Ryan O'Hanlon

Really appreciate that -- thank you!

On set pieces and staying sane Last week, I wrote an article about the one slippery-slope of using data in soccer that I’d always worried about: the path where everyone gets good at set pieces at the expense of everything else.

I temporarily revived No Grass in the Clouds to write about the strangers on the Internet who are getting mad at the person I'm going to marry about an article I wrote six years ago: nograssintheclouds.substack.com/p/on-set-pie...

Write about the broader implications of data-driven decision-making on the aesthetics of a sport, and Arsenal fans post comments on an Instagram picture of your fiancée.

Write an article about how Arsenal are easily the best team in the Premier League, and Arsenal fans … barely say anything.

Why we know Arsenal will win the Premier League (and how they could still be stopped) We're not even a quarter of the way through the Premier League season, but we're ready to call it: Arsenal are winning it all. Well, unless ...

I wrote about the best team in the Premier League, maybe the best defense we've ever seen, and whether those five open-play goals really even matter: www.espn.com/soccer/story...

Move over Ronaldo and Messi, Spain's Clasico has a new star battle: Mbappé vs. Yamal Not since Messi vs. Ronaldo has the Barcelona-Real Madrid rivalry given us a matchup like Yamal vs. Mbappe. So, which superstar would you rather have?

Broke out the ol' WHO YA GOT for El Clasico: Kylian Mbappe or Lamine Yamal? www.espn.com/soccer/story...

It was fun while it lasted.

Nick Pope has more assists than Florian Wirtz.

Are set plays ruining the Premier League? How throw-ins are boosting Arsenal, but adding boredom As Premier League teams learn set pieces are a more efficient way to score, open play goals become rarer. Can the game withstand such a shift?

I've always wondered (and feared) what might happen if everyone started taking set pieces seriously. The first eight weeks of the Premier League season might be giving us a glimpse into the future, where soccer no longer features much, well, soccer: www.espn.com/soccer/story...

Every Premier League team reranked: Man United find footing; Spurs on unsustainable path It's time to rank all 20 teams in the Premier League again: Man United might be on the right track, Spurs should worry, and Arsenal are easily the best.

Two months into the season, @rwohan.bsky.social and I did our first PREMIER LEAGUE RE-RANK.

📉 Liverpool, Brighton, Villa, Forest (duh)

📈 Bournemouth, Palace, Man Utd???, Everton!, the idea of promoted teams surviving (a couple, anyway)

www.espn.com/soccer/story...

How to fix Man United in four steps (with some help from Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City) Man United haven't had sustained Premier League success in more than a decade. Here's what they need to do, by following the playbooks of Liverpool, Arsenal and Man City.

Follow This Simple, Four-Step Guide and I Promise That Your Terrible, Disappointing, Incredibly Wealthy Soccer Club Will See Results: www.espn.com/soccer/story...

This has been updated! docs.google.com/document/d/1...

Is it time to worry about Mohamed Salah at Liverpool? There is a lot of uncertainty around this new-look Liverpool side right now, but one thing we know for sure: if Salah doesn't play like himself soon, nothing else matters.

I wrote about Liverpool's biggest problem so far this season: the guy who led the Premier League in goals and assists last season. www.espn.com/soccer/story...

The Cubarsi Zone is soccer's version of the corner three.

Here is a list of midfielders I would rather have on my team than Declan Rice:

Liverpool can't keep winning games like this -- or can they? Liverpool are undefeated so far this season, but they keep leaving it late when it comes to big wins. How long can this continue?

Story of their season so far: Liverpool are incredible when the other team isn't trying to attack and bad whenever the other team has a reason to punch back. www.espn.com/soccer/story...

Dowman? Ngumoha? Yamal? Predicting the 2035 Men's Ballon d'Or What were players doing 10 years before they won soccer's greatest individual prize? Ryan O'Hanlon gets his crystal ball out to see which current rising star will lift the Ballon d'Or in 2035.

Can we predict who will win the Ballon d'Or in 10 years? I tried to do it: www.espn.com/soccer/story...

May we all never have to watch a game that ends with nine center backs on the field ever again.

Burnley completed 81 passes today. Can't remember the last time I've seen a team go 90 minutes without getting to at least 100.

Forward Progress: The Definitive Guide to the Future of College Football Amazon.com: Forward Progress: The Definitive Guide to the Future of College Football: 9781637278703: Connelly, Bill: Books

Hello, friends. It's FORWARD PROGRESS DAY.

"A cinematic celebration of college football’s exploding influence and a rigorous look at how and why the sport may look totally new once again," according to whoever wrote the summary blurb on Amazon.

www.amazon.com/Forward-Prog...

Liverpool: have played zero good games.

Also Liverpool: nine points from nine, two points clear at the top, already won two of the toughest fixtures of the season.

That might be the dumbest soccer game I’ve ever seen.

Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha have made Manchester United better. Now they're pretty much exactly as good as Fulham.

The best worst transfers: Why the likes of Sancho, Werner were actually smart signings Sometimes, a transfer should work out, but doesn't. Here are the best worst transfers over the past decade in the Premier League and beyond.

I wrote about the best transfers of the past decade that still totally flopped: www.espn.com/soccer/story...

Excited to announce a new paper together with @sigridolthof.bsky.social entitled "Perspectives on data analytics for gaining a competitive advantage in football: computational approaches to tactics".

This is a synthesis article that has 3 key objectives

www.tandfonline.com/doi/epdf/10....

1 / 4

Marshall Munetsi is becoming one of my favorite players in the Premier League: a midfielder who can't pass, doesn't pass, and just makes runs into the penalty area.

Currently on pace to score 152 goals and concede 76.

This isn’t reflected in the betting odds much (if at all), but from all the predictions I’ve seen: people who make predictions are too low on Arsenal and too high on Manchester City.

Ranked: The top 50 players going into the new Premier League season Ahead of the 2025-26 Premier League season, let's rank the best 50 players to keep an eye on. Liverpool and Arsenal dominate the list, but Man United managed some spots, too.

When you’re done with that, come find out why I hate your favorite player! www.espn.com/soccer/story...

Come find out why one of us hates your favorite team!