by Extended-Phenotype »
24 Feb 2016 22:17
No Fixed Abode I must remember that whoever wins the league isn't the best team as those with a deeper knowledge of the game will know that isn't the case.
Sure, I get it mucks. Points are the aim of the game. But we are analysing improvement here, and you might appreciate others examine more than points to measure this. people at your level enjoy the simplicity of stats, that's cool. Others with a bit more nous find stats inefficient in explaining football at its more intricate level.
Two teams might win their game of football one week giving them both three points. But in reality, the more sophisticated fan appreciates that one of those teams might have played better than the other (better performance, less mistakes, tighter unit, less luck, more skill, tougher opponent, scored more goals, let fewer goals in etc). The points don't tell the whole story.
Hence, you could be improving without picking up more points.
Average points is a nice simple way for a basic fan to compare teams/managers. But a more advanced fan would notice if there was a difference in the size of the range. Average points for a team playing one game of football and winning is equal to average points for a team playing the whole season and winning every game. Smarter folk get that the latter is a clearer picture of quality and that a comparison would be more realistic measuring recent form in a range of similar size. That's why you see gamblers looking at last 5 and last 10 stats to work out a teams form, rather than take the average of every game they have ever played.
It's a bit more sophisticated though and it isn't for everybody. But you aren't really getting much out of football if you fail to tap down into the game beyond simple numbers.
