11 Questions with @We_R_PL

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 @We_R_PL:

How did your first opportunity in football come about?

I'm more of a 'fanalyst' someone who's involved in football analytics as a fan rather than a job. I doff my cap to those who had the guts to make it their day job but just a hobby for me. 

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

It all started when Swansea were promoted to the Premier League (for 2011/12 season) which coincided with the beginning of the rise of available data.  I used a mix of Guardian Chalkboards, Statszone and EPL Index, very much copy and paste in those days for the data but you ended up with info that would be hard to find anywhere else (far easier to add value back then).

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

I certainly wouldn't have claimed to have 'found' him, but Leon Britton's influence in that Swansea side stood out in the data.

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

In terms of missed, I think especially back in those days (and even to some extent now), it's far harder to evaluate players in defensive positions so arguably Ashley Williams' importance maybe didn't show up as much in the data as on the pitch.

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

Programming/automation, as with other real world examples you're often given the option of maybe spending 4 hours doing something a time-consuming way, but you know it'll be done at the end of that time or you can try and automate which could eat up days and leave you no better off.  It's hard to be committed to doing things right the first time. 

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

Speaking more in general rather than just football, you obviously need buy-in from the person (player), but the atmosphere of development and improvement is usually driven by management and them knowing what form a training/development works for each person, for some it'll just be a case of providing the opportunities and they'll manage it themselves, others will need something far more structured.

What is your favorite sports moment? Why?

Probably Wales' first game in Euro 2016 against Slovakia, not just for the match itself but everything around it (Bordeaux is a beautiful place).  After some close calls in qualifications mixed in with some pretty poor efforts, I wasn't sure if I'd ever see Wales at a major tournament.

What coach/player/team inspires you? Why?

I think having Bielsa in the Championship is great for seeing someone so revered up close.

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

I don't take my own advice but in the words of Bebo: Blog Early, Blog Often. Like pretty much anything else, the best way to improve is to do.  There's obviously value in considered pieces that take weeks to put together but if you actually want to work in the industry, either in media or at a club, the ability to turn things round quickly, accurately and with added value will be vital.

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

Obviously tools like R/Python are changing what would be expected from an analyst, but one of the first things I download on a new machine is Notepad++ As someone who started with the basics, having something that could search in and alter multiple files at the same time seemed like sorcery.

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

I've been lucky that between my job as a (non sports related) analyst and my interest in sports analytics there's been a fair bit of crossover and techniques I've learnt in one I've been able to use in the other.  The key for any analysis is the 'so what', there's a big difference between something being interesting and something being useful, as an old Marketing Director of mine said 'Does it move the meter?'