How to Win the Premier League

The Inside Story of Football’s Data Revolution

De: Ian Graham

Narrado por: Daniel Hawksford

Brought to you by Penguin.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND A FINANCIAL TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES AND TELEGRAPH BOOK OF THE YEAR 2024

The insider account of the data revolution that has swept through the modern football world written by one of its key architects, Ian Graham.

Between 2012 and 2023, Ian Graham worked as Liverpool FC's Director of Research. His tenure coincided with the club’s greatest period of success since the 1980s, including winning the Premier League in 2020 – Liverpool’s first league title after an agonising three decades.

Here for the first time, Graham reveals the fascinating data that informed some of the club’s most pivotal moments of the past decade, from the appointment of Jurgen Klopp as manager in 2015 to the signing of Mohamed Salah in 2017. Along the way, he shares groundbreaking insight into the modern game, including how a season largely played behind closed doors transformed our understanding of home team advantage, or why the GOAT (greatest of all time) might not be who you think. And, in a game that is increasingly dominated by an elite few, Graham charts a path for the future where a data-savvy competitor will always find the edge.

'The best book on football I have ever read' Daniel Finkelstein

'Fascinating and educational. An enjoyable and informative read' Sir Kenny Dalglish

'Deserves a place among the great modern books on football' Sam Wallace, chief football writer, Telegraph

©2024 Ian Graham (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Football by the Numbers

Great insights into just how randomly complex it is to evaluate European football. I’m a fan of Liverpool, so this book rang true for me.

interesting book about math

Great book. As an LFC fan I thoroughly enjoyed listening to how LFC led the way with data driven decision making.

Clear. Concise.

It’s great to read a football analytics book from the perspective of a club and decision maker.

Finally, the Moneyball book for football

Phenomenal book. I've been waiting for a book on football which truly deep dive into the subject matter and this one absolutely delivered.

A lot of credit on getting the balance right on advanced statistical concepts and football.

Fascinating look at the data teams that are changing football

If you’re a fan of Liverpool or the premier league broadly, this is a great listen, providing insight on the approach of top teams in identifying talent and the stats that matter in creating goals, and wins.

Highly recommend it.

Messi fanboy attitude ruined it

Was pretty interesting read, talking about data analysis, goal weight, expected goals etc. Then, the Messi vs Ronaldo comparison came in, which pretty much ruined the whole book. The guy talks about goal weight the whole time, but then to support his Messi case, decides that Messi's goal contributions in the farmers league and against Bolivia are more worth than Ronaldo's in the European Qualifiers. Few other things in that comparison defeat the whole purpose of the book, which is data analysis, not emotions and subjective preference. And that "Messi, obviously" at the end, shows that this guy has something against CR7, probably because he kicked Liverpool's ass many times in the Champions League.