That thing you thought? Think the opposite.

OptaJoe's Football Yearbook 2016

The football annual reinvented for the 21st Century – a myth-busting, entertaining guide full of cutting-edge analysis.

For anybody interested in football this is pure nectar.

The wealth of information Opta have at their fingertips makes them the finest resource in football

You'll love this if you love football trivia.

Thankfully, readers of OJFY should ensure that the calibre of football opinion improves.

Duncan Alexander is the co-founder of the OptaJoe Twitter account, one of Britain’s top football statisticians and commentators who has almost 1m followers. He live tweets during games with his trademark blend of incisive analysis and droll humour. He works for Perform, one of the world's leading digital sports content and media companies. 
His first book, OptaJoe’s Football Yearbook was published in 2016. 
 
Follow Duncan on Twitter @OptaJoe and @oilysailor.

Kane or Vardy? 
Pep or José? 
Pulis or … anybody else? 
 
 Football is a game of opinions. A world where received wisdom and the law of the hunch reign supreme. But football is becoming more intelligent. The history books may say that Leicester City winning the premier league ‘defied logic’, but if you looked more closely, they were always going to win . . . 
 
 From distances run to pass success rate, shots on target to corners won, counter-attacks to tackles made, Opta, the world’s leading sports data company, records everything. But what does it all mean? And how can it add to our love of the game? 
 
 From the author and statistician behind the popular OptaJoe Twitter account, what follows is a hugely entertaining and insightful guide to football in 2016, analysing data from the world's greatest teams, players, leagues and tournaments. 
 
Stats can never tell us everything, but combining cutting-edge analysis with wry humour, this book debunks countless myths peddled by pundits, managers, and even players. The ideas that follow are both surprising and satisfying, but may also leave you with the feeling that ‘yes, that’s what I was thinking all along’.

Duncan Alexander

Duncan Alexander delivers his now trademark blend of dry humour and statistical insight in a format that works well.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, it is one of the best books I have read this year or indeed any year

Freakonomics for football, and it’s great fun

Plenty of statistical gems to keep fact-collectors out of mischief for months . . . an enjoyable and entertaining read

Through the numbers Alexander offers some fun snippets, while providing understanding of the game

Independent, 10 Best Football Books of the Year 2017

A Statistical Journey through the History of Football

In football, numbers are everywhere. From touches in the opposition box to expected goals, clear-cut chances to win-loss ratios. 
 
In the modern game, these numbers help provide the narrative, the drama, and the conversation. They are scrutinised in order to justify results and to predict future outcomes. They even dictate transfer policy and drive clubs to achieve the impossible. 
 
But when did the numbers become so important and what do they mean? 
 
In Outside the Box, Duncan Alexander looks back at twenty-five years of the Premier League and beyond, uncovering the hidden truths and accepted myths that surround the game. Using the archives of OptaJoe and never-before-seen data, we discover why Liverpool have gone 27 years without winning a league title and why Lionel Messi is the best player in the game’s history. Or is he? 
 
Insightful, wry, and hugely entertaining, Outside the Box is an enlightening and accessible account of football across the decades, analysing data from the some of the greatest seasons, players, teams and managers.

Outside the Box

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Duncan Alexander

Praise for Outside the Box

Duncan Alexander delivers his now trademark blend of dry humour and statistical insight in a format that works well.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, it is one of the best books I have read this year or indeed any year

Freakonomics for football, and it’s great fun

Duncan Alexander delivers his now trademark blend of dry humour and statistical insight in a format that works well.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, it is one of the best books I have read this year or indeed any year

Freakonomics for football, and it’s great fun

Duncan Alexander delivers his now trademark blend of dry humour and statistical insight in a format that works well.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough, it is one of the best books I have read this year or indeed any year

Freakonomics for football, and it’s great fun

Books by Duncan Alexander

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