mark thompson
@markposts.bsky.social
data software engineer @ Twenty3 Sports || sport for all || (he/him) || ⚽🎾💻📰🏎️🤖
Reposted by mark thompson
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
November 24, 2025 at 5:54 PM
I see some book piracy discourse, and, to make a positive argument in favor of buying books, your marginal ability to influence what books get published and support the careers of writers you like is massive compared to most other forms of media.
Basically the best narrative end to qualifying you could have
November 29, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Basically the best narrative end to qualifying you could have
hey, black cats are unlucky for people who encounter them, not the black cats themselves
Sunderland's run hot is starting to get a little ridiculous now
November 29, 2025 at 5:44 PM
hey, black cats are unlucky for people who encounter them, not the black cats themselves
There's a lotta metrics being sold and often not much research to hand about them
and a serious q: of which current analytical trend are you most sceptical?
November 29, 2025 at 1:43 PM
There's a lotta metrics being sold and often not much research to hand about them
[how diplomatic to be...]
and a serious q: of which current analytical trend are you most sceptical?
November 29, 2025 at 1:31 PM
[how diplomatic to be...]
yeah, this is a good point. xG was both relatively low-hanging fruit *and* a very large and nutritious fruit.
I think what's difficult here too is that a lot of data tells a stylistic story and good/bad execution of that, whereas the game is about goals, those tend to come from shots, so that's where the clear and easy to explain value lies.
November 29, 2025 at 1:26 PM
yeah, this is a good point. xG was both relatively low-hanging fruit *and* a very large and nutritious fruit.
There's some interesting stuff that Statsbomb have published with their data around players and space [link in next post]. It can get trickier than you'd think to divide things up _right_ though, which I think is why we haven't seen more of it. e.g. when does it matter/not if a player is marked
I don't know if they have this in the fancy paid stats packages, but I've always thought maybe a rolling 'distance from nearest opp player' could be interesting. See who's finding space going forwards and marking tightly in defence. Not sure how useful it could be
November 29, 2025 at 1:22 PM
There's some interesting stuff that Statsbomb have published with their data around players and space [link in next post]. It can get trickier than you'd think to divide things up _right_ though, which I think is why we haven't seen more of it. e.g. when does it matter/not if a player is marked
I don't think anything will be as big a 'nerd-to-mainstream' thing as xG, but I think the most similar will be something around running data. If you want a nerd angle, probably something around types and locations of press being applied
What is the next big idea (xG etc) that you think is going to make the leap from the nerd sphere to graphics on MOTD in the next 18 months?
November 29, 2025 at 1:13 PM
I don't think anything will be as big a 'nerd-to-mainstream' thing as xG, but I think the most similar will be something around running data. If you want a nerd angle, probably something around types and locations of press being applied
Hosting Match of the Day
What would it take for you to an actual human photo of yourself to your social media profile?
November 29, 2025 at 1:06 PM
Hosting Match of the Day
Acceleration and decelerations, along with speed reached during them; if you can combine it with 'successful' pressure being applied from a far-off starting point then even better. Also, a lack of drop-off in those speed burst metrics despite other possible fatigue markers
what stat do you think most accurately captures which team "wants it more"?
November 29, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Acceleration and decelerations, along with speed reached during them; if you can combine it with 'successful' pressure being applied from a far-off starting point then even better. Also, a lack of drop-off in those speed burst metrics despite other possible fatigue markers
'how can a team win more football matches'
What kind of off limits football stats questions did you have in mind when you added the “almost”
November 29, 2025 at 1:01 PM
'how can a team win more football matches'
Field Tilt is the share of final third passes that a team has. (If Team A has 90 and Team B has 45, Team A will have 67% field tilt).
It's kind of a reaction to teams who possess the ball a lot in their own half. Final third is used partly because it's a stat that's usually readily available.
It's kind of a reaction to teams who possess the ball a lot in their own half. Final third is used partly because it's a stat that's usually readily available.
🙋🏻♂️ I don’t understand what Field Tilt is.
Is it just ‘territory’ as a percentage or more clever than that?
Is it just ‘territory’ as a percentage or more clever than that?
November 29, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Field Tilt is the share of final third passes that a team has. (If Team A has 90 and Team B has 45, Team A will have 67% field tilt).
It's kind of a reaction to teams who possess the ball a lot in their own half. Final third is used partly because it's a stat that's usually readily available.
It's kind of a reaction to teams who possess the ball a lot in their own half. Final third is used partly because it's a stat that's usually readily available.
Irregular bluesky ask-me-(almost)-anything on football stats. What d'you wanna know? What're you curious about? What stat do people use that leaves you going '(wait, what?)'?
November 29, 2025 at 12:31 PM
Irregular bluesky ask-me-(almost)-anything on football stats. What d'you wanna know? What're you curious about? What stat do people use that leaves you going '(wait, what?)'?
Reposted by mark thompson
These are our six campaign pledges - the things we will do next year if we manage to add 1,000 new members. They were chosen by our readers because they’re things we believe will make Manchester better.
Share them and join the campaign 🙏
manchestermill.co.uk
Share them and join the campaign 🙏
manchestermill.co.uk
November 27, 2025 at 8:24 AM
These are our six campaign pledges - the things we will do next year if we manage to add 1,000 new members. They were chosen by our readers because they’re things we believe will make Manchester better.
Share them and join the campaign 🙏
manchestermill.co.uk
Share them and join the campaign 🙏
manchestermill.co.uk
'Sally Langston's Liberty Report monologues as [evidently unreliable] narrator' is a narration technique up there with the Star Wars opening crawl
November 27, 2025 at 8:15 PM
'Sally Langston's Liberty Report monologues as [evidently unreliable] narrator' is a narration technique up there with the Star Wars opening crawl
As someone who works with football data, may I submit an amendment that dictates a clear and limited set of available formations too?
When I am Emperor of Soccer I will make a law that all football lineup graphics have to be displayed in formation order, not numerical.
November 26, 2025 at 7:41 PM
As someone who works with football data, may I submit an amendment that dictates a clear and limited set of available formations too?
Gotta throw up those alley-oops because you never know if one day you'll be the one dunking them
Past me made StatsBomb data available for free to all women's clubs in the major leagues.
Which future me was very happy about (but also slightly confused), because our analysts were using SB vis, and I knew we didn't have a contract! 🤣
Which future me was very happy about (but also slightly confused), because our analysts were using SB vis, and I knew we didn't have a contract! 🤣
November 26, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Gotta throw up those alley-oops because you never know if one day you'll be the one dunking them
There's a small niche of people who are interested in the blunder stories of the women's League Cup draw *and* the Budget, and I wanna see the ad targeting to that specific segment
November 26, 2025 at 12:49 PM
There's a small niche of people who are interested in the blunder stories of the women's League Cup draw *and* the Budget, and I wanna see the ad targeting to that specific segment
Champions League group phase should have bonus points
November 25, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Champions League group phase should have bonus points
I feel like, if I was prompt-coding a project, I'd create/find something that would randomly throw me a 'code agent blocked' for 20 minutes. Switching to actual coding will be a gear change, but if you can't even _navigate_ the code, you're too far removed
November 25, 2025 at 9:18 PM
I feel like, if I was prompt-coding a project, I'd create/find something that would randomly throw me a 'code agent blocked' for 20 minutes. Switching to actual coding will be a gear change, but if you can't even _navigate_ the code, you're too far removed
Premier League teams that have no more than 20 points and no fewer than 18 points
Crystal Palace
Brighton
Sunderland
Bournemouth
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United
Everton
Liverpool
Crystal Palace
Brighton
Sunderland
Bournemouth
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United
Everton
Liverpool
November 24, 2025 at 10:02 PM
Premier League teams that have no more than 20 points and no fewer than 18 points
Crystal Palace
Brighton
Sunderland
Bournemouth
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United
Everton
Liverpool
Crystal Palace
Brighton
Sunderland
Bournemouth
Tottenham Hotspur
Manchester United
Everton
Liverpool
One of those 'once you see it you can't unsee it' things I like is when a player receives a pass in a 'valuable location' but they're facing neither the goal nor any teammates
November 24, 2025 at 9:36 PM
One of those 'once you see it you can't unsee it' things I like is when a player receives a pass in a 'valuable location' but they're facing neither the goal nor any teammates
'whole bunch of shots centrally, between 12-18 yards' feels like an intriguingly uncommon shot map pattern too
Only two players in the Premier League (Haaland and Mateta) have taken more shots this season than Eberechi Eze. He averages more shots per 90 than most elite strikers and significantly more than anyone else on Arsenal.
Eze, just what Arsenal needed. www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/...
Eze, just what Arsenal needed. www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/...
November 24, 2025 at 1:14 PM
'whole bunch of shots centrally, between 12-18 yards' feels like an intriguingly uncommon shot map pattern too
Reposted by mark thompson
Why Eddie Howe switched Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes in the 2-1 victory against Manchester City, and how it empowered Newcastle's attacking transitions.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...
The crucial Tonali/Guimaraes switch that helped Newcastle beat Manchester City
After a difficult period, Eddie Howe enjoyed a tactically-successful evening on Saturday
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Why Eddie Howe switched Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes in the 2-1 victory against Manchester City, and how it empowered Newcastle's attacking transitions.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/683...
I'm at the luckier end of the distribution, but blogging about football data helped get me my first job writing about football online, and the skills to then just-about-manage a career switch to building sports tech
November 24, 2025 at 12:02 PM
I'm at the luckier end of the distribution, but blogging about football data helped get me my first job writing about football online, and the skills to then just-about-manage a career switch to building sports tech