Conor Chaplin, a midfielder for Ipswich Town, feels that statistics and analysis play a significant role in modern football, but their use is crucial for maximum effect.
Many players have discussed Kieran McKenna’s halftime team talks, stating that lectures about how to get better after the break are followed by the showing of first half footage.
Despite the fact that this is rapidly spreading throughout the sport, Ipswich appear to gain a great deal from it. They frequently exhibit a significant improvement both before and after halftime, having gained more points from losing situations than any other team in the Championship.
Chaplin said that this wasn’t typical when he first began playing football professionally, but his time at Barnsley—where they finished sixth in the Championship in 2020–21 under Valerien Ismael—showed him what could be accomplished with the correct backing from data and analysis.
“Really, it’s just football now,” he stated. It wasn’t a thing when I initially started coming through. Though analysis was done, in-game analysis plays a major role in making little adjustments, such as changing a shape or position. Small adjustments can have a significant impact.
Chaplin thinks that recent years have seen a shift in the application of statistics (Image: Ross Halls)
“It was only at Barnsley that I really encountered it, and even then, it was with foreign managers—Austrian managers. I believed at the time that it originated something from there. As a player, that was incredibly, really beneficial.
This time, it’s on a whole new level. Sometimes, when playing a game, you get the impression that things aren’t going your way or that everything is going well. When you make a change at halftime, the manager enters and displays us alongside the coaching staff. Usually, it has a significant impact.
“We’ve probably had a lot of success in the second halves of games because of this.”
Last weekend, at Preston, Kieffer Moore scored twice in the second half to help Ipswich Town mount a nearly successful comeback.Pagepix Ltd. image
Statistics are a different story. Although they have their uses, improper application of them might cause the game to become unduly complex. One statistic that illustrates the quality of opportunities is expected goals [xG], yet it is subject to variation based on several factors including the status of the game.
Although a team’s xG may naturally be higher when they are trailing by an early goal because they are battling to tie the score while the other team is defending their lead, this does not always indicate that one team is superior to the other.
Chaplin cites Maidstone United’s FA Cup loss as an example. The Blues exerted far more effort than their non-league rivals, but they were unable to capitalize on their opportunities and lost the game as a result. The final xG was 3.66 to 0.84 in Ipswich’s favor, although it didn’t really indicate anything except that they clearly won the game, which was irrelevant in the end.
This season, Kieran McKenna’s half-time analysis has been very influential (Image: Pagepix).
While Chaplin is eager to embrace the statistical side of the game, he understands that ultimately, scoring goals and winning football games are what matter most. Other statistics, like expected goals on target [xGOT] and passes per defensive action [PPDA], can also be helpful in the appropriate setting.
He clarified, “Some statistics are really educational, some of them are pointless.” It is dependent upon your role and individual performance. Many people utilize statistics to make themselves feel like experts in the game and that they have an opinion, even when they have no idea how much of an impact they truly have.
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You have to understand which ones are crucial as a player and as a person. If you’re unsure about that and want to know where the manager wants you to improve, you can chat with him about it. Figures such as that, for sure.
The largest one in the game right now is most likely xG. Frequently, the result is displayed with xG beneath, denoting the actual outcome. That is not how football operates.
“It’s probably advanced significantly since my initial appearance.”
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