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OptaJoe's Football Yearbook 2016
OptaJoe's Football Yearbook 2016
Nov 7, 2024 8:11 PM

Author:Duncan Alexander

OptaJoe's Football Yearbook 2016

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’.

Reviews

For anybody interested in football this is pure nectar.

—— Evening Standard

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

—— Guardian

You'll love this if you love football trivia.

—— BBC 5 Live

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

—— News North Wales

Remarkable ... a stark and searingly honest memoir

—— the42.ie

Students of Gaelic football will be intrigued by his account of the rivalry with Cluxton, arguably the most important player of modern times

—— Sunday Times

A great read. Honest and really well written

—— Conor McKeon

A fine read

—— Damian Lawlor

John Leonard's brutally honest account of a road less travelled and his time as understudy to iconic Dubs keeper Stephen Cluxton transcends sport.

—— Irish Independent

Engaging, honest, sad and frightening in places - ultimately raw and real. Couldn't put it down

—— Ryle Nugent , RTÉ

Outstanding. Can't recommend it highly enough. Instant classic.

—— Joe Molloy

Compelling and ground-breaking

—— Dave Hannigan , Evening Echo

A must read

—— Loaded, Top 10 Books of 2015

Dub-Sub Confidential has already become a sort of handbook for anyone in sport struggling with mental health issues, and for good reason: not many footballers will openly confess to double-popping pills or turning up for training half blitzed. Yet Leonard is clearly in a better place now.

—— Ian O'Riordan , Irish Times

Searingly honest; funny and sad at the same time

—— Gavin Cummiskey

Filled with laugh-out-loud scenes and witty comments, alongside serious reflections on the consequences of the Communist dream and reminders of how disparate Europe still remains, this book was difficult to put down

—— Rhiannon Roy , Time & Leisure

He is quite, quite bonkers - and very funny

—— The Bookseller

Brilliant, bruising

—— Donal Ryan , Sunday Independent

This is so much more than the story of their journey – it’s a superbly written, endlessly fascinating book encompassing history, geology, landscape, family memories, wars experienced and lives well lived.

—— Choice Magazine

One of the most unexpected and enjoyable reads of 2016… The book fizzes erudition and is delightfully leavened by the companionship of his aged and doughty father.

—— Guardian, Readers' Book of the Year

A very funny book - not jovial in the post-Wodehouse Boris mode but something more taught and Caledonian... The politician in Stewart never had a chance against the writer, a reliable adversary of consensus and cant.

—— Minoo Dinshaw , Oldie

Beautiful, evocative, and wise.

—— Malcolm Forbes , Star Tribune

The Marches is a transporting work from a powerful and original writer.

—— Harvard Press

This beautifully written account is a moving memoir of tales from along the route but also reflections on life and relationships – father and son on this their last journey together.

—— Prospect

Rory Stewart is one of the most talented men of our era. The Marches takes us from Rory’s constituency to his family house is an attempt to understand the bloody history of the Scottish borders… The quest is fascinating even if the answers are elusive.

—— Bruce Anderson , Spectator

As the book unfurls, the march along the marches turns into a eulogy to his father, part memoir, part biography, always a love story. It also contains one of the most unflinching, moving descriptions of death I have read.

—— Melanie Reid , The Times

This beautifully written book is a haunting reflection of identity and our relationships with the people and places we love.

—— Jane Shilling , Daily Mail

Stewart provides much food for thought about how we value our past history

—— Susannah Law , Scottish Field
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