Guest Posted November 29, 2017 I'm sure some of you have heard and seen at least 1 of their statistics. Its a football observatory and they post all sorts of interesting stats. Relevant? Debatable. Interesting for sure though. Here are some for the World Cup. Average age Height Players born abroad (Portugal's is fucking high!) Players playing abroad Employer associations Full link is here https://www.football-observatory.com/?lang=en Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted November 29, 2017 From a Peru point of view, these seem accurate, although players born abroad at 4%? There were a few but they are not on the NT anymore. That got me seriously thinking. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stan 10,389 Posted November 29, 2017 One reason why England won't/don't perform that well at major tournaments - the lack of players playing abroad. The fact it's at 0.0% speaks volumes. Germany is next biggest team but lowest percentage, but relatively 32% is still high. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nudge 8,373 Posted November 29, 2017 7 minutes ago, Stan said: One reason why England won't/don't perform that well at major tournaments - the lack of players playing abroad. The fact it's at 0.0% speaks volumes. Germany is next biggest team but lowest percentage, but relatively 32% is still high. I'm curious how is that related to performing well at major tournaments though, especially considering the success of the Premier League? Do you reckon that spending a few seasons abroad is beneficial for broadening players' perspectives and making them more complete on and off the pitch? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted November 29, 2017 Just now, nudge said: I'm curious how is that related to performing well at major tournaments though, especially considering the success of the Premier League? Do you reckon that spending a few seasons abroad is beneficial for broadening players' perspectives and making them more complete on and off the pitch? I mentioned this to Danny several times but I think one of the big problems in English football is the reluctance to accept that other football nations have different traditions. However, I do think that English players should go abroad due to the fact that the PL is a joke at developing players, especially the English. They aren't taken seriously enough and these teams are more focused on marketing the club for a foreign audience. I think Dier made a really smart decision in going to Portugal. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stan 10,389 Posted November 29, 2017 22 minutes ago, nudge said: I'm curious how is that related to performing well at major tournaments though, especially considering the success of the Premier League? Do you reckon that spending a few seasons abroad is beneficial for broadening players' perspectives and making them more complete on and off the pitch? I believe it to be somewhat beneficial, yes. Understanding first-hand how the game is played at a different level and different way of playing. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Smiley Culture 1,339 Posted November 29, 2017 Any stats for how good sides are at kicking the ball into the goal, seeing as, ultimately, that's the only stat that matters come the final whistle? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites