Skip to content
TouchlineNotes
Latest Glossary Essays Archive About

Tagged

Analytics

TN

Glossary · Essay

Before the Assist, There's Another Pass Nobody Notices

Assists only credit the final pass before a goal. Shot-creating actions count the two plays before every shot, crediting the buildup that assist totals miss entirely.

10 Sep 2026 · 3 min read

TN

Glossary · Essay

Territory Isn't Possession. Here's the Difference

Possession counts every touch the same, in your own box or the opponent's. Field tilt measures territory directly, by tracking where the passing actually happens.

10 Sep 2026 · 3 min read

TN

Glossary · Essay

The Stat That Counts How Many Defenders One Pass Removes

A short pass through the right gap can do more damage than a long ball into open space. Packing counts how many defenders a single pass or dribble actually eliminates.

10 Sep 2026 · 3 min read

TN

Glossary · Essay

Grading Goalkeepers by the Shots They Should Have Let In

Pre-shot xG can't see where the ball actually went. Post-shot xG grades a shot after it's struck, making it the clearest public way to rate a goalkeeper's shot-stopping.

10 Sep 2026 · 3 min read

TN

Glossary · Essay

Why Analysts Strip the Penalties Out of a Striker's Numbers

Penalties inflate a striker's expected goals in a way that has nothing to do with open play. Non-penalty xG strips them out for a cleaner read on real chance creation.

10 Sep 2026 · 3 min read

TN

Glossary · Essay

Forget Possession Share. Track Whether the Ball Is Actually Moving Forward

Possession share says who has the ball more, not what they do with it. Progressive passes and carries count how often the ball actually moves toward goal.

10 Sep 2026 · 3 min read

TN

Glossary · Essay

Not Every Pass Forward Is Progress. Here's What Actually Threatens a Defense

Distance up the pitch isn't the same as danger created. Expected threat values every pass and carry by how much it actually raises the chance of a goal.

10 Sep 2026 · 3 min read

TN

Glossary · Essay

How to Measure a Press Without Watching Every Minute of It

Pressing intensity is hard to judge by eye alone. PPDA counts how many passes a team allows before winning the ball back, turning a vague impression into a comparable number.

10 Sep 2026 · 3 min read

TN

Glossary · Essay

The Assist Stat That Rewards the Pass, Not the Finish

An assist depends on someone else finishing the chance. Expected assists scores the pass itself, showing who is creating danger even when the strikers around them are missing it.

10 Sep 2026 · 3 min read

TN

Glossary · Essay

What Expected Goals Actually Measures (and What It Doesn't)

Every shot carries a probability of becoming a goal. Expected goals puts a number on that probability, and gets misread more often than almost any other stat in the modern game.

10 Sep 2026 · 4 min read

Touchline Notes

Independent notes on football, tactics and the culture around the game.

Archive About RSS

Made independently.
© 2026 Touchline Notes.