"Ryan O'Hanlon pulls off a remarkable trick in Net Gains: he writes about the evolution of soccer in a way that somehow feels both romantic without being blind and analytical without being cold. It's exactly what I was hoping for from a structure standpoint, and even better than I was hoping for from an execution standpoint."

In his terrific book, Ryan O'Hanlon pulls off a genuine feat: describing the latest ideas, approaches, and purveyors of soccer data analysis in a way that appeals to both wonks and everyday fans. I follow these topics with regularity, and I learned a heap of new things about the sport we love.

''An extremely well-written look at football's statistical development in recent years, with some intriguing predictions for the future of the sport."

O'Hanlon offers a thorough history of soccer analytics, managing to paint compelling pictures of the characters who drive the field while at the same time explaining often complicated or counterintuitive concepts in a way that is accessible and entertaining. This makes the book hugely readable even for someone with no prior knowledge of analytics or even the sport. At its heart, it's about ingenuity and thinking creatively about data to better understand what our eyes and brains tell us. O'Hanlon understands this and skillfully illustrates how we got to where we are. His broad knowledge dips into other sports as well, recognizing the common ground while, at the same time, doing a fine job of explaining just why the random, organized chaos of soccer make it so unique and, in many ways, so hard to chronicle from a data/analytics perspective. All this written in a breezy-but intelligent-way that make this a very rewarding book.