title: What's in a game? A systems approach to enhancing performance analysis in football.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Performance analysis (PA) in football is considered to be an integral component of understanding the requirements for optimal performance. Despite vast amounts of research in this area key gaps remain, including what comprises PA in football, and methods to minimise research-practitioner gaps. The aim of this study was to develop a model of the football match system in order to better describe and understand the components of football performance. Such a model could inform the design of new PA methods.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eight elite level football Subject Method Experts (SME's) participated in two workshops to develop a systems model of the football match system. The model was developed using a first-of-its-kind application of Cognitive Work Analysis (CWA) in football. CWA has been used in many other non-sporting domains to analyse and understand complex systems.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using CWA, a model of the football match 'system' was developed. The model enabled identification of several PA measures not currently utilised, including communication between team members, adaptability of teams, playing at the appropriate tempo, as well as attacking and defending related measures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicate that football is characteristic of a complex sociotechnical system, and revealed potential new and unique PA measures regarded as important by SME's, yet not currently measured. Importantly, these results have identified a gap between the current PA research and the information that is meaningful to football coaches and practitioners.
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Sport Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Australia.|Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Australia.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7269-5847
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McLean
authors.affiliation: Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Australia.
authors.forename: Paul M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Salmon
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Sport Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Australia.
authors.forename: Adam D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Gorman
authors.affiliation: Centre for Human Factors and Sociotechnical Systems, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Australia.
authors.forename: Gemma J M
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Read
authors.affiliation: School of Health and Sport Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Australia.
authors.forename: Colin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Solomon
mesh_terms: D054874:Athletic Performance / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D012916:Soccer; D013597:Systems Analysis