11 Questions with @VillaAnalytics

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 Villa Analytics:

How did your first opportunity in football come about?

In terms of my first professional work it came about through my twitter account, where I started posting some graphics I was making. Someone saw my account and was looking for an analyst, he liked my work and that all went from there.

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

I’ve always been a huge fan of football, and academically a mathematician. When I was much much younger I always liked the numbers in football, even if all I could find then was the goals and assists, and the attendances I’d try and remember from games. When I started to explore the more detailed statistics I very quickly got heavily invested.

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

In terms of scouting my first report was on Alejandro Pozuelo, who I really enjoyed watching. My first proper bit of data was a comparison of Aston Villa’s striker targets (Wesley, Maupay, and Abraham) in the summer for my twitter. 

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

It’s a concept here really, and it might surprise you. For a long time I was very skeptical of expected goals. It took some serious convincing until I was happy with the value of the metric (although I still believe NSxG and PSxG give xG far more meaning). Now it’s obviously something I use daily.

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

Absolutely my programming. More recently I’ve started to get into R, but I wish I’d listened and got started 12 months ago. The progress is already clear to see but it’s so incredibly helpful!

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

Development is an art for sure, recruitment has more of a scientific side, but in terms of player development there is no set method, and every player is unique. It’s up to the club to provide the correct environment, but after that it’s all down to the player and what they’re made of.

What is your favorite sports moment? Why?

My favourite moment? It’s probably Ezri Konsa’s recent goal against Watford. While there may be some recent bias, and it may be shocking given how many moments Villa have had, but Konsa’s goal came while I’d been struggling mentally for a bit, and it totally transformed my mood. No goal has ever made that much of a positive difference on me mentally, so I’d say it’s my favourite moment.

What coach/player/team inspires you? Why?

If I had to pick one person that would be very tough. Julian Nagelsmann changed my views on the game, and I’m also a massive fan of Chris Wilder. As directors go I love Leeds’ Victor Orta, Villa’s Purslow, and Brentford’s pairing of Phil Giles and Rasmus Ankersen. Rasmus in particular is someone I follow and aim to become a new (and improved!) version of.

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

Advice to get into analytics is tough, there’s no set path. The one thing I can stress for football in general is the power of networking. If I hadn’t learned the importance of this early on and made the connections I did then I wouldn’t be anywhere right now. For a more data based answer, coding is your best friend. Seriously.

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

Recently I’ve been abusing the R+Photoshop combination and it’s absolutely mega, I’m surprising myself with what I’m producing these days! I’m a big fan of Smarterscout’s online tool which is available for free as well, it’s simple yet interesting, particularly for finding similar players.

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

I wouldn’t say much has a direct impact on my ability as an analyst other than what I do to be the best analyst I can be. If I had to choose anything I’d say it’s my academic knowledge of mathematics which makes it far easier to understand concepts for use within football, but even then the methods aren’t massively advanced.