BBC Sport Insight Article - 2 June 2022
Rob Haywood
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/61648608
This BBC article discusses how Charles Reeps performance-analysis work influenced English football, how his conclusions shaped tactics and to highlight the limitations and lasting impact of his approach.
When observing top level football such as Arsenal, Reeps began making detailed “Tactic Crime Charts” and notations of matches, recording passes, shots, and movements. He analysed large numbers of matches manually, creating shorthand notes to capture patterns of play.
He found out that “Seven out of nine goals came from moves of three passes or fewer” and that moves starting with a long pass from your own half had about twice the likelihood of resulting in a goal compared to exclusively short build-up play. He also discovered most goals came from regained possessions in the attacking quarter of the pitch.
He applied these findings to work alongside football clubs such as Brentford who adopted his tactical plan and saw improved scoring and results.
The data and patterns Reep uncovered gave clubs concrete pre-match insights into how goals tend to be scored. For example, focusing on quick sequences, regaining possession in the attacking third, using longer passes at times would give them the competitive edge.
Teams could use his charts and analytics to modify tactical preparation and training, allowing them to be more efficient and targeted in preparation rather than purely relying on intuition or tradition. It allowed teams to have a data-backed model of what led to goals in past matches and could try to replicate or defend against those patterns.
Reep’s approach laid early foundations for modern performance analysis in football such as tracking events, quantifying patterns and using data to influence tactical decision-making.
Although his style which was often critised was viewed reductively, the key value lies in systematic match-data analysis rather than mere anecdotal observation.
His pre-match analytic methods foreshadow the kind of advanced analytics and AI-driven systems clubs use today to prepare for opponents, to identify key patterns, and to design tactical plans.