English Football Research Articles

Impact of three-point rule change on competitive balance in football: a synthetic control method approach

ABSTRACT Governing authorities in sports often make changes to rules and regulations to increase competitiveness. One such change was made by the English Football Association in 1981 when it changed the rule for awarding points in the domestic league from two points for a win to three points. This study aims to measure this rule change’s impact on the domestic league’s competitive balance using a quasi-experimental estimation design of a synthetic control method. The three-point rule change led to an increase in competitive balance in the English League. Further, we show no significant change in the number of goals scored per match.

Events, turns, and critical junctures: unpacking the temporality of supporter rights and democracy in English football

ABSTRACT The future of professional men’s football in England stands at a critical juncture. In the wake of a global pandemic, the national game has been beset by volatility and upheaval. In April 2021, six of the most storied clubs in England announced they would be joining a new breakaway European Super League (ESL). These proposals triggered vehement opposition from fan movements, catalysing the intervention of the UK government who established a fan-led review of football governance (FLR) to consult fans on future regulatory reform and the security and safety of supporters at major events. Emerging out of these exogenous shocks and endogenous change, the governance of English football is set to be radically transformed via the establishment of a new regulatory regime. In this article, we employ eventful sociology and historical institutionalism to operationalise the concept of critical juncture and apply this through an analysis of two temporal periods (1985-1990) and (2020-2024). In doing so, we show how the current ‘regulatory turn’ is interdependently linked to prior historical transformative events, namely the Heysel and Hillsborough stadium disasters and the subsequent neoliberal transformation of English football across the last four decades. Incorporating a more nuanced understanding of change and continuity in the governance of English football, we argue that new regulatory frameworks, despite their transformative potential, may continue to exhibit institutional legacies of the existing regime and prevailing political economy.

‘I code as much as I can because you never know what they might ask for’. The role of the coach in Performance Analysis: The view of the analyst

Performance Analysis (PA) is viewed as an integral feature of soccer; however, the processes underpinning such practice are often described as simple, linear procedures. This fails to acknowledge the dynamism of PA and given increased investment and employment of analysts in professional soccer, scrutiny of the current processes and duties associated with the role would seem timely. To this purpose, eight full-time analysts in the English Football League (EFL) and English National League (National League) participated in in-depth semi-structured interviews and transcripts were subjected to inductive reflective thematic analysis. The data analysis revealed two higher-order categories (Flying solo / Coach control) and four themes classified as lower-order ( PA pragmatism / Identifying indicators / The reticent coach / Autocratic presentations). The findings of this study highlight that the responsibilities of the performance analyst range from acting on their own initiative to responding to requests and instructions from the coach. Subsequently, the responsibility for individual actions/activities related to PA is dependent on what aspects of analysis are to be used, who is the recipient of the data/video/presentation, when in the relationship between analyst and coach the activities are developed and when in the match-play process they are carried out.

Consumer Perceptions Matter: A Case Study of an Anomaly in English Football

Abstract In 1983 England’s fifth-tier football competition introduced a two-points-for-a-home-win and three-points-for-an-away-win reward system. This system was abolished after three seasons. The anomalous point system may have been introduced to reduce home advantage but the reasons are not fully clear and neither are the reasons for abolishing the system shortly after its introduction. We find that the new point system did not affect match outcomes but it did influence match attendance negatively. We speculate that the alternative point system was perceived as unfair to potential buyers of seasonal tickets or individual match tickets some of whom as a response decided to avoid watching the game in person. Consumer perceptions seem to matter.

The lambs of sheepfoot lane: Oldham Athletic AFC 1960-2023; football, politics and identity.

The article focuses on an overview of the history, politics and cultural identity of Oldham Athletic AFC between 1960 and 2023. During this period the club, a founding member of the Football League, played across six divisions of the game's pyramid. My hometown club, the Latics faced an existential threat to its survival following relegation to the National League in 2022, before being rescued and brought back into local ownership on the long road back to its recapturing its former status. The successes of the Frizzell and Royle eras (1969-1994) contrast with the decline of the club in the 1960s, and its gradual meltdown since the mid-1990s. These are interwoven with the economic, geopolitical and cultural dynamics of the game. The study locates the history of a small club geographically positioned within the vortex of the of the two Manchester giants and Liverpool, in English football's traditional hinterland of the industrial north west. The article has four main themes. Firstly, it examines Oldham Athletic as custodian of local identity, fusing folkloric rituals within the club's historic and contemporary nexus. Secondly, it contextualises the interface between global, glocal and grobal forces impacting on tradition, modernity and post- modernity in the club's lexicon. It then considers the themes of ownership, commodification and globalisation, debating whether Oldham Athletic stands as a bastion of anti- globalisation, or reconfirms existing global patterns at the micro level, incorporating salient theoretical perspectives in this analysis. Finally, the review evaluates whether the political and social class cleavages of the club's roots in Oldham's late Victorian industrial landscape still resonate, or if they have been marginalised by socio- economic changes since 1960.

English Premier League and English Football League academy managers’ experiences of how psychosocial skills and characteristics are identified and developed in youth academy soccer players

ABSTRACT Psychological skills and characteristics (PSCs) are vital for player development, yet there is a lack of agreement on which are important and how they should be identified and developed in academy players, creating barriers to implementation into curricula. The key stakeholder with considerable insight into PSC development is the academy manager (AM). The aims of this study were (a) explore AMs’ experiences of PSC identification and development, (b) identify challenges AMs feel affect development of PSCs. Nine AMs (i.e. Category 1; n = 3, Category 2; n = 3 and Category 3; n = 3) comprising an average coaching experience of 20.4 ± 7.4 years and time in the role of 5.2 years ±3.2 years participated in semi-structured interviews. Reflexive thematic analysis generated themes identified ideal PSC outcomes that AMs felt were important. AMs identified current practices within academies alongside challenges: transitions, need to upskill coaches, access to additional support from external partners and National Governing Bodies. There was consensus that PSCs are key drivers of progression and that embedding them into the pathway was critical to facilitating development. Academies should think carefully about design, implementation and evaluation of programmes to support player PSC development for success during and after soccer careers.

How is men’s mental health affected within male professional football?

ABSTRACT Research question How is men’s mental health affected within male professional football? Research methods Within this qualitative study, eighteen current first-team professional footballers were interviewed from across the English Football League (EFL) to explore how male professional footballers are affected by mental health. Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis (2006) was applied along with “The Silences Framework” [Serrant-Green, L. (2010). The sound of “silence”: A framework for researching sensitive issues or marginalised perspectives in health. Journal of Research in Nursing, 16(4), 347–360] to allow the voices of this marginalised group to be heard. Results and findings The five key themes of social networks, environment, masking vulnerabilities, help-seeking and support, and mental health emerged from the data. The mental health theme is split into two sub-themes: impact on self and reaction of others. Implications This study makes an original contribution to the knowledge base as it is the first study to innovatively apply The Silences Framework to a sporting context. This study has applied The Silences Framework to show that professional footballers are affected by their mental health, and without appropriate access to support they continue to suffer in silence. This is likely to have negative consequences in their personal life, their football career, and their eventual transition away from being a professional footballer.

Analysis of external load in professional English Football League Two players

Previous research has utilised Global Positioning Systems (GPS) based technology to provide detailed insights on activity profiles and external demands of professional football. However, there remains minimal research exploring this in the English Football League (EFL), in particular, League Two. Considering differences such as a unique fixture frequency and congestion, and its impact of training occurrence, a study on the external physical loading of EFL League Two players is necessary. Furthermore, analysis of positional differences due to the varied activity profiles is warranted. Therefore, the aims of the current study were to explore the difference in the external demands across training mesocycles, and differences between four-, three-, or two-day training weeks. Additionally, positional differences in external demands in competitive fixtures were explored. Twenty, male, professional soccer players from the EFL League Two (27 ± 6 years, mass 81 ± 8 kg, stature 181 ± 8 cm) were monitored across 41 competitive matches during the 2023-24 season. Players were grouped into the following positional categories central defender (n=3); wide defender (n=4); central midfielder (n=5); wide midfielder (n=5) and striker (n=3). The ethics committee of the sport department at University Academy 92 approved this study. A GPS system (Apex, STATSports, Northern Ireland) was used to quantify external load data from training and match day (MD) across 5 mesocycles of the season. Total distance ranged from 92.1 ± 6.5 m·min-1 to 106.2 ± 8.7 m·min-1 and 44.0 ± 2.0 m·min-1 to 56.8 ± 4.9 m·min-1 across mesocycles in matches and training, respectively. Likewise, High-Speed Running also varied across mesocycles, ranging from 5.6 ± 1.9 m·min-1 to 6.7 ± 1.0 m·min-1 and 0.9 ± 0.3 m·min-1 to 1.3 ± 0.4 m·min-1 in matches and training, respectively. Significant differences (p < 0.05) in several external load variables were evident between four-, three-, or two-day training weeks. When analysing positional differences in matches, the CM achieved the greatest total distance (106.3 ± 17.6 m·min-1), with WM exhibiting the greatest amount of distance at high speed (7.9 ± 2.1 m·min-1) and total accelerations and decelerations (1.9 ± 0.3 ·min2; 1.0 ± 0.3 ·min2). Consequently, results from this research should allow practitioners to physically prepare players optimally in preparation for MD. In conclusion, this study highlighted that external match load performance was influenced by players' positions. Moreover, the consideration of training days in preparation for a fixture, might allow players to be in optimum physical capacity for MD.

Financial Performance of the English Football Clubs

The financial performance of twenty English football clubs over the period 2013-22 is examined in this study with correlation and panel data analysis. Three performance measures are used: Return on Assets (ROA), Return on Equity (ROE), and Profit Margin. The size of clubs and their liquidity, leverage, efficiency, cash flow efficiency, and turnover per employee are employed as explanatory variables of performance. Sporting data, including attendance rate, the number of wins, the uncertainty in the Premier League, participation in the Premier League or not, and the presence in UEFA’s European club competitions, are also assessed. The empirical findings accentuate a positive relationship between performance and liquidity, efficiency, cash flow efficiency, and revenue per employee. The opposite is the case for leverage. Wins are positively related to ROA, while the opposite relationship is found for the uncertainty factor. Finally, the presence of clubs in the Premier League is positively associated with their financial performance

Sport Mediatization, Connected Fans, and Playfulness: An Introduction to Parasocial Pretend Play

In consideration of sport mediatization, mobile media, and fandom, this work introduces and outlines the phenomenon of parasocial pretend play. This is achieved by examining the popular television show Ted Lasso, which chronicles the activities surrounding fictional English football club AFC Richmond. Viewer involvement with the show, parasocial interaction with its characters, and social media use by connected fans combine to facilitate this new opportunity for playful collective engagement. By connecting concepts from parasocial interaction and play, the assessment theorizes about and documents how parasocial pretend play transpires. It also identifies factors that may disrupt parasocial pretend play, discusses the potential for its misuse, and details apparent variations of the practice.

Towards an understanding of maltreatment in football.

This study explored the understanding of maltreatment from the perspective of various personnel working in roles related to safeguarding and welfare in English professional and semi-professional football. Through a social constructivist position, the present study was able to explore multiple understandings and perceptions of maltreatment in football. Individual semi-structured interviews (MDuration = 68.00 minutes, SD = 9.05 minutes) were conducted with 19 participants working across league structures ranging from the English Premier League (EPL) to the English Northern Premier League Division One, as well as individuals working with some of the principal organizations in English professional football. Through reflexive thematic analysis, three general dimensions were highlighted: "current understanding of maltreatment in football," "constituents of maltreatment," and "signs and symptoms of maltreatment." Findings from those working in a safeguarding capacity mirror the research literature around understanding the components of maltreatment but also demonstrate how wrongdoing is nuanced by the football context, in that certain forms of maltreatment are driven by the unique nature of this environment. From an applied perspective, the findings also outline how to distinguish both the more overt and covert signs and symptoms of maltreatment, whilst also highlighting the impact of maltreatment on individuals' mental health and their sense of self. Overall, the findings provide a platform for practitioners and researchers to consider in the design of safeguarding and welfare provision by highlighting the need to raise knowledge and awareness of maltreatment whilst intervening to challenge the prevailing workplace culture within professional football.

The determinants of stadium attendance in elite women’s football: evidence from the FA Women’s Super League

ABSTRACT Research question While increasing the number of spectators at women’s football matches is critical for the commercial growth of the sport, the academic literature offers limited evidence on the drivers of stadium attendance for women’s football. This study investigates the factors influencing fan interest in the English Football Association (FA) Women’s Super League (WSL). Research methods Analysing 476 WSL games played from 2013 to 2018/19, regression models are tested to determine the impacts of socioeconomic factors, product-specific variables, match outcome uncertainty, and the substitution effect. Results and findings Strong local economies increase attendance at FA WSL matches, with weekend games, favourable weather, and shorter travel distances also attracting more fans. Higher stadium capacity, outcome certainty, and home team winning odds are associated with increased fan interest. Fans of integrated clubs attend women’s matches less when these clash with games of the respective men’s team, except for double-headers. Implications Improving scheduling and matchday facilities is vital for women’s football. Harmonising the football calendar while considering men’s and women’s national and international competitions can enhance stadium attendance at FA WSL matches. Encouraging cross-fertilisation between men’s and women’s football supporters can create spillover effects and boost women’s game attendance.

22 Players Run After the Ball for 90 Minutes, and in the End England Wins. German Views of the 1935 and 1938 Germany–England Football Matches

This article studies the politico-diplomatic dimension of the 1935 and 1938 Germany-England football matches played during the National Socialist era. Despite being represented in both countries as international friendlies, these games proved highly politicized affairs because of the centrality of the British-German relationship in international affairs and the politization and diplomatization of international sport during the 1930s. The 1935 game, played in London, became the focus for a high-profile public campaign, led by trade union, Jewish, and other lobbying groups hostile to Nazi Germany, to ban the match. In turn, the 1938 fixture is famed for the Nazi salute, the ‘infamous gesture’ that British diplomats and Football Association officials instructed the England team to give before the beginning of the match. Using the archives of the Auswärtiges Amt (Foreign Ministry) and Bundesarchiv (Federal Archives) as well as a selection of German newspapers, this article provides an informed German perspective on both matches, which hitherto have been studied principally from a British perspective. Focused upon German aims, perceptions, political influences, and propaganda goals, this case study highlights the ‘soft power’ methods of totalitarianism in terms of both the adaptation of totalitarianism to football and the adaptation of football to totalitarianism.

Sport-related concussion knowledge and attitudes of staff working in English elite women’s football: a survey-based study

ABSTRACT Background Sport-related concussion (SRC) remains an injury of concern in sport, including football(soccer). There has been little investigation into SRC knowledge and attitudes of support staff working in the professional setting. Methods An amended version of the Rosenbaum Concussion Knowledge and Attitudes Survey(RoCKAS) was distributed online to coaching staff, and medical and performance staff, working at clubs in the English Football Association Women’s SuperLeague (WSL) and Championship. Completion of the survey generated two scores: concussion knowledge index (CKI) and concussion attitudes index (CAI). Results Sixty-three completed surveys were returned. Eighteen respondents were coaching staff, and 45 were medical and performance staff. The median CKI in medical and performance staff was significantly greater than in coaching staff. There was no significant difference in CAIbetween coaching staff and medical and performance staff. There was no correlation between CKI and CAI across all staff. Conclusion Medical and performance staff working in elite women’s football have greater knowledge of SRC than coaching staff. However, this does not always translate into safe behaviours on the field. Education should continue to be mandated across the professional game amongst support staff in order to maximise player welfare and enhance injury outcomes, whilst also reinforcing present SRC guidance.

Football Disasters and Pilgrimage: Commemoration through Religious and Non-Religious Ritual and Materiality

Although the relationship between religion and football has gained considerable interest during the last twenty years, scant attention has been paid to the relationship between pilgrimage and football. This paper seeks to advance the study of this relationship through an exploration of collective memory about football disasters that throws fresh light on central themes within pilgrimage studies—pilgrimage as both a journey to a sacred place and the performance of diverse rituals at such places. The paper explores, in particular, the ways in which three different tragedies involving English football clubs have been commemorated through journeys to and ritual performance at places seen as sacred to those involved in commemoration—football stadiums and urban spaces, and cathedrals and pilgrimage shrines in England, Germany and Italy. Through this analysis, we seek to show how the commemoration of football disaster is linked to pilgrimage as a process where people seek healing and reconciliation through the public performance of rituals that link the local to the global.

Professional soccer player’s perceptions of the English Football Association 4 corner model in supporting first team transitions

ABSTRACT The English Football Association (FA from hereon in) 4 Corner Model is a multidisciplinary framework that aims to enhance player talent identification and development, and is characterised by physical, social, technical/tactical and psychological components. Despite the framework being prominent within English football development pathways, player insights into the effectiveness of the framework in supporting academy to first team transitions are lacking. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore established first team professional footballer’s perceptions of the FA 4 Corner Model, in relation to the attributes that they perceived to facilitate the successful transition to a professional first team environment. Twelve current (n = 8) and ex (n = 4) professional players who had successfully transitioned from a youth academy, and subsequently became an established first team player, were interviewed for the study. Interpretations across the qualitative data set highlighted the importance of players adapting to physical and tactical demands, while also dealing with different psychosocial factors when entering a first team setting. The study highlights that disparities can exist between players, coaches, practitioners, and sport scientists perceived development needs, a situation that could hinder players progression through the player pathway.

Does anyone care where they are from? The importance of locally trained players in English football

ABSTRACT English football originated from organizations rooted in the communities of towns and cities. Social identity theory explains how supporters feel a strong connection with their local community club. In English football, clubs and the media often reference ‘local lads’, referring to locally born players as on-field representations of the community which is considered to reinforce supporters’ connection to the club. However, whether supporters care where players come from remains under-researched. This research surveyed 661 supporters with headline findings outlining financial sustainability and winning trophies as main priorities with local player representation a minor priority. Supporters of Premier League clubs were significantly more likely to prioritize winning trophies, and significantly less likely to prioritize their clubs’ financial position compared to the lower leagues, where financial stability was a priority. Further research would develop our understanding of the perceived importance of local players in the complex global landscape of modern football support.

‘Liverpool daft’: the growth of British football clubs’ supporters’ clubs in the late twentieth century in Ireland - a history

ABSTRACT This article examines the development of British football clubs’ supporters’ clubs in Ireland. While it has been previously established that this interest was at times linked to domestic and European success, and the fielding of Irish players, this article examines how these supporters’ clubs facilitated travel to and from matches and how British clubs in turn nurtured this interest. How Irish supporters experienced major stadium disasters at Ibrox in 1971, Heysel in 1985 and Hillsborough in 1989 is examined. How these tragedies were marked in Ireland will also be assessed. At times, crowd safety issues involving British clubs’ supporters in Ireland were also noticeable, and how these were dealt with by Irish authorities will also be discussed. By the 1990s, a wider range of British supporters’ clubs were available to those in Ireland, although interest in Liverpool, Manchester United and Glasgow Celtic still remained highest in the early twenty-first century.

On-field rehabilitation in football: current practice and perceptions. A survey of the English Premier League and Football League

ABSTRACT Introduction Return to play related research is increasing rapidly, with two recent competency-based frameworks offering conceptualised support for on-field rehabilitation (OFR) decision-making. It is still unknown, however, who is responsible for OFR and how they typically select, monitor, and progress OFR processes. Aims The purpose of this study was to investigate current OFR practice within English professional football to support practitioners with decision-making and highlight opportunities for future research related to the design, monitoring, and progression of OFR. Methods Sixty-nine practitioners responsible for the design and implementation of OFR at 69 clubs (75% of the English Premier League and Football League) responded to a survey containing 30 questions (14 open and 16 closed). Results The main findings were that therapists (physiotherapists/sports therapists) have the largest influence on OFR, followed by physical performance coaches (sports scientists/strength and conditioning coaches), technical coaches and medical doctors. There was more agreement for the ordering of specific OFR drills earlier in the process when activities are easier to control. The most frequently reported objective monitoring tool was global positioning systems (GPS), with functional/clinical experience/expertise remaining subjectively vital. GPS outputs (e.g., sprint metrics and accelerations/decelerations) were most used for between session decision-making, with verbal communication being key for within session decision-making. Conclusion Future research should use evidence of current practice, such as drill design and monitoring techniques, to explore drill-level analysis and give practitioners greater insights into which stage of current OFR frameworks specific drills fall, and how they might be more objectively progressed/regressed.

Dear Prime Minister, Mr Musk and Mr Zuckerberg!: The challenge of social media and platformed racism in the English premier league and football league

This paper draws on original research from a larger study of racism and Islamophobia online around football, particularly a set of interviews with staff at English football clubs whose responsibility is to manage social media. We use that information alongside our reflections on “platformed racism” to appraise how expressions of racism on social media differ from those in and around the grounds, and how clubs and others in football contest them. This involves a consideration of three themes commonly identified by those speaking on behalf of the clubs: The triggers that ignite racist posts; the partnerships necessary to counter them; and their proposed solutions. Hence this is not just a cue for a collective wringing of hands, but an effort to point the way forward.