David Sally's guest appearances

David Sally

New Books in World Affairs

New Books Network

Soccermetrics Podcast

New Books in Sports

Danyel Reiche

Phillipa Chong

Peter Hopsicker

Leslie M. Harris

Mark Dyreson

Peter Lang

Brian Greene

K. Linder

Jules Boykoff

Kay Schiller

John Carlos

Johns Hopkins

McKenzie Wark

Kathryn Conrad

John Fox

OwlTail

David Sally is a trained behavioral economist, visiting professor at the Tuck School of Management at Dartmouth College, and the co-author (with Chris Anderson) of The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer is Wrong.  In this episode, we discuss David's interests in behavioral economics and how they influence his approach to soccer analytics, his path to becoming a soccer fan, and some of the counterintuitive findings presented in The Numbers Game.

David Sally is a trained behavioral economist, visiting professor at the Tuck School of Management at Dartmouth College, and the co-author (with Chris Anderson) of The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer is Wrong. In this episode, we discuss David's interests in behavioral economics and how they influence his approach to soccer analytics, his path to becoming a soccer fan, and some of the counterintuitive findings presented in The Numbers Game.

Episode #5: David Sally (The Numbers Game)

Chris Anderson

Two guys are watching Premier League highlights, when onto the TV screen comes Rory Delap, then with Stoke City, doing one of his renowned throw-ins from the touchline directly into the box. One guy, a native of the American Midwest who’d been raised on baseball, basketball, and hockey, is amazed by the throw and the havoc it creates in front of the opponent’s goal. “Why don’t other teams do that?” he asks.The other guy, who grew up with soccer in Germany, explains that Delap is an unusual player, having been trained as a javelin thrower.“But can’t teams train a guy to make throws like that?” asks the first guy.“It’s not what you do unless you have to,” answers the second guy, who had played semi-pro soccer in his younger days.“Well, why not? It seems to work for them.”The former footballer is stymied for an answer. All he can say is: “Because.”In most cases, a debate like this would have ended here, with the guy with superior sports credentials having the final word. But these guys were Ivy League professors, who do research in behavioral social sciences. Instead of accepting “because” as an explanation for soccer customs, they began to question the behavior of clubs, managers, and even players, and to research the real outcomes of their decisions.In their book The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong (Penguin, 2013), these two guys, Chris Anderson and David Sally, offer the results of their investigations. Using the wealth of data that is now available about what happens on the field, and drawing from current theories in the social sciences, they undermine many of the conventions of on-field strategy and club management. Their book brings together colorful stories and telling statistics in an engaging and insightful dissection of contemporary soccer. You’ll be surprised to learn that much of what you knew about soccer is indeed wrong. And as Chris and Dave admit in the interview, so were they. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

Two guys are watching Premier League highlights, when onto the TV screen comes Rory Delap, then with Stoke City, doing one of his <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7-mGH6X3PI" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">renowned throw-ins</a> from the touchline directly into the box. One guy, a native of the American Midwest who’d been raised on baseball, basketball, and hockey, is amazed by the throw and the havoc it creates in front of the opponent’s goal. “Why don’t other teams do that?” he asks. The other guy, who grew up with soccer in Germany, explains that Delap is an unusual player, having been trained as a javelin thrower. “But can’t teams train a guy to make throws like that?” asks the first guy. “It’s not what you do unless you have to,” answers the second guy, who had played semi-pro soccer in his younger days. “Well, why not? It seems to work for them.” The former footballer is stymied for an answer. All he can say is: “Because.” In most cases, a debate like this would have ended here, with the guy with superior sports credentials having the final word. But these guys were Ivy League professors, who do research in behavioral social sciences. Instead of accepting “because” as an explanation for soccer customs, they began to question the behavior of clubs, managers, and even players, and to research the real outcomes of their decisions. In their book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Numbers-Game-Everything-Soccer/dp/0143124560/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1375375609&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=numbers+game" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong </a>(Penguin, 2013), these two guys, <a href="http://falcon.arts.cornell.edu/cja22/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Chris Anderson</a> and <a href="http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/faculty/faculty-directory/david-f-sally" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">David Sally</a>, offer the results of their investigations. Using the wealth of data that is now available about what happens on the field, and drawing from current theories in the social sciences, they undermine many of the conventions of on-field strategy and club management. Their book brings together colorful stories and telling statistics in an engaging and insightful dissection of contemporary soccer. You’ll be surprised to learn that much of what you knew about soccer is indeed wrong. And as Chris and Dave admit in the interview, so were they. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>Support our show by becoming a premium member! <a href="https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs</a>

Chris Anderson and David Sally, “The Numbers Game: Why Everything You Know About Soccer Is Wrong” (Penguin, 2013)

Two guys are watching Premier League highlights, when onto the TV screen comes Rory Delap, then with Stoke City, doing one of his renowned throw-ins from the touchline directly into the box. One guy, a native of the American Midwest who’d been raised on baseball, basketball, and hockey, is amazed... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sports

Two guys are watching Premier League highlights, when onto the TV screen comes Rory Delap, then with Stoke City, doing one of his renowned throw-ins from the touchline directly into the box. One guy, a native of the American Midwest who’d been raised on baseball, basketball, and hockey, is amazed... Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://megaphone.fm/adchoices" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">megaphone.fm/adchoices</a>Support our show by becoming a premium member! <a href="https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sports" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sports</a>