11 Questions with @AlbionAnalytics

The pursuit of wisdom in any walk of life quickly reveals that what you think you know is not nearly enough to get you to where you want to go. As I'm starting out in my football scouting journey I challenged myself to reach out to those already working in various roles in football to answer a short list of questions. My goal wasn't to get answers but relevant perspectives on the game within the game.

Here is @AlbionAnalytics

How did your first opportunity in football come about?

At a local grassroots club - I did some volunteer coaching

What attracted you to scouting/analytics? What’s more intriguing now names or numbers?

I really wanted to understand the game more, a lot of people had strong opinions and I wanted to see if they held up numerically. For me 100% the numbers.

Who/what is the first player/concept you "found"? What caught your eye?

The one who still mesmerises me analytically is Pascal Gross, in Germany and now England he’s one of the best Chance creators. For a concept, xG was the first I understood and it’s simplicity is its beauty!

Who/what is the player/concept you "missed" on? What did you learn from it?

My scouting doesn’t go too in depth so I haven’t really missed anyone yet, I’m sure that’ll change soon!

If you could start over what skill would you build on first?

My knowledge of how to use excel, tableau etc! I still struggle sometimes with it.

Do you see player development as more of an art or a science?

Both. It’s a scientific approach but it needs to be done in an artistic manner, that is finding the correct way to apply the science.

What is your favorite sports moment? Why?

Pascal Gross’ header vs Manchester United in 2018 to keep Brighton mathematically safe from relegation.

What coach/player/team inspires you? Why?

Jose Mourinho, purely for how he’s consistently overachieved.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into scouting/analytics?

Make use of all the free data that is available on websites and apps!

What is your favorite app/tool to use (for work or fun)?

Statszone, just £4 for a yearly subscription for a league and it is so in-depth.

What other sport/hobby/discipline do you feel improves your work as an analyst/scout? Why?

I do a bit of running and that of course is heavily underpinned by numbers and scientific concepts, so that helps!