Thirteen games into last season, Sunderland were sixth in the Premier League table and riding high following a 3-0 victory at Chelsea.
After the same number of games this term, it is a starkly different picture. The Black Cats are fifth from bottom following their injury-time defeat by fellow strugglers Wigan last Saturday, and it was enough for manager Steve Bruce to be sacked after what owner Ellis Short called a "trying start to the season".
Results were not good enough, Short said. But the strange thing is that when you analyse many of Sunderland's performances this season, they have not been playing that badly.
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Baseball, statistics and Brad Pitt are the unusual ingredients of Hollywood's new release.
Moneyball tells the compelling true story of a coach who pioneered a radical use of data to turn around the fortunes of his side.
Based on the book by Michael Lewis, the film centres on three baseball players being plucked out of relative obscurity by Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane.
Using a complex statistics system, he drafted in a player with a strange pitching action, one who was seen as over the hill and another who was renowned for his off-field antics rather than his aptitude on the park.
They were seen as cast-offs by other teams but Beane, played by Brad Pitt, used the sabermetrics theories documented in a series of books by Bill James to capitalise on values other franchises ignored.
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Less than 18 months ago it was no understatement to say that England's defence was in disarray, as the national team suffered a punishing 4-1 defeat by Germany in the second round of the World Cup.
So, whatever the merit of the 1-0 victory over Spain on Saturday, keeping a clean sheet against the world champions represents a progress of sorts.
Reaction to the game at Wembley has been measured, as it should be. The fixture was a friendly, Spain withdrew many of their best performers during the match and, although England achieved a fine result, they did it with a backs-to-the-wall display in which they defended for long periods.
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Matches are often won or lost thanks to a moment of magic or a simple error, but sometimes a manager's tactical switch or why a team or player have hit form are worthy of further investigation. That is what this blog intends to do, with the help of expert opinion, tactical statistics and, of course, your ideas.
