St Mirren 60% possession?
- Thread starter Oduwa
- Start date
academical
Well-Known Member
I think I was the first to comment on this in the match thread. The stats shown on the BBC gave St Mirren a 61-39 advantage over a first half that Rangers clearly dominated.
I’ve always been sceptical about football data, and wondered how possession is calculated. It seems a manual system based on a sort of chess clock has given way to an automated system based on completed passes. Yet there remain grey areas such as who counts as having possession when the ball is out of play?
Clearly possession does not equate to dominance. It’s possible St Mirren did indeed have ~60% of possession, but mostly in their own penalty area. How meaningful are such possession stats when they fail to take account of territorial advantage?
There’s an interesting series of three blogs on the topic starting here: https://soccerment.com/2018/01/22/ball-possession-european-football-part-1/
I’ve always been sceptical about football data, and wondered how possession is calculated. It seems a manual system based on a sort of chess clock has given way to an automated system based on completed passes. Yet there remain grey areas such as who counts as having possession when the ball is out of play?
Clearly possession does not equate to dominance. It’s possible St Mirren did indeed have ~60% of possession, but mostly in their own penalty area. How meaningful are such possession stats when they fail to take account of territorial advantage?
There’s an interesting series of three blogs on the topic starting here: https://soccerment.com/2018/01/22/ball-possession-european-football-part-1/
Arkansasgerstill
Well-Known Member
If the BBC Scotland sports team told me today was Sunday, I would presume my calendar was a misprint. They couldn’t even bring themselves to say our win put us top of the table, but you will never guess what the first paragraph after the Celtic game ended assured us all!
Stats are only as good as the individual entering them. People rely on them to much to win their debate.
PalefaceRedskin
Well-Known Member
This isn’t a quirk of stats mate. It’s the BBC lying - there isn’t any way, no matter how you calculate stats St Mirren even had 40 per cent of the ball in that game.
Smkz23
Well-Known Member
A number of places like Sky have the same wrong stats so they all clearly use the same third party provider.
PalefaceRedskin
Well-Known Member
Fair play mate. Maybe this time the error is genuine. Leaving aside Pacific quay’s complete absence of professionalism when reporting on us, it shows you how low-grade football journalism is in general when nonsense like this can go out unchecked. Anybody who watched the game knows those figures couldn’t be close to being right.
o7o
Well-Known Member
BBC you say? There's the answer.
academical
Well-Known Member
No, the BBC don’t do the stats. They get them from a third party - I think it’s OPTA. Other media carried the same numbers.
o7o
Well-Known Member
Maybe they had the baw in the dressing room at HT?
That and the Ryan jacks stats are totally incorrect.
PalefaceRedskin
Well-Known Member
Another poster pointed that out to me too mate. Fair play. General incompetence as opposed to specific Pacific Quay ill will on this occasion.You can understand my suspicion though.
We’re through the Looking Glass if folk honestly think St Mirren had 60 per cent of the ball in that game.
RenfrewBear72
Well-Known Member
To be fair their keeper had the ball about 30 minutes of the game so take that as 33% plus they probably had another 27%... Could be correct!
Ibrox Bear
Well-Known Member
Sportscene show the same stats but then go on to say Rangers dominated in possession.
Confused
Confused
StuGers
Well-Known Member
Yet again, strangely although Rangers are the more dominant team (possession is wrong there), we have the highest number of fouls.
An unusual anomaly that follows our club domestically...
