Ryan O'Hanlon
American soccer writer at ESPN and author of Net Gains (2022), on soccer analytics and how the game is changing. Writes No Grass in the Clouds, a newsletter that now mostly gathers his ESPN pieces, with earlier long essays on European football.
Ryan O'Hanlon did not write this page.
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Their wordsSince then, the Premier League has become its own version of the NFL - a glittering weekly chaos-driver.
- 2 weeks earlier
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Their wordsYeah, he really might just be the best player in the world right now
↗No Grass in the Cloudsnograssintheclouds.substack.com 1st of 2 in this piece
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Their wordsThe fact that Messi only did it once suggests that Salah won't be able to keep this up for a full season, and so, too, do his underlying numbers.
↗No Grass in the Cloudsnograssintheclouds.substack.com 2nd of 2 in this piece
- 7 days earlier
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Their wordsMostly a combo of good goalkeeping, bad goalkeeping, and good luck.
↗No Grass in the Cloudsnograssintheclouds.substack.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsIn other words, against Chelsea this season, opposing keepers have made saves at a below average rate and opposing attackers have finished at a below-average rate -- less signs of a great team, and more something that's unlikely to continue.
↗No Grass in the Cloudsnograssintheclouds.substack.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsAs for the second way to look at it, there's a reason we've never really seen a team do what Chelsea did last season for a full year: it's not possible.
↗No Grass in the Cloudsnograssintheclouds.substack.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 3 months earlier
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Their wordsClubs across Europe are very slowly getting smarter, basing their decisions on semi-objective information rather than the institutional legends of "that's just how things have always been done".
↗No Grass in the Cloudsnograssintheclouds.substack.com 1st of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsI'd bet that the average shot distance from goal drops again this season
↗No Grass in the Cloudsnograssintheclouds.substack.com 2nd of 3 in this piece
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Their wordsI'd bet that more and more of the top-tier resources get directed toward players in their early 20s over the next half-decade.
↗No Grass in the Cloudsnograssintheclouds.substack.com 3rd of 3 in this piece
- 5 weeks earlier
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Our reading
Slower soccer can create more space and time for midfielders to influence match outcomes.
Their wordsSlower and worse soccer might not sound like fun, but it's created all kinds of new space and time for midfielders to influence the outcomes of matches.
↗No Grass in the Cloudsnograssintheclouds.substack.com 1st of 2 in this piece
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Their wordsAt the Euros, it's a lot easier for a midfielder to escape the Valley of Meh and directly affect goal-scoring because, well, the teams they're playing against just aren't as good.
↗No Grass in the Cloudsnograssintheclouds.substack.com 2nd of 2 in this piece