chalkdust
Who is the best England manager? Flickr user Eric Kilby, CC BY-SA 2.0
Paddy Moore
M
y quest to answer this simple question began for the noblest of reasonsβto win an argument with my wife. We are both football fans and have been following England all our lives (the phrase βlong-sufferingβ has never been more apt). Our house is usually an oasis of calm and tranquillity, but one thing is guaranteed to get things kicking off: was Sven-GΓΆran Eriksson a good England manager? This year, we have had more time than usual at home together and the discussion has become heated. I believe that Sven took a golden generation of England players and led them to disappointing performances in three major tournaments and she points to the team reaching the last 8 at consecutive World Cups under his stewardship. Iβve been a maths teacher for over 25 years, so surely, I can prove I am correct using maths, right?f How do I prove that I am right? Well, the first, and most obvious, thing to do is to look at the playing
Anders Henrikson, CC BY 2.0
Sven-GΓΆran Eriksson wondering where his hat has gone.
f At this point, it is definitely not worth mentioning that in the 15 years weβve been having this row, I never thought of applying any maths to the problem until my wife suggested it.
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spring 2021
