly transcend the worlds of football and academia.
Get hold of a copy of The Ten Equations that Rule the World form all of the usual outlets.
Next, the Guardian’s Sean Ingle repeats old ground here but within the rough there are some particularly interesting lines on coach KPIs for the current season. Has Thomas Frank been subjected to the same challenges?
Michiel de hoog is the sports correspondent for De Correspondent and his piece on relative age effect begins a theme of Talent ID and Scouting. Originally released back in April, Michiel tells the fascinating story Steve and his son "J", (Jamie Lawrence) who played in the same Arsenal U9s team as Nico Yennaris, Chuks Aneke, Benik Afobe and a guy called Harry Kane. Scouts on FA Talent ID courses are now taught to be aware of age related physicality bias when assessing young players. But it wasn't always like that.
Lastly, David Bujara lifts the lid on his and other scouts experiences as they try to function during a global pandemic. David has operated as a scout for a number of teams up and down the leagues, including Brentford. But be warned, his writing is candid, deeply honest and ruthless in it's assessment of the underlying mechanics of the game.
https://davidbujara.home.blog/2020/10/23/once-upon-a-time/
Happy Reading! And don't forget to share Bees Tactical with anyone you think may be interested.