An Introduction to Expected Goals (xG) in Football

I recommend this book. It provides an interesting view on expected goals, the history behind this measure and how to collect such a data.

“xPamphlet” is a correct review. A lot of tangents and this book is written at low reading level. Bought as a gift for my dad and we both read it. It lacked in depth analysis and felt stretched. There is some excessive bloviating which is tolerable, but annoying nonetheless. Get the feeling that the author thinks he’s better than everyone, which is bizarre, because he’s not really been at the center of this discovery and was a low-level employee at a firm which used xG. Would recommend other books for stats/sports people like Soccernomics. Thanks and good luck.

Yes, Tippett does a good job of explaining expected goals, expected assists, the “justice table,” etc. But, this book could have been a pamphlet. Would have been nice if he could have included how the common punter or fantasy player could best utilize this information to their advantage. After the first half, it’s essentially a skim read.

Don't buy, buy his first book. Fairly annoyed that this did not get deeper. Not sure what or how a publisher thought this was a good idea. Blatant profiteering

I picked up this book out of shear curiosity of xG stats I'd seen on the internet for EPL teams, and having recently watched Moneyball. The book gives a thorough explanation of what the measure is and explores it fairly thoroughly. Although, I do take issue with the author's liberal use of the word "luck" to describe football performances, I'm convinced of the utility of using this important measure when talking about football. I think a lot the author's use of "luck" can be attributed to the inexactness of the xG measurement at this time, and it is something he does talk about but doesn't seem to connect when he does touch on the inexactness in the later chapters.

As a former defender, I would've also appreciated a more thorough breakdown of how a statistical approach like this might be useful in showing who the most valuable defenders really are. It seems xG and xA can give you insights into midfielders and forwards, but it seems unclear where defenders lie in this to me.

Brand new to the xG stats, but loved the comparison to other sports and the real life statistics of real players. Makes watching football that much more interesting for me. Highly recommend.