BOOK REVIEW Analysing all the numbers now the done thing in sport

THERE WAS a time - and it’s not too long ago either - when the best way to denigrate a person’s interest or involvement in sport was to label them a geek, or an anorak. Those were the days when an individual was greeted with derision if he or she was able to reel off a list of facts and figures without recourse to research.

However, that particular scenario has changed completely. Indeed, in the world we now live in, no self-respecting sports team with an ambition to compete at the highest level will go into battle without someone on their side to crunch the numbers and provide the best analytical data in real time.

As recently as last Sunday in Nowlan Park, I was seated in the press box close to the Wexford stats crew, and two of them made a beeline for the dressing-room just before half-time to ensure that Davy and his fellow mentors would have the cold, hard facts of the first 35 minutes at their disposal to hammer home the messages they wished to convey to the players.

I’ve always been a big fan of statistics in all shapes and sizes, so I picked up a book that was guaranteed to interest me recently with the title of ‘Sports Geek - A Visual Tour Of Sporting Myths, Debate And Data’.

Rob Minto is the author, an employee of the Financial Times who shares my obsession, and he has done a fine job in making this topic as interesting and accessible as possible.

Naturally enough, it would have the potential to be a pretty stuffy and boring read, but the attractive lay-out ensures that nothing could be further from the truth.

Each two-page spread on a different topic is adorned with a full-colour diagram to emphasise the point under discussion, and while some of them are difficult enough to follow, as a general rule they provide the perfect accompaniment to the surrounding text.

All manner of sports are explored, starting with football but cracking along at a decent pace as we are asked to consider various questions from the Olympics, baseball, athletics, rugby, American football, cricket, golf, snooker, tennis, cycling, rowing, rugby league, basketball, swimming, horse racing, ice hockey, boxing, winter sports, netball and Formula One.

Unfortunately, the author’s wide net doesn’t extend as far as Gaelic games, but I’d love to see him getting his hands on some of the key stats of hurling and football and looking at them from every possible angle.

The topics are so wide-ranging that it’s difficult to zone in on anything in particular, but I guarantee that this book will make the reader think a great deal and possibly query some assumptions previously made. The world of sport is strewn with clichés, and many of them are meaningless and make absolutely no sense when they are picked apart with the aid of cold, hard facts.

That’s exactly what Minto does, but he writes in a way that encourages the reader to make up their own minds. He presents the information with the greatest of detail, and then it’s up to you to either agree or disagree.

In most cases the former option will be taken, because it’s hard to argue or find fault with any of his findings.

We cannot avoid stats in the sporting environment these days, but they have gradually evolved from being an unloved part of the scene to being regarded as absolutely priceless. If you’re still sceptical regarding their value, this book will make you think again. ALAN AHERNE Visit The Book Centre on Wexford’s Main Street for the very best selection of sports books.