O'Really?

May 16, 2012

Blue Moon hypothesis tested in Large Football Collider (LFC)

Filed under: football,funding,funny,Science — Duncan Hull @ 7:36 am
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The Manchester Derby 2007. What a difference five years makes

“This is how it feels to be City, this is how it feels to be small, this is how it feels when your team wins nothing at all.”  [1,3]

If you are not interested in Football Science, look away now. Normal service will be resumed shortly.

There is a controversial idea in football that money buys trophies, also known as Mancini’s Blue Moon hypothesis.

Two rival Universities have led the way in testing this idea, The University of Old Trafford and the The University of Eastlands, both in Manchester. One institute is led by a Scot, Professor Ferguson the other by an Italian, Professor Mancini. Both Universities have assembled teams of elite researchers including Doctor Vidic (PhD, University of Spartak Moscow) and Doctor Kompany (PhD, University of Hamburger) in their respective labs to carry out the necessary experiments.

Professor Mancini’s research laboratory have recently produced some intriguing experimental results by winning the 2012 Premier League title with generous funding from the Mansour Research Council (MRC) [2] (not to be confused with the Medical Research Council). The MRC has invested significantly more funding than rival bodies like the Glazer Research Council (GRC) not be be confused with the Global Research Council, which has opened up exciting new research opportunities in applied football science.

Some leading football scientists say Mancini’s Blue Moon hypothesis has been proven beyond all doubt; money does buy you trophies. Other scientists say that is it too early to tell, these results are inconclusive and more research is needed. Professor Ferguson insists that other factors besides money are significant in winning trophies.

Experimentalists will resume their research when the Large Football Collider (LFC) is switched back on in August 2012 after its annual summer shutdown. Is Mancini’s hypothesis proven or not? Tune in next season …

References

  1. Inspiral Carpets (1990) This Is How It Feels to be Lonely, This Is How It Feels to be Small Mute records
  2. The Premier League Research Council (PLRC) funds research into basic and applied football science in collaboration with the Mansour Research Council and many others. These football science councils have a larger fund than all the other traditional scientific research councils combined (EPSRC, BBSRC, NERC, MRC, STFC and PPARC etc).

June 18, 2009

Ooh aah Cantona! Welcome back Eric…

Filed under: football — Duncan Hull @ 5:12 pm
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Eric Cantona by Mark KennedyIt is great to see the eminent french football philosopher and scientist Eric Cantona back in his adopted hometown of Manchester. As well as visiting in person during production of the latest Ken Loach film (on the famous Keppel Road, Chorlton) and appearing at the premiere, Eric is currently gracing silver screens in cinemas all over Manchester (and across the world), thanks to his role in Looking for Eric where he stars as lui-même [1].

It is a little known fact that Eric actually has a PhD, with a thesis titled (roughly translated from french):

Making it count with nonchalant gallic passing and scoring.

This prize winning thesis was awarded on graduation from The University of Old Trafford back in the summer of 1997, by the Faculty of Football Science under the supervision of Professor Alex Ferguson. The thesis hasn’t been published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal yet but a lot of the raw data is available on youtube. Eric knows a thing or two about the art and science of timing in football [2].

As for the film, it is not really about football (thank God, footy flicks have an atrocious track record in cinema) or Manchester United Football Club (too divisive) but a touching story about the power of the human imagination in overcoming adversity. Worth watching and very enjoyable, IMHO, you can read all about it in the local newsrag, The Manchester Guardian [3].

So whether you’re red, blue, white, black, seagull, sardine or a trawler – there is something for everyone in this film.

C’est bon or is it c’est bien? Je ne sais pas [gallic shrug]. Bienvenue à la maison Eric!

References

  1. Ken Loach et al (2009). Looking For Eric , Eric Cantona mosaic above by Mark Kennedy (markkennedy.co.uk)
  2. Michael Hopkin (2006). Goal fever at the World Cup: Why the first strike counts. Nature, 441 (7095), 793-793 DOI: 10.1038/441793a
  3. Simon Hattenstone (2009). The awkward squad: Ken Loach and Eric Cantona The Guardian

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