METHODS: Source of data :

Statistical analysis : 4.3 RESULTS:

Part One - th e top team s : Team A :

Team B :

Part Two - the average team : Team C :

Part Three - poorer team s : Team D :

Team E :

4.4 DISCUSSION:

Free play analysis : Comparison analysis : Shooting analysis : Set plays analysis : Summary :

Chapter Four

4.1 INTRODUCTION :

Much of the dissatisfaction with a team’s performance arises from the tactical strategy employed. Soccer managers, coaches and other interested parties, including fans, are critical of errors made by the players, such as failure to select successful options at free-kicks or comers. Thom son (1985) emphasises the role of m atch analysis in the coaching process by stating that:

All coaches are analyzers (if not analysts). Even if th e scope of th e ir analysis is conU ned to su b jectiv e Judgm ents based on w hat th e y w itnessed, perform ance analysis is an essential aspect of every coach's job.

Keen analysts are able to pinpoint weaknesses such as too few attacks along the wings or too few scoring opportunities created (Reep and Benjamin 1968; Bate 1988; Banister et al. 1973). These problems may be the result of poor team composition, but are largely due to game strategy. The frequency of complaints and debate concerning team performance in these areas show the complex nature of the game, and the importance of making players fully aware of the extent of tactical capabilities in soccer.

A large num ber of variables with a high degree of player choice of action, combined with a relatively high uncertainty of other player's actions, multiple player interactions and unpredictable game patterns are typical features which apply especially to complex team sports such as soccer. Indeed part of the fascination of soccer is the conjecture generated among spectators about w hat might have been the outcome had a particular alternative strategy been adopted. Keen observers tend to form independent subjective opinions about the determ inants of a game's progress and generally they vary greatly in

Chapter Four their conclusions.

The aim of this chapter is to identify attacking patterns of play and assess their success for each team. The main questions are:

(i) Are there similar patterns of play for all team s ?

(ii) Do different patterns of play produce different results ?

(iii) Which are the m ore im portant end results and which p atterns of play produce them ?

(iv) Do these successful patterns of play occur equally in hom e and away matches ?

(v) Is th e successful p attern of play seen equally in good and poor team s ?

4.2 METHODS :

The notational method and the field work for this study were explained in detail in Chapter Two Section II.

Source of data :

Data were collected on five Scottish premier soccer league teams. Attacking moves were analysed at home and away matches during the

soccer season 1987-1988 (see Table 4.1).

The reason for choosing the above teams was to select two top team s (represented by teams A and B), one average team (represented by team C) and two poorer teams (represented by teams D and E). It should be noted that these teams were seeded according to their past three league season records.

The aim was to analyse forty games, involving eight matches at home and eight matches away for each team. As can be seen from Table 4.1,

Table 4.1

Matches and results of the team s whose attacking moves were analysed

Home M a tc h e s W o n Team A D r a w n Lost Home Away M a tc h e s Team B _{W o n} D r a w n Lost Home M a tc h e s Team C W o n D ra w n Lost Home M a tc h e s W o n Team D D r a w n Lost Home M a tc h e s Team R _{W o n} D r a w n Lost

Chapter Four only thirty-seven matches were analysed. Some teams have only been analysed at seven matches at home and/or at seven matches away. This problem arose because matches coincided on the same day.

It is clearly shown from Table 4.1 that team A had the best record of winning m atches at home and away, and its performance was consistent in both situations, whereas teams B and C have fairly similar results overall, with team C performing better at home than in away m atches. The poorer team s D and E had the worst record and they lost most of their matches at home and away. Team D had better results at home than away whereas team E performed consistently poorly in both situations. The tables of results for each team are presented in Appendix A 2:1 pp. 385-390.

Statistical analysis :

Using the live m atch analysis technique which was outlined in Chapter Two Section II, data were obtained from thirty-seven matches of the Scottish Premier League during the 1987-1988 season. All the attacking moves at home and away matches were separated for each team. These were subjected to visual cluster analysis according to the technique outlined in Chapter Two Section II, thereby similar patterns of attack were identified as shown in Figure 4,1. Each pattern of play represented a num ber of attacks. However, there were a num ber of attacking moves which emerged firom the analysis of patterns of play for aU teams, as shown in Figure 4.1, which were unique in that they have little in common with other moves. Since these moves were unique, they were excluded from the analysis. The graphs of free attacks for each team are presented in Appendix A 2:2 pp. 392-401.

Having obtained the attacking patterns of play for all the teams during their home and away matches, they were categorised by one of

Figure 4.1

Idealised example of a graph, showing attacking movements. The four clusters represent similar movement patterns of play. The few unique attacking moves have little in common with other moves.

19 1400 1200 44 • 41 28 #31 1000--- ₃₅ 30 • • 4 8 #3 ₈₀₀ 37 45 • 24 600 200____ 12 16 20b 400 600 800 -800 -600 -400 -200 -1000 1000 -200 -400 34 27 42 38 47 _-600--- 43 29 20 46 -1200 26 -1400--- Note r

• Moves within a cluster demonstrating a pattern of play.

* Moves which are unique having little in common with other moves. (i.e. moves 12, 16, 19 & 26)

Chapter Four ten final actions (as shown in Chapter Two Table 2.8) and subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS-X (Nic et al. 1975) to see if there are any significant relationships between patterns of play and final actions.

4.3 RESULTS:

For a clearer understanding of the results of this study, the results of each team were first treated individually and analysed as follows:

Part One - the top team s : Team A :

During the soccer season 1987-1988 the team was analysed playing seven matches at home and eight matches away (see Table 4.1). For the purpose of analysis the team's attacking performance at home was separated from its attacking performance away and the two were analysed in the following manner: