Ali Tweedale
@alitweedale.bsky.social
Football data for Opta Analyst https://theanalyst.com/eu/author/alistair-tweedalestatsperform-com
In an age when fans want limitless spending on shiny new signings, @alitweedale.bsky.social asks whether less change can sometimes be more beneficial (for @optaanalyst.optajoe.com) theanalyst.com/articles/pre...
Mass Overhaul or Squad Continuity: What is the Recipe for Premier League Success? | Opta Analyst
In an age when fans wants limitless spending on shiny new signings, we ask whether less change can sometimes be more beneficial.
theanalyst.com
You can't watch all 72 group games, so here are 10 to make sure you don't miss www.theguardian.com/football/202...
Don’t have time to watch 72 World Cup group games? Here are 10 not to miss
Watching 108 hours of football is not for everyone but there are some crackers in the group stage, including Scotland v Brazil, Netherlands v Japan and France v Senegal
theguardian.com
Some interactive fun on England's 10-year road to being among the favourites to win this World Cup, with magic from @petermckeever.bsky.social
Opta Analyst@optaanalyst.optajoe.com · 4mo ago𝐒𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 📜 10 years on from the debacle that was Euro 2016, England are going for glory at the World Cup. This is the story of their rise under Gareth Southgate over the last four major tournaments.
PSG have been able to rotate in league games a crazy amount. Marquinhos and Nuno Mendes have played more minutes in the #UCL than they have in Ligue 1. Does it mean they have an (unfair) advantage over Arsenal on Saturday? theanalyst.com/articles/psg...
Rotated PSG vs Exhausted Arsenal: Will Fatigue Decide Champions League Final? | Opta Analyst
Paris Saint-Germain have been able to rest key players throughout their domestic campaign, and that could give them the upper hand against Arsenal this weekend.
theanalyst.com
Few could have foreseen Kinsky excelling for Spurs after his disaster in Madrid, but, against the odds, he is staking a claim to hold on to the number one jersey. theanalyst.com/articles/ant...
Against All Expectations, Antonín Kinsky Has Emerged as Spurs’ Shock Hero | Opta Analyst
Antonín Kinsky put in his best Tottenham performance in the draw with Leeds on Monday night, staking his claim to keep hold of the number one jersey.
theanalyst.com
Spurs are relying on away points more than any other team in Premier League history. They may well need to change that in the last few games of the season if they are to survive. theanalyst.com/articles/tot...
Tottenham Rely on Away Form More Than Anyone Else in Premier League History. Will it Matter? | Opta Analyst
Tottenham are battling relegation, but only the two Premier League title chasers have won more points away from home than them. Is this a good recipe for survival?
theanalyst.com
De Zerbi: "This team can win five games in a row." No team has ever been in the relegation zone with five games of a season remaining and won all of their last five games. 18 teams have won 3 or 4 out of 5, which should be enough for Spurs. theanalyst.com/articles/spu...
Roberto De Zerbi Says Spurs ‘Can Win Five Games in a Row’. Is He Right? | Opta Analyst
Spurs are without a win in 15 Premier League games, but Roberto De Zerbi believes they can turn it around and avoid relegation. Is an escape at all realistic?
theanalyst.com
tell me my club's clueless without telling me my club's clueless
Tottenham have chucked in 74 long throws in PL games this season, and haven't scored a single goal from any of them. Are long throws more trouble than they're worth? theanalyst.com/articles/pre...
Are Long Throws Actually a Waste of Everyone’s Time? | Opta Analyst
Premier League teams are all attacking with long throw-ins this season, but very few are scoring goals from them consistently.
theanalyst.com
Maybe nobody can fix Spurs, but Igor Tudor definitely can't. theanalyst.com/articles/tot...
Maybe Nobody Can Fix Tottenham, But Igor Tudor Definitely Can’t | Opta Analyst
Tottenham are sinking towards relegation and, after a disastrous night at Atlético Madrid, are all but out of the Champions League.
theanalyst.com
Igor Tudor was perhaps a surprising option to be tasked with helping Tottenham avoid relegation. @alitweedale.bsky.social has taken a look at the Croatian's record and what impact he might be able to have in north London. #THFC theanalyst.com/articles/igo...
Igor Tudor Has Improved Results Wherever He Has Gone – Can He Save Injury-Hit Spurs? | Opta Analyst
Igor Tudor is the man tasked with saving Tottenham from relegation. He has a good track record in Italy, but can he turn things around in north London?
theanalyst.com
Been a long time since I’ve worked on some #dataviz for the site. A small scrolly for a piece by @alitweedale.bsky.social 🛩️
Opta Analyst@optaanalyst.optajoe.com · 8mo agoTonight, Newcastle play a #UCL game after a longer journey than any other English team has made (2,529 miles). Explore our interactive map detailing all journeys made in #UCL history, created by the brilliant @petermckeever.bsky.social 👇 theanalyst.com/articles/cha...
On a miserable mistake which, after today, needs to be left firmly in the past. theanalyst.com/articles/tho...
Thomas Frank Sacked: Why Tottenham Had to Admit This Appointment Was a Terrible Mistake | Opta Analyst
Tottenham have sacked Thomas Frank after sliding towards the relegation zone with a dreadful run. However, the writing has been on the wall for months.
theanalyst.com
Why do goal-shy Spurs score so many wondergoals? theanalyst.com/articles/spu...
Is it a Problem That Spurs Score So Many Wondergoals? | Opta Analyst
Tottenham have caught the eye consistently this season with impressive goals. We look into why that is the case when they aren’t generally a high-scoring team.
theanalyst.com
An absolutely sensational piece from @jrcooper26.bsky.social here. No idea how he even came up with the idea for most of these. The stats you didn't realise you need to know about James Milner: theanalyst.com/articles/jam...
The Staggering Stats You (Didn't Realise You) Need to Know About James Milner's Premier League Career | Opta Analyst
With James Milner set to equal the Premier League appearance record, we look at the stats surrounding his career so far in the English top flight.
theanalyst.com
Happily, we can use Opta Vision data to identify and measure the quality of Enzo Fernández’s box-crashing runs for Chelsea (analysis via @alitweedale.bsky.social for @optaanalyst.optajoe.com) theanalyst.com/articles/enz...
Chelsea's Box-Crasher: Enzo Fernández Makes the Most Valuable Runs in the Premier League | Opta Analyst
Enzo Fernández completed a historic comeback win for Chelsea at the weekend after a goal following a run from deep, the type of which is increasingly becoming his trademark.
theanalyst.com
PL teams dominated the top eight in the CL this season, and I think that's in part because some of them had easier fixtures. Here's one simple solution that could help level the playing field in the 'new' league phase. theanalyst.com/articles/cha...
Does Champions League Fixture Difficulty Carry Too Much Weight in 36-Team Format? | Opta Analyst
Following the conclusion of the league phase of the Champions League 2025-26, we ask whether the draw has too big an impact on the competition.
theanalyst.com
There's no two ways about it: Tottenham have been terrible under Thomas Frank. The warning signs were there way back in October, when they were third in the PL but had dreadful underlying numbers. Now 14th in the actual table, there's no saving Frank. theanalyst.com/articles/tot...
Tottenham’s Champions League Position Cannot Save Doomed Thomas Frank | Opta Analyst
Tottenham’s underlying numbers are as bad as their Premier League position suggests. There is little reason to believe Thomas Frank can turn this around.
theanalyst.com
Really nice piece here from @rbenson92.bsky.social on what Conor Gallagher will bring to Spurs... and what he won't. Far from the perfect signing but there are some things to be positive about. Frank wants his team to press more: Gallagher + Solanke might allow that. theanalyst.com/articles/con...
Conor Gallagher Will Improve Tottenham’s Midfield, Even if He Doesn’t Fix It | Opta Analyst
Although Conor Gallagher probably doesn't address Tottenham's most obvious needs, the England international could plenty to Thomas Frank's team.
theanalyst.com
Mikel Arteta insists Viktor Gyökeres makes Arsenal better. They are six points clear at the top of the table, but the 'natural goalscorer' they signed in the summer only has three non-penalty goals in 18 PL appearances. So, what's the truth? Is Arteta right? theanalyst.com/articles/vik...
Is Mikel Arteta Right: Are Arsenal Better With Viktor Gyökeres? | Opta Analyst
Viktor Gyökeres was brought to Arsenal to score the goals to fire them to the title. He hasn't done that, but his manager insists he is improving the team.
theanalyst.com
Micky van de Ven's 67.7m run last night was the longest ball carry ending in a goal ever in a Champions League game in Opta's record books. Hard to say whether it was better or worse than Son's, but it was nearly 5m shorter. theanalyst.com/articles/mic...
Micky van de Ven’s Record-Breaking Strike and the Longest Runs For a Champions League Goal | Opta Analyst
Micky van de Ven ran the length of the pitch to score one of the great Champions League goals this week, but where does it rank among the competition’s longest such runs?
theanalyst.com
Piece on Tottenham's woeful performance on Saturday and what their pitiful xG of 0.1 means. They would have needed to carry on playing (at this exact rate) for 10 matches to score a single goal. theanalyst.com/articles/spu...
Three Shots, 0.1 xG: Just How Bad Were Spurs Against Chelsea? | Opta Analyst
Against Chelsea this weekend, Tottenham posted one of the lowest expected goals totals in Opta’s Premier League record books.
theanalyst.com
silver linings, etc. theanalyst.com/articles/tot...
Tottenham’s Progress With the Ball Makes Newcastle Defeat Easier to Take | Opta Analyst
Tottenham were knocked out of the EFL Cup by Newcastle on Wednesday, but there were signs from their performance of some crucial improvement under Thomas Frank.
theanalyst.com
Is a timer needed for throw-ins? Each PL game is being delayed by 11 mins, 21 secs this season purely for throw-ins - an increase of 2m, 31s on last season. I took a look at how this season's set-piece 'craze' is affecting Premier League football. theanalyst.com/articles/pre...
Monster Throw-In Delays and Less Football, But Better Competition: Is Set-Piece Craze Good for the Premier League? | Opta Analyst
Set-piece goals are up across the board in the Premier League. Plenty of people are moaning about this latest trend. But could it actually be good for the league?
theanalyst.com
Coventry City are on a five-game winning run. They have NEVER won six league games in a row in a single season before. Maybe 2025-26 is going to be special... theanalyst.com/articles/cov...
Frank Lampard and Coventry City Can Turn Dreams of a Top-Flight Return Into Reality | Opta Analyst
Coventry City are top of the Championship and they deserve to be there. Is this the season they finally end their 24-year absence from the Premier League?
theanalyst.com
This season, fewer goals are being scored than in most other Premier League seasons... ...but we're seeing the highest ever rate of 90th-minute goals AND 90th-minute winners. I had a go at trying to work out why this might be theanalyst.com/articles/pre...
Why Are Premier League 90th-Minute Winners at an All-Time High? | Opta Analyst
The Premier League in 2025-26 is witnessing more late goals and winners than any other season in the competition's history.
theanalyst.com
Last night, Spurs passed the ball to Richarlison just seven times all night. Five of those passes were made Porro, Danso or Vicario. *All* of their midfielders found their CF twice in total. There are real problems for Thomas Frank to deal with. theanalyst.com/articles/tot...
Fourth in the Premier League, Unbeaten in the Champions League, But Thomas Frank's Tottenham Are Flattering to Deceive | Opta Analyst
Tottenham's bright start to life under Thomas Frank has lost momentum already. Is there any reason to worry about the poor performances?
theanalyst.com
