Why is football so hard to analyse?

Summary by Krater

This video explains why football is so much harder to analyse using data than discrete sports like cricket and baseball, due to its continuous nature and the massive number of permutations.

From the video

Answers: Why is football so hard to analyse?

• football analytics
• sports data
• discrete vs continuous sports
• expected goals
• moneyball

What it concludes

• Football is much harder to analyse than discrete sports because it is a continuous sport with sequences of play that do not have a set beginning or end.
• The data and permutations in football quickly become incalculable due to the continuous flow of play and lack of stoppages.
• While data has helped football teams with recruitment and player styles, data has had a more limited impact on determining style of play compared to discrete sports.
• Continuous sports like football, Australian rules football, and ice hockey will always be more immune to the data revolution than discrete sports.