11 Questions with Dave Willoughby

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 Dave Willoughby, Head of Football Analysis for QuantBet:

How did your first opportunity in football come about?

I didn't come into football analytics in the traditional route and actually went to university to study Accounts and worked in this field for a few years before moving into a performance analysis role in the local council's sports department. It was during this time that I started to look more into the analysis side of football, and I undertook a couple of the Prozone courses to expand my knowledge in this area and I produced my own report shortly after this on a game and sent it off to anybody I could find on LinkedIn who had connections at a club. 

Eventually I got a lucky break and the Sports Scientist at Rotherham United had pass it to the manager who asked me to produce post match analysis on their games. This went on for a few months and things were going very well until they had 1 too many bad results and he was sacked. I followed this up with roles at Coventry City Ladies (unpaid but I managed a team of excellent analysts and the manager was very receptive to the work we did) and Barnsley Academy and during this time was working for Onside Analysis as a Data Collector, a role which then progressed into part time producing Previews then full time - the company was then taken over by Stratagem and more recently our whole team moved over to QuantBet where things are going extremely well.

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

I've always been interested in football and stats but never really thought there would be a job from it. It was my unhappiness in drifting through life doing a job that I didn't enjoy that pushed me more towards the analytics side of football and it took a lot of tireless work and knocking on a lot of doors before finally getting the break that I wanted to be able to do it professionally. Originally my goal was to work for a club but having experienced that I much prefer the role I have now. I'd say it will always be a combination of names AND numbers, never one or the other - it may be that you see a player and then check out his advanced metrics, or running a search and spotting a player you didn't expect to see and then seeking out some games of his to keep and eye on.

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

While it wasn't one of the first concepts I found there are many aspects of the data collection process I implemented at Stratagem and then developed through to QuantBet that I'm very proud of. We were the first company to include pressure on shots and include the number of players between the ball and goal (concepts now used by both Opta and Statsbomb) and also record what we term Dangerous Moments (situations where there is the chance of a shot but a shot isn't the outcome - for example a player being one-on-one with the goalkeeper and trying to go around him but the keeper smothering the ball). A lot of the concepts brought forward are intuitive from how I've always watched football and finding the gap between what is collected and what is missing.

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

I don't really think it's a case of missing out on anything, particularly concepts - there will often be cases where somebody presents something on twitter that I don't particularly agree with but it's about keeping an open mind and not worrying about being first but about expanding your knowledge and experience and not being closed to new ideas.

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

It would be easy for me to say here that I'd get involved in football earlier and specialise in subjects that would be more useful now - for example I've recently learnt how to use Python and I'm currently doing a course on Statistics, but I think my overall journey and experience has helped me get where I am today. I enjoy this position immensely and have a great team around and you're never too old to start learning something new.

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

This isn't relevant to the work I do but I think it's a combination of both - development needs to be bought into by both sides, there's no point having a great coach with a player thats unwilling to learn and adapt and the same can be said the other way round as well. In terms of being art or science, the unpredictability will always lead to art having a large part to play but many players are buying into the performance side of the game more and more and science will also have a big part to play in the future.

What is your favorite sports moment? Why?

I support Sheffield Wednesday so it's either playing (and beating!) Sheffield United in the FA Cup Semi final at Wembley in 1993, Chris Waddle's free kick was a particularly highlight, or getting promotion via the Play Offs in Cardiff in 2005 - the game against Hartlepool went to extra time and it was very nervy but Drew Talbot scored in the 119th minute and that was the time when you knew we'd made it and the relief came pouring out!

What coach/player/team inspires you? Why?

I don't think there's 1 particular individual or team that inspires me and I can see the merits in many different players and the way coaches set their teams up. Football is such a wonderful game to watch that a battling 0-0 draw can be just as good as a 5-5 thriller.

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

I think perseverance and having an open mind are 2 key assets for anybody wanting to get involved in football analysis. Football itself is a very insular business and the more you can upskill and take on board advice and ideas the better it will serve you in the long run. Keep trying different things and find your own niche and you'll definitely get noticed in time if you have the right skills and attitude.

What is your favorite app/tool to use (fun only!!)?

I've enjoyed using Python since getting into that, never really thought I'd take t it as much as I have. Most of the software we use as a company is bespoke other than that.

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

I don't really have an interest in any other sports, aside from a bit of NFL, but listening to betting podcasts and consuming as many articles via social media is key in sparking ideas and staying on top of a fast moving industry.