Can statistics be used to accurately model scenarios, size up opponents and predict likely outcomes in football? These were some of the issues under discussion in a recent podcast aired by Scottish football periodical Nutmeg Magazine featuring Nottingham University Business School's Dr Rob Webb, football scout and freelance journalist Greg Gordon and football statistician and blogger Dougie Wright.
Rob commented: "There are sticking points with quants in football. Managers are seduced by reducing uncertainty in outcome (as we all are) and that is what they feel they’re buying. I’m not convinced that they fully understand what the modelling means, or that how it is interpreted is a matter of opinion rather than a matter of objective fact."
Rob is well placed to comment on the pros and cons of the use of statistics in football given one of his primary research interests is organisational attitudes towards risk and how this affects their behaviour and performance. Rob is Associate Professor in Banking and a key member of the Business School's collaborative research think tank, the Centre for Risk, Banking and Financial Services. He is also a keen follower of the beautiful game - currently a scout in Scottish football and formerly played to a high level as a junior with both the Leeds and Nottingham Forest academies.
Listen to the podcast
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