Between 2019-2022 most clubs we spoke to did not use data. The clubs who hired us were early adopters, and it was typically that the owner, sporting director, or manager followed us on social media and liked the players we talked about and the way we thought about football.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These clubs had a lot of success, in the early years, where simply having data and using it well was enough, 90% of the clubs we worked with improved their league position. Some massively so, with promotions and title wins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, what connected the early clients was that the whole club ethos was based on rational decision-making. We joined a club that was already thinking in the right way and wanted support on a pathway they had already committed to. I\u2019d like to think we helped achieve those goals, and we have maintained good connections with those early clients, often joining them for projects as they have moved up through the leagues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2024 everyone has at least some data available to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The competitive advantage in data is lower than in 2019, but it still exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It still exists because whilst data availability is far higher, good data usage is not common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Data is not a panacea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Even good data usage is not a guarantee of success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Budgets matter, good players always have choices, and competition for players is fierce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Give me a choice between a \u00a320m League One budget and no data, and a \u00a33m budget and the best data setup in the world and I take the \u00a320m every time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n However, the tools required to use data well are not expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What do you need?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We can supply all the tools needed to have a really good data setup within a club for a very low price. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Things don\u2019t need to be complicated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Simply put you need:<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can have more, you can design very complicated systems that merge multiple data sources into a beautiful front end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve seen lots of such systems that have had a lot of work put into them but eventually, one of two things happen<\/p>\n\n\n\n How do you use it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The early adopters built data into their clubs from the top down. The owner insisted that was the way they wanted their club run. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They hired people who valued it, who in turn hired staff who could use data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They then plugged in data sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In later years it was bottom-up. People thought they should have data so they purchased a system, maybe several systems but they got no value from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even when staff used them, and got excited about the possibilities they offered, they weren\u2019t valued by people higher up so they did not influence decisions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And without ownership insisting data is used senior staff continued to trust their instincts as they are only being judged on outcomes not process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat are the numbers like?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n This bottom-up approach involves data being seen as a separate domain where senior staff ask \u201cWhat are the numbers like?\u201d and the geeky guy on the laptop mentions a few key stats or puts a scatter graph up on the big screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A box is ticked but has minimal impact on decisions and is not embedded in club culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A top-down approach is the only way to get alignment around the importance of data-informed decision-making. The best data clubs are run by people who insist on the importance of data and judge by process, not just outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve spoken to owners who believe that data is used, after all, they\u2019ve bought systems, but they leave all football decisions to a sporting director and have no proper oversight into how those decisions are made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n MVP or MID?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n We like to concentrate on starting a club towards good use of data by thinking about the MVP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not the most valuable player but the minimum viable product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What do you need to start with?<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don\u2019t need to start with world-class.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As mentioned earlier the key things are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n This can be condensed even more into \u201cMeasure, Improve, Document\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Measure<\/strong> where you currently are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Work out a way to Improve<\/strong> the situation<\/p>\n\n\n\n Document<\/strong> it (write it down) so you can show the logic of what you are trying to do and look back to learn from it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can turn the process into a meeting schedule but all of it is based on having good data usage embedded in the club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Set out what you want to play like, and how it looks in data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Game-by-game data (and video) informs the analysts and coaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Larger data samples inform the recruitment team and board. <\/p>\n\n\n\n What happens in the meetings is documented and transparent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The single question in every meeting is \u201cWhat do we need to do to improve?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n None of this immediately requires a team of brilliant data scientists and tracking data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Marginal gains are marginal. There are much bigger gains to be made from simple data that is well-understood and widely used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The purpose of analytics is to help clubs make better decisions. We can supply you with everything you need to do this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Five years ago, I was sitting in a caf\u00e9 just off the M25, for our first-ever meeting with a potential client. We had written a speculative piece about how data analytics could help a Championship football club and were about to meet their Head of Recruitment. We were hired the same day, and MRKT Insights was born. In the following 5 years we have had some amazing experiences, working closely with some of the best managers and sporting directors. We\u2019ve had the pleasure of seeing players we identified playing in League Two scoring for clients in the Premier League. We\u2019ve enjoyed title wins and promotions, player of the year awards, and huge transfer profits. We\u2019ve had cup finals and amazing European nights. We\u2019ve also had seasons where nothing seemed to work. Nothing is worse than sitting in a meeting where there are no simple solutions. The team is depleted with injuries, and the pressure is on.\u00a0 Fan and media pressure is so hard to imagine and leads to a lot of bad decision-making,\u00a0 but when you are in a room with people who are getting non-stop abuse you understand a lot more. But what has changed over that time? What have we seen, and are we closer to understanding what analytics can and can’t do? The biggest change from 2019 to 2024 is the proliferation of data. Between 2019-2022 most clubs we spoke to did not use data. The clubs who hired us were early adopters, and it was typically that the owner, sporting director, or manager followed us on social media and liked the players we talked about and the way we thought about football. These clubs had a lot of success, in the early years, where simply having data and using it well was enough, 90% of the clubs we worked with improved their league position. Some massively so, with promotions and title wins. However, what connected the early clients was that the whole club ethos was based on rational decision-making. We joined a club that was already thinking in the right way and wanted support on a pathway they had already committed to. I\u2019d like to think we helped achieve those goals, and we have maintained good connections with those early clients, often joining them for projects as they have moved up through the leagues. In 2024 everyone has at least some data available to them. The competitive advantage in data is lower than in 2019, but it still exists. It still exists because whilst data availability is far higher, good data usage is not common. Data is not a panacea Even good data usage is not a guarantee of success. Budgets matter, good players always have choices, and competition for players is fierce. Give me a choice between a \u00a320m League One budget and no data, and a \u00a33m budget and the best data setup in the world and I take the \u00a320m every time. However, the tools required to use data well are not expensive. What do you need? We can supply all the tools needed to have a really good data setup within a club for a very low price. Things don\u2019t need to be complicated. Simply put you need: You can have more, you can design very complicated systems that merge multiple data sources into a beautiful front end. I\u2019ve seen lots of such systems that have had a lot of work put into them but eventually, one of two things happen How do you use it? The early adopters built data into their clubs from the top down. The owner insisted that was the way they wanted their club run. They hired people who valued it, who in turn hired staff who could use data. They then plugged in data sources. In later years it was bottom-up. People thought they should have data so they purchased a system, maybe several systems but they got no value from them. Even when staff used them, and got excited about the possibilities they offered, they weren\u2019t valued by people higher up so they did not influence decisions. And without ownership insisting data is used senior staff continued to trust their instincts as they are only being judged on outcomes not process. \u201cWhat are the numbers like?\u201d This bottom-up approach involves data being seen as a separate domain where senior staff ask \u201cWhat are the numbers like?\u201d and the geeky guy on the laptop mentions a few key stats or puts a scatter graph up on the big screen. A box is ticked but has minimal impact on decisions and is not embedded in club culture. A top-down approach is the only way to get alignment around the importance of data-informed decision-making. The best data clubs are run by people who insist on the importance of data and judge by process, not just outcome. I\u2019ve spoken to owners who believe that data is used, after all, they\u2019ve bought systems, but they leave all football decisions to a sporting director and have no proper oversight into how those decisions are made. MVP or MID? We like to concentrate on starting a club towards good use of data by thinking about the MVP. Not the most valuable player but the minimum viable product. What do you need to start with? You don\u2019t need to start with world-class. As mentioned earlier the key things are: This can be condensed even more into \u201cMeasure, Improve, Document\u201d Measure where you currently are. Work out a way to Improve the situation Document it (write it down) so you can show the logic of what you are trying to do and look back to learn from it. You can turn the process into a meeting schedule but all of it is based on having good data usage embedded in the club. Set out what you want to play like, and how it looks in data. Game-by-game data (and video) informs the analysts and coaches. Larger data samples inform the recruitment team and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6041,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mrkt-insights","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n\n
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