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Win, lose, or draw: trends in English football match results

(blog.engora.com)
37 points Vermin2000 | 5 comments | 11 Jul 25 17:23 UTC | HN request time: 0.673s | source
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mfro ◴[15 Jul 25 13:20 UTC] No.44570858[source]▶
While the premise of 'draws are boring' is debatable, I do think the discussion on unequal finances in prem clubs needs to continue. For some years parachute payments have helped with the relegation issues, but there seems to be a recurring issue of the top 4 clubs ignoring their spending limits and overall compounding their power transferring top players.

Also, nice article. I enjoyed the interactive graphs.

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1. close04 ◴[15 Jul 25 13:39 UTC] No.44571065[source]▶
> the premise of 'draws are boring' is debatable

I also found this a bit off. Lots of goals ending in a draw can also be great fun. Wins are great for the fans of the winning team. But if you're a fan of the sport, then an engaging match, ideally with lots of goals is more fun even if it's a draw.

I've seen plenty of absolutely thrilling goalless draws, and plenty of boring 1 goal wins.

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2. dylan604 ◴[15 Jul 25 14:27 UTC] No.44571504[source]▶
As a fan, there are times when competing for the top spot you wish draws on rivals. Then there are times when you hope both teams in a match lose.
3. clueless ◴[15 Jul 25 15:21 UTC] No.44572108[source]▶
the result of the last World cup (2022) finale being the absolute best example of such engaging match...
4. zerkten ◴[15 Jul 25 15:24 UTC] No.44572151[source]▶
I feel exactly the same way. Scoring, or high scoring draws along with metrics like attempted shots would be an interesting element to look at. A team like Manchester United where there is data for long periods of droughts and success show how some of these metrics go through the floor in what fans would identify as bad times (there are so many poor-quality draws since Ferguson left.)

I found it particularly interesting that someone from the UK (as the author appears to be) suggested that draws might be boring. In my personal experience, that tends to be a North American phenomenon (not that others don't or can't express that feeling).

On a related note, Cricket draws can be epic. There are many examples like https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2009/dec/06/michael-athert....

5. tharmas ◴[15 Jul 25 16:40 UTC] No.44573077[source]▶
Precisely. Evenly matched teams can make for an exciting game. Sure, if they play extremely conservatively it could be a bore.

But is one team thrashing another 5 - Nil (even in the first half) an "exciting game? Id argue not, for both sets of fans.

But in the money league (aka EPL) this is a big problem for many of the games.

Also, its the same small set of teams vying for the title EVERY year after year after year. Its almost as bad as the Bundesliga. Seriously, is Bayern Munchin going to win the Bundesliga this year? Or is it Rael Madrid or Barcelona that are going to win the Spanish League? Celtic or Rangers? BORING!

Say what you will about the American NFL, but at least they have more variety in who wins the Super Bowl. But they do have to sort out the lopsided score always in the final.