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Data Game: The Story of Liverpool FC's Analytics Revolution
Data Game: The Story of Liverpool FC's Analytics Revolution explores the lesser-known story of how Liverpool rose to greatness in the 21st century with the help of big data.
The Anfield institution is an industry leader in the field of data science, but little is known about how Liverpool's relationship with numbers began, and how the marriage of data and football helped to deliver wins on the pitch by impacting tactics and recruitment.
Upon their takeover, Fenway Sports Group set out to transform Liverpool into a data-driven organisation, but there is a story behind why that vision took around a decade to become a reality.
From errors in the transfer market, to suboptimal playing styles, to conflicting egos, Liverpool jumped many hurdles before achieving their ambitions under Jürgen Klopp, with the German surrounded by unsung heroes who shunned the limelight. This is the tale of how Liverpool gained an edge over their wealthier rivals by getting smart.
The Anfield institution is an industry leader in the field of data science, but little is known about how Liverpool's relationship with numbers began, and how the marriage of data and football helped to deliver wins on the pitch by impacting tactics and recruitment.
Upon their takeover, Fenway Sports Group set out to transform Liverpool into a data-driven organisation, but there is a story behind why that vision took around a decade to become a reality.
From errors in the transfer market, to suboptimal playing styles, to conflicting egos, Liverpool jumped many hurdles before achieving their ambitions under Jürgen Klopp, with the German surrounded by unsung heroes who shunned the limelight. This is the tale of how Liverpool gained an edge over their wealthier rivals by getting smart.
256 pages, Paperback
Published March 25, 2024
25 people are currently reading
235 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
February 26, 2024
A brilliant and compelling read written masterfully by Josh. Huge credit to him for making the data and the numbers very digestible and easy to comprehend. This is a must for any Liverpool fan interested to find out about the inner workings of the club.
April 14, 2024
When I was sixteen, something odd happened to me. I know it couldn't have been an overnight thing. There were probably warning signs I was too dumb to spot. It's hard to explain: when I turned sixteen, I suddenly became high. In the stratosphere. We don't use the word "manic" anymore. I was gripped with a terrifying and exhilarating sense of the brevity of life. Every gap in the day had to be filled. I didn't go quite so far as to keep a human skull in my bedroom, but I thought about it. If you had asked me at that time whether I was happy or not, I would have said: HAPPY? I AM THE HAPPIEST PERSON IN THE HISTORY OF ALL HUMANKIND!!
My manic phase coincided with Liverpool's bizarre upturn in form in the 13/14 Premier League season. Under the tutelage of Brendan Rodgers, a manager known for burning bright and fast, my beloved team came within an inch of winning the title for the first time in a quarter of a century. That Liverpool team reminds me of my sixteen-year-old self: prone to self-deceiving rushes of adrenaline, but ultimately, doomed to crash and burn.
If I could sum up Josh Williams’ superb new book Data Game in one line it's this: why did Rodgers' Liverpool fall apart, while Klopp's team achieved a more sustainable success? The secret is simple. Brendan Rodgers wanted to run the club as a one-man-show, with him as the one-man. There are some old-fashioned football pundits who tell you that the buck should stop with the manager. They are disappearing. Data Game tracks the football world as it leaves that philosophy behind, to the point that the term "manager" has almost become meaningless. Perhaps one day, fans will as be interested in the appointment of their new data research team, and maybe media duties will be shared, and the cult of the manager will be dead.
Rodgers has always been something of a puzzle to me. In many of his clubs, he has pulled off remarkable overachievements. As well as his infamous near-miss with Liverpool, he twice missed out on Champions League qualification with Leicester City. "Nearly" is the key word. Williams does not share my confusion. For him, Rodgers is an egomaniac, plain and simple. It was more Luis Suarez who brought Liverpool to the cusp of glory. Rodgers stifled Liverpool's transfer policy by refusing to work with a committee. He was appeased on useless signings like Christian Benteke. His penchant for aesthetically pleasing players who lacked physical strength lead to a lightweight squad. His tactical principles changed with the seasons. Also the guy had a massive portrait of himself in his house. Weird man.
Liverpool's background team sized up Klopp and determined whether he would be open to a more collaborative approach. He indicated that yes, he would, and Liverpool pounced. If you are in any doubt about the validity of transfer committees, hear this: if Klopp had been the main man, Liverpool would never have signed Mo Salah. On gut feeling, Klopp wanted another player, Julian Brandt. The stats team convinced him that Mo Salah was an extraordinary player, undervalued, because of his misleading time at Chelsea. Klopp relented. That worked out okay.
Knowing what to ignore is a crucial part of decision making. And very difficult. It applies to life too. Think about the toxic people you have met along your journey. The red flags were there. But how do you spot a red flag in advance? Klopp's final season at Borussia Dortmund was a disaster. At one point, the team was in the relegation zone. That could have been a red flag. Maybe Klopp was burned out. Maybe he was overrated. But Liverpool's research team uncovered that actually, that catastrophic season was more of a red herring than a red flag. The numbers told that Dortmund was just severely unlucky and occupying a false position.
Okay, okay, you're convinced that numbers are important in football. Most people are. What else does this book have going for it? I have been aware of Josh Williams for a while through his Analyzing Anfield podcast. He has a gift for knowing what stats are interesting and what are not. I could listen to him all day. In written form, he uses anecdote to make the numbers palatable, a la Michael Lewis. Some of the information on show here is unbelievable. In the past few years, Liverpool's recruiting team have become renowned for their nearly flawless hit rate. Lacking the financial heft of some of their rivals like Man City, Liverpool needed to innovate. And boy did they do that. The background team developed an animated software to analyze players in more depth, assess their passing tendencies, whether they are good decision-makers. This technology is the same that is used to track missiles. I'll repeat that. Liverpool use missile technology. I read that bit several times to make sure I had it right.
The term "moneyball" is used throughout, though I'm still not entirely sure what it means. It means different things to different people. To some, it seems to be a generic term for smart business. If somebody refers to a moneyball signing, I assume that means a player whose strengths are overlooked for irrelevant reasons. Their hairstyle, for example. Or a coach has spotted a useful strength in that player and developed a game plan to minimize their weakness. If I tell you Wataru Endo has been a moneyball signing, what I mean is that other clubs wouldn't touch him because he is old, at thirty, and pretty slow. Klopp signed him because of his ability to anticipate breaking balls. Dirty ball, it's called in hurling. Other clubs underestimated him. He was cheap. Voila.
Josh Williams own story is almost as interesting as Jurgen Klopp's. Williams was unhappy in his job at a supermarket when he started tweeting about football tactics. This lead to a job in sports journalism with the Liverpool Echo. I recently read on Williams' Substack that he has been made redundant this year. So he's out on his own, a DIY journalist, like most journalists these days. It's a scary tale, but inspiring too, for those of us who have to make our way without college qualifications. Or are armored with useless degrees. I think Williams will be okay, though. He is set for big things.
If you enjoy my writing, you can find more, all for free, right here: https://substack.com/@spencerlynch?ut...
My manic phase coincided with Liverpool's bizarre upturn in form in the 13/14 Premier League season. Under the tutelage of Brendan Rodgers, a manager known for burning bright and fast, my beloved team came within an inch of winning the title for the first time in a quarter of a century. That Liverpool team reminds me of my sixteen-year-old self: prone to self-deceiving rushes of adrenaline, but ultimately, doomed to crash and burn.
If I could sum up Josh Williams’ superb new book Data Game in one line it's this: why did Rodgers' Liverpool fall apart, while Klopp's team achieved a more sustainable success? The secret is simple. Brendan Rodgers wanted to run the club as a one-man-show, with him as the one-man. There are some old-fashioned football pundits who tell you that the buck should stop with the manager. They are disappearing. Data Game tracks the football world as it leaves that philosophy behind, to the point that the term "manager" has almost become meaningless. Perhaps one day, fans will as be interested in the appointment of their new data research team, and maybe media duties will be shared, and the cult of the manager will be dead.
Rodgers has always been something of a puzzle to me. In many of his clubs, he has pulled off remarkable overachievements. As well as his infamous near-miss with Liverpool, he twice missed out on Champions League qualification with Leicester City. "Nearly" is the key word. Williams does not share my confusion. For him, Rodgers is an egomaniac, plain and simple. It was more Luis Suarez who brought Liverpool to the cusp of glory. Rodgers stifled Liverpool's transfer policy by refusing to work with a committee. He was appeased on useless signings like Christian Benteke. His penchant for aesthetically pleasing players who lacked physical strength lead to a lightweight squad. His tactical principles changed with the seasons. Also the guy had a massive portrait of himself in his house. Weird man.
Liverpool's background team sized up Klopp and determined whether he would be open to a more collaborative approach. He indicated that yes, he would, and Liverpool pounced. If you are in any doubt about the validity of transfer committees, hear this: if Klopp had been the main man, Liverpool would never have signed Mo Salah. On gut feeling, Klopp wanted another player, Julian Brandt. The stats team convinced him that Mo Salah was an extraordinary player, undervalued, because of his misleading time at Chelsea. Klopp relented. That worked out okay.
Knowing what to ignore is a crucial part of decision making. And very difficult. It applies to life too. Think about the toxic people you have met along your journey. The red flags were there. But how do you spot a red flag in advance? Klopp's final season at Borussia Dortmund was a disaster. At one point, the team was in the relegation zone. That could have been a red flag. Maybe Klopp was burned out. Maybe he was overrated. But Liverpool's research team uncovered that actually, that catastrophic season was more of a red herring than a red flag. The numbers told that Dortmund was just severely unlucky and occupying a false position.
Okay, okay, you're convinced that numbers are important in football. Most people are. What else does this book have going for it? I have been aware of Josh Williams for a while through his Analyzing Anfield podcast. He has a gift for knowing what stats are interesting and what are not. I could listen to him all day. In written form, he uses anecdote to make the numbers palatable, a la Michael Lewis. Some of the information on show here is unbelievable. In the past few years, Liverpool's recruiting team have become renowned for their nearly flawless hit rate. Lacking the financial heft of some of their rivals like Man City, Liverpool needed to innovate. And boy did they do that. The background team developed an animated software to analyze players in more depth, assess their passing tendencies, whether they are good decision-makers. This technology is the same that is used to track missiles. I'll repeat that. Liverpool use missile technology. I read that bit several times to make sure I had it right.
The term "moneyball" is used throughout, though I'm still not entirely sure what it means. It means different things to different people. To some, it seems to be a generic term for smart business. If somebody refers to a moneyball signing, I assume that means a player whose strengths are overlooked for irrelevant reasons. Their hairstyle, for example. Or a coach has spotted a useful strength in that player and developed a game plan to minimize their weakness. If I tell you Wataru Endo has been a moneyball signing, what I mean is that other clubs wouldn't touch him because he is old, at thirty, and pretty slow. Klopp signed him because of his ability to anticipate breaking balls. Dirty ball, it's called in hurling. Other clubs underestimated him. He was cheap. Voila.
Josh Williams own story is almost as interesting as Jurgen Klopp's. Williams was unhappy in his job at a supermarket when he started tweeting about football tactics. This lead to a job in sports journalism with the Liverpool Echo. I recently read on Williams' Substack that he has been made redundant this year. So he's out on his own, a DIY journalist, like most journalists these days. It's a scary tale, but inspiring too, for those of us who have to make our way without college qualifications. Or are armored with useless degrees. I think Williams will be okay, though. He is set for big things.
If you enjoy my writing, you can find more, all for free, right here: https://substack.com/@spencerlynch?ut...
January 14, 2025
A book that delves into the backroom stages of one of the biggest clubs in football history. Giving great insights through storytelling on how Liverpool went from a football club without any clear vision to a data-driven club where decisions were made with the finest of margins.
The interesting part is experiencing the evolution of the club from a supporters view to getting the inside-information on how the club proceeded in a variety of situations. Also being able to look back on what had happened as well as knowing what will happen in the upcoming season (23/24) with Klopp´s departure and Edwards re-hired it is taking an interesting turn in how things are working behind the scenes.
This book gave me some ideas on how I can run my own analytical company and how data can thrive in the world of football. Referencing some good sources I can deep-dive into for the coming year is truly remarkable that would not be a possibility without going through this book.
The interesting part is experiencing the evolution of the club from a supporters view to getting the inside-information on how the club proceeded in a variety of situations. Also being able to look back on what had happened as well as knowing what will happen in the upcoming season (23/24) with Klopp´s departure and Edwards re-hired it is taking an interesting turn in how things are working behind the scenes.
This book gave me some ideas on how I can run my own analytical company and how data can thrive in the world of football. Referencing some good sources I can deep-dive into for the coming year is truly remarkable that would not be a possibility without going through this book.
July 13, 2025
Τι κοινό έχει μια πρωταθλήτρια ομάδα ποδοσφαίρου με μια επιχείρηση που ξεχωρίζει;
Τα σωστά δεδομένα.
Το Data Game: The Story of Liverpool FC’s Analytics Revolution καταγράφει για το πώς η Liverpool ανέβηκε στην κορυφή όχι με φανταχτερά ονόματα και ακριβές μεταγραφές, αλλά με ακρίβεια, στρατηγική και πίστη στη δύναμη των αριθμών.
Μέσα από την συναρπαστική αφήγηση του Josh Williams, το βιβλίο μετατρέπεται σε case study για κάθε επαγγελματία σε οποιονδήποτε χώρο δραστηριοποιείται:
Πώς να παίρνεις αποφάσεις βάσει δεδομένων.
Πώς να φτιάχνεις μια ομάδα που να κερδίζει.
Πώς να πετυχαίνεις χωρίς να ξοδεύεις άσκοπα.
Το ποδόσφαιρο, τελικά, δεν απέχει τόσο από τον κόσμο των επιχειρήσεων.
Αρκεί να ξέρεις πού να κοιτάξεις.
Με μια λέξη βιβλίο-εργαλείο επιτυχίας!
Τα σωστά δεδομένα.
Το Data Game: The Story of Liverpool FC’s Analytics Revolution καταγράφει για το πώς η Liverpool ανέβηκε στην κορυφή όχι με φανταχτερά ονόματα και ακριβές μεταγραφές, αλλά με ακρίβεια, στρατηγική και πίστη στη δύναμη των αριθμών.
Μέσα από την συναρπαστική αφήγηση του Josh Williams, το βιβλίο μετατρέπεται σε case study για κάθε επαγγελματία σε οποιονδήποτε χώρο δραστηριοποιείται:
Πώς να παίρνεις αποφάσεις βάσει δεδομένων.
Πώς να φτιάχνεις μια ομάδα που να κερδίζει.
Πώς να πετυχαίνεις χωρίς να ξοδεύεις άσκοπα.
Το ποδόσφαιρο, τελικά, δεν απέχει τόσο από τον κόσμο των επιχειρήσεων.
Αρκεί να ξέρεις πού να κοιτάξεις.
Με μια λέξη βιβλίο-εργαλείο επιτυχίας!
May 9, 2024
Good book about the behind the scenes data revolution at Liverpool which aids the understanding of how they got to where they are. Also helps understand how data is affecting and helping football and what it may look like in the future.
October 26, 2024
Quite a good read all round this - really interesting look behind the scenes, starting from the beginning of the FSG era and forward to today. A little bit too much jargon at times, and would probably need to be a Liverpool supporter to fully enjoy, but still not bad at all.
December 28, 2024
Informative if nothing else. Breezy read recounting the adoption of data-driven methodologies to football recruitment, scouting, performance analysis, and the bottom-up influence within those organizations.
January 10, 2025
Fun read. Tells the story of Liverpool's 21st century through the lens of data and decision-making. The book introduces a lot of cool ideas and concepts which I wish were built on further but the limitations in what is publicly available makes it understandable
Read
May 16, 2025Pretty solid overview of the data analytics revolution under FSG’s ownership at Liverpool. A sound introduction to the topic but can’t I learned much of anything I didn’t already know. Nonetheless, an enjoyable primer on both data analytics in soccer and Liverpool’s operations.
September 25, 2024
Little information that isn't already widely available
April 9, 2025
Bit meandering. Interesting but doesn't quite make it.
April 18, 2025
Me ha resultado muy interesante. Muy bien contado.
April 10, 2024
In a world of so much football discussion being geared towards getting clicks by talking about outlandish transfer nonsense and hyperbole it's always refreshing when you come across the exact opposite.
Having listened to Josh regularly on Analysing Anfield and The Anfield Wrap I was not surprised at all to find this book incredibly insightful, detailed and entertaining.
In an industry where most people sound like kids talking Fifa on the back of the bus on the way home from school, Josh (like most TAW contributors) makes his work engaging but gets your brain working too.
A thoroughly great read.
Having listened to Josh regularly on Analysing Anfield and The Anfield Wrap I was not surprised at all to find this book incredibly insightful, detailed and entertaining.
In an industry where most people sound like kids talking Fifa on the back of the bus on the way home from school, Josh (like most TAW contributors) makes his work engaging but gets your brain working too.
A thoroughly great read.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews