Sport

Cricket #1 – Sir Donald Bradman, the 9 Sigma GOAT

January 2, 2023 By Nigel

Sir Donald Bradman is the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) of sporting GOATs. All cricket lovers accept the great Australian is the greatest batsman of all time but how many are aware he was 9 standard deviations better than the next best 166 batsmen of all time? I can’t think any other sports person who comes close to this standard which is why I say this 9 sigma GOAT is the greatest sports person of all time.

Trophy Winners #2 – England Women’s Club Football 1992 to 2022

September 17, 2022 By Nigel

The 2022/23 Women’s Super League (WSL) kicks off this weekend in England. After the Lionesses triumph this summer in winning the European Championship, more interest, spectators and TV coverage are expected. If you are new to the WSL and the women’s game in general, why not download my spreadsheet listing all trophy winners since 1992 to find out which teams are the GOATs of English women’s football?

Trophy Winners #1 – England Men’s Club Football 1889 to 2022

May 28, 2022 By Nigel

The 2021/22 football season is now over and it now 53 seasons since my team Newcastle Utd last won a trophy. For supporters of other teams, your life will have been more fortunate but if you can’t remember the last time your team won a trophy then why not download my spreadsheet listing all trophy winners since 1889 to find out.

6 Nations History #2 – The men’s story so far in 2022

March 26, 2022 By Nigel

The 2022 Six Nations (Men’s) ended with France beating England to win their 1st Grand Slam and 6 Nations title since 2010. Ireland ran them close scoring 24 tries in all (joint 2nd highest on record) and Italy won their 1st game in 36 matches in dramatic fashion in Cardiff. England, Wales and Scotland all disappointed their fans and have questions to answer.

All I want for Christmas is football!

December 21, 2021 By Nigel

Will there be any football this Christmas? The Omicron variant of COVID19 is wreaking havoc with football and rugby schedules and the traditional Boxing Day lineup is in danger of being cancelled. So what will football fans do instead? The good news is I am giving a Christmas present to all football supporter that is almost as good as the real thing. All you need are 2 packs of playing cards, a pen and paper or a spreadsheet and you can play a simple football simulation game which guarantees fun and excitement for all.

6 Nations History #1 – The men’s story so far in 2021

March 27, 2021 By Nigel

The 2021 Six Nations (Men’s) ended with Wales winning the title after Scotland beat France in Paris to snuff out France’s attempt to win the title for the first time since 2010. Wales let a Grand Slam slip after conceding a try in injury time and as an England fan who was there at Wembley in 1999 I know exactly how the Welsh feel!

Rugby World Cup #4 – Who will win in 2019? – Final

October 30, 2019 By Nigel

England will take on South Africa in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final this weekend and I am predicting a win for England by 1 to 6 points. In other words, it will be close and exciting!

Rugby World Cup #3 – Who will win in 2019? – Model Evaluation

October 30, 2019 By Nigel

After 43 matches with 37 correctly predicted, the stage is set for an epic final between England & South Africa to settle the 2019 Rugby World Cup (Men’s). Ahead of making a prediction for that match, I have examined my model in depth and in this post I explore whether or not the model needs to be adjusted.

Rugby World Cup #2 – Who will win in 2019? – Knockout Round

October 18, 2019 By Nigel

It’s the quarter finals tomorrow and it’s time for me to predict the outcomes using World Rugby’s rankings. Although I got 33 out of 37 matches right in the pool stages, the 4 errors are enough to change my prediction of who will win.

Rugby World Cup #1 – Who will win in 2019? – Pool Stage

September 19, 2019 By Nigel

Augustin Pichot, vice-president of World Rugby, may not like its ranking system but ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup (Men’s), I have been able to use rankings to correctly predict 80% of international matches since 2017. For the world cup that starts this week, I used a dynamic ranking model to predict all matches and it shows that 4 countries cannot be separated for the trophy so we are in for some very exciting matches!