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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle

How is all that pointless football data collated?

Checking the stats ... football commentator Martin Tyler.
Checking the stats ... football commentator Martin Tyler. Photograph: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Football pundits seem to revel in pointless stats these days. How far does each player run, how many touches/tackles/passes (successful or unsuccessful), elbows to the back of the head; heat maps, etc. But surely they don’t have 22 researchers with stopwatches, slide rules and tally charts to collect all the data? So how is it done? (A secondary question might be, why is it done?)

John Murphy, Carshalton, Surrey

• Post your answers – and new questions – below or email them to nq@theguardian.com. Please include name, address and phone number.

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