11 Questions with Ben Wells

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 Ben Wells of Football Radar:

How did your first opportunity in football come about?

Very random actually, I studied journalism at University with a view to becoming a sports writer but that didn't work out & I ended up working in a pub for a year. Alongside that, I ran my own Premier League based blog with a group of writers. The blog got fairly popular at one point before I stopped running it. One of my friends had just started working for a company called Football Radar and told me I should apply, so I did & ended up getting the job even though I hadn't had any background in sporting analysis.

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

I've always been a bit of a statto since I was young & also take a keen interest in Cricket which is also a very stats-based game. The numbers are always the draw for me, you can gain extra insight from numbers that you're not able to get from simply watching a player live.

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

I started working at Football Radar when xG was first becoming a well-known stat in the analytics community. I was quite lucky in a way that my role coincided with that development, as it allowed me to somewhat understand the concept whilst TV Studios and fans were struggling to get to grips with it. 

Also, in my first year of working on the Norwegian OBOS Ligaen, I saw Erling Haaland's debut aged 15 for Bryne. I have to say, he didn't look too impressive at the time (he was just 15 after all) and was a very lanky skinny kid playing on the wing at that stage. He always looked as though he could develop into a much better player, though. 

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

Probably a lot of it! I wish I could use Python & get more involved with advanced analytics but unfortunately don't have the time alongside my current role to properly learn this skill at the moment. But, I'd encourage anyone making their first steps into football analytics to try their hand at coding/python/etc as data science is definitely the path to follow in this area.

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

Similarly to above, I would definitely put a lot of time into learning data science... Learning to code etc. as that is definitely a key skill in certain areas of this industry

Do you see player development as more of an art or a science? Is development on the club or the player? Why?

A bit of both. Player development can of course be a science, following steps to guarantee success but as we all know there are so many other factors that go into a players' development. For every Lionel Messi, there is a Ravel Morrison. The club has a huge role to play in any players' development but 50% of that also should fall on the player & how much they want to succeed. The players more likely to put the hard yards in are the ones more likely to succeed in the long term.

What is your favorite sports moment? Why?

Kongsvinger beating Stromsgodset in the Norwegian cup semi-finals to confirm their place in the Norwegian cup final vs. Rosenborg. Kongsvinger were a club I knew well in the OBOS Ligaen at that stage having covered them all season and I had become close to some of the players in the squad as well as their coaching team. 

I knew how much it meant for them and the entire city of Kongsvinger to make the final, so it was absolutely brilliant to witness that first hand. They eventually lost the final, which I went to, but the day as a whole was superb and everyone was proud of the minnows' achievement vs. the biggest club in Norway.

What coach/player/team inspires you? Why?

Bodø/Glimt in the 2019 season. A brilliant example of a club getting the most out of their players and staff to massively overachieve. Glimt were tipped by many (including myself) to be relegated last season but instead went on to finish 2nd in the league, a fantastic finish from a club of their size and due to this they will now be playing in Europe next season. 

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

Immerse yourself in football, or whatever area you want to get into. It's key to have a great understanding of the game before you get started as this aids any future analysis you may do. Write tactical reports, scout players, profile managers... anything that continues to enhance your knowledge of this complicated game is a huge benefit to yourself.

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

I could spend days on Wyscout or Instat but generally the most useful tool I have available is the Football Radar app which is a bank of knowledge for us all working at Radar but unfortunately is only available to employees... 

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

Writing. I have always had a passion for writing and continue to write as a freelance journalist for various websites alongside my role as Norwegian Eliteserien Analyst. To be able to write proficiently on Norwegian football I need to do added research alongside my current role which aids both my writing and analysis.