We use data to help clubs make evidence informed decisions Football clubs make decisions on multi million pound deals, whether they be new signings, contract extensions, or managerial changes. To do this well they need to gather the best available evidence and analyse it. As a football club you will receive proposals all the time offering you unique data. We do not offer data, we help you to interpret the data you already have so you can make rational and pragmatic decisions. We hope that after reading this document you will see what we are able to do with the information we have available to us, and appreciate what we would be able to do with access to the performance and recruitment data you already pay for. We don’t lock customers into long contracts, we work on a per project or per season basis with affordable fees. Data in Football Who we are: We are a team of data scientists and consultants with a passion for football. By combining our interests we are able to help football clubs to make the most out of the data they hold. We don’t believe in data for the sake of data, we understand the complexity of football. Our services are affordable for clubs starting out in data analytics and can be ordered on a per project or per season basis. What we do: Football clubs have access to large volumes of data. Providers such as Opta, Statsbomb and Wyscout record almost every action in a significant number of leagues around the world. We know what to do with event data files such as the Opta F24 data and how to turn it into easy to use information for coaches. It has never been simpler to find the players in good form, who are excelling in a specific role within their team. The downside of this simplicity is that everybody has access to the same data. The simple reports produced and provided by the suppliers are simple to use. But they only scratch the surface of what can be done. Clubs will only gain advantages over the other users of the recruitment systems they use if they find unique insights. This means using data science. Data science is the use of technology to solve analytical problems. The problem most clubs have is finding staff able to understand both the technical data and who understand football enough to produce meaningful information for the recruitment department and coaching team. Clubs need data scientists who can explain, in plain English, what data you hold and what can be done with it. Your coaching staff or recruitment team may already be full of ideas about what insights data could bring, or they may need to be introduced to the possibilities. There are also cost considerations. Establishing an entire department to undertake data analysis requires a large investment with uncertain benefits. If you create a specific role as a data analyst you are putting a lot of faith in a single individual to have all the skills required to get the most out of your systems. We can provide those skills at a price you can afford. Our portfolio of work: To demonstrate the insights you can gain through data science we have put together a portfolio of work we have done, just using the data available to us. With the more detailed information available to clubs this work could be significantly expanded. We have produced a case study of a recruitment project at Swansea City to demonstrate both our understanding of football needs and our ability to use data and traditional scouting methods to make realistic, affordable recruitment recommendations. We can take the data available only to professional football clubs, such as event data files supplied by Opta, Statsbomb, and Wyscout and turn it into unique visuals to improve your ability on the pitch. Further links are provided at the end of this document to articles and analysis we have published elsewhere which will give a full view of our capabilities. This includes a unique pass scoring model based on XY coordinates and pass type. Technical scouting and analysis Swansea City squad analysis and recruitment process Data-informed scouting The recent success of Liverpool and Norwich, and their reliance on data-informed scouting, has highlighted that consistently good recruitment is key to both the on-pitch performance, and the financial health of a football club. Data-informed scouting uses the latest statistical information (such as that provided by Wyscout, OPTA and Statsbomb) and combines it with football insight gained from coaches and analysts to identify realistic players for clubs to sign depending on their style of play, their budget and their existing squad. The key to the success of the project is an understanding of football. We need to understand your preferred style of play. Our analysts understand football and can work with the coaching staff to identify the specific requirements you have for each player in your system, translating that into the information required for data scouting. We don’t just look at the current data output for players, the added value is looking at the individual attributes players have. Some of the best value players on the market will have the right attributes to succeed but be playing in systems and roles that do not allow them to demonstrate them. Therefore we don’t only data scout, we also use extensive knowledge of valuable leagues to identify promising players with high potential upsides. Once the data and football knowledge has identified players worthy of further investigation, further video-based scouting takes place, using a unique data-driven approach to provide a much higher level of due diligence than traditional forms of scouting. Methodology Player recruitment will never be 100% successful, players are human beings, form and fitness levels can change. What we need to do is ensure we maximise the chances of each transfer succeeding. This follows a simple process: Define the role What is their role within the team structure, what areas of the pitch will they be operating in, what sort of movements will you be expecting of them? We learn everything about your … Continue reading Data Science Services for Football Clubs