11 Questions with Stevie Grieve

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 Stevie Grieve, Head of Analysis and Opposition Scouting @dundeeunitedfc:

How did your first opportunity in football come about?

I started coaching when I was 16, I was playing Futsal and teaching some kids how to do some tricks and was asked by the coach of the community centre if I'd like a job.

My first opportunity in competitive football was in Switzerland at FC Gland. I had just moved to Switzerland and had emailed about 30 teams asking for a coaching role. Eventually the president of FC Gland asked to meet with me and offered me the job. Learning to coach in French was a big challenge and one I couldn’t have done without the help and patience of the players and the club.

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

Since 2013 when I moved to India, I wanted to take a more ‘evidence based’ view of coaching and performance. So I started to look in depth at what happens in a game. The reason was we had a curriculum which included lots of sessions on shooting, heading, defending etc but a less than realistic amount of time on possession, technique, 1v1 etc.

So I decided to research actions per game and started to show that we needed to focus on making the most common actions, interactions and scenarios more common in training.

Then I discovered StatsBomb which has helped guide a lot of things I use today.

For me names are more intriguing. We can use numbers as a filter initially and look at it across a variety of ways to assess if they are consistent or not. Even after the data filters, after that you need to go look at the players who come up. You may watch 20 outliers and only 1 is what you need/want.

There’s nothing better than finding a dramatically undervalued player who may be achievable for your team and you are 90% sure that he can improve the team.The next steps are beyond what I do, so I help create the ones to contact and let the other guys get on with that part.

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

I don’t know if I can say I ‘found’ him but I did a 2 week training camp in Asansol, Jharkhand, India, and on the first day, there was an Indian Gareth Bale playing. 

I called the owner of our academy and told him about him. We (me, Vivek, Vikas, Anup) monitored him the whole time we were there and every day he was dedicated, committed and a good trainer. Even better in games and unplayable in space.

We signed him to our u19s then moved him onto FC Pune, who moved him to Villarreal. He is now a mainstay in the Indian National Team at 22/23.

Ashique Kuruniyan was the player.

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

I don’t know if I have missed anything but for a long time I didn’t really understand pressing and how to do it. It seemed really difficult to put it all together but after studying various methods for years I can coach it well and teach it to others in a simple way.

By learning some simple concepts as a starting point then analysing a lot of teams who press well, I started to see consistencies in good and bad pressing teams then worked from there.

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

I started at 16 so things like data science, Python, R and other tech stuff like that weren’t available but I would 100% be more dedicated to learn and 2nd, 3rd and 4th language.

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

Coaching is an art. 

Development of a club is for a Sporting Director

Development of a player is for a Coach.

What is your favorite sports moment? Why?

Toronto Raptors winning the NBA Play-offs. 

I think for me as an outsider living there and Ontario became to feel like home, the Raptors were the thing which bonded millions of people together through sport. 

As a lifelong basketball fan, rushing home after work and watching Toronto over the whole playoff run and being able to go outside watch it live with hundreds of other fans in my local park will be something I’ll never forget.

What coach/player/team inspires you? Why?

Coaches who have come from a similar pathway as me - Ian Cathro, Rene Maric, Joao Sacramento - and moved into top level coaching positions. They show that there is a way to the top level through commitment, intelligence and being dedicated to improving every day.

There are top level people across a variety of sports who I admire and would like to meet to discuss their viewpoint on their respective sports one day - Nick Nurse, Billy Beane, Kyle Dubas, Rasmus Ankersen are a few.

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

Create a blog and work at it. Gain exposure. Work as a volunteer for a club. Talk to people working in the industry or even people who have been in it and moved on. 

The only way to get in is via networking or publicly putting your work out there. Often by doing that you gain the opportunity to network and get opportunities. I recently hired someone to do data analysis and scouting for us on the back of them being brave enough to put work out there. People are always watching so if you are good, don’t ruin it by having a bad online profile.

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

I use WhatsApp every day for obvious reasons but Mario Kart is a favourite!

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

I would say watching other sports. Basketball and Ice Hockey are both interesting tactically. I like to walk my dog so that gives me time to think and often call someone for an idea or discussion.