11 Questions with Andy Watson

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 Andy Watson:

How did your first opportunity in football come about?

I suppose my first paid position in the game was working as a

data scout for Genius Sports. This was just a job I applied

for as a normal job. The role is to attend football matches

and enter event level data during the match. That data is then

sent out to various companies, including bookmakers who then use it to calculate their in-play odds.

From this I got used to observing football matches in a different way and I began to scout players and doing opposition analysis off my own observations.

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

I have always tried to combine my love of numbers. My profession was as a maths teacher for a few years and I like to think that that helps my football work in a lot of ways. If numbers and graphical interpretations of numbers can help people to understand more or provides some entertainment of some kind then I am all for it. From when I was a child I used to pore over the stats of players and now I am doing the same thing. The combination of knowing a player and analysing their game is intoxicating to me.

What player or concept you fascinates you? What caught your eye?

My biggest fascination at the moment is actually the ranking of

leagues and the compatibility of styles between leagues. You often

hear people come out with the statement “but it is only “x” league” but do people actually understand the quality of the league?

Measuring this concept is very difficult and has a lot of variables

to consider but it is something that I am exploring.

What is the biggest misconception you’ve found in this space?

I think the biggest misconception is that the data that you work

with is totally accurate. I know from gathering data live at matches that although you are doing the best job that you can and you are doing everything correctly there are lots of errors that are made in the process. Even if tracking data and passing data can be tracked and input by technology there is still categorisation by humans, which creates human error.

Of course, data should never be the sole arbiter of quality, I think

we are all coming to terms with the fact that you can syphon the

data to the type of player that you are looking for but you still

need to watch them a lot to realise if they are the right type of

player for your club.

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

Undoubtedly, I would start by building my coding. I am a believer in having a wide skill set and I wish I could use programming languages fluently. I’ve learned bits and pieces recently but I find it tough. If anyone is reading this as a youngster, I would definitely recommend this as a must have skill.

What is more important player development or recruitment? Why?

I am sure that you will get a lot of responses telling you that you

need both of these things! It is very difficult to say which is most

important but I think I will edge towards recruitment because unless you have the raw materials required then it is impossible to mould a masterpiece. Also, although this possibly shouldn’t matter, recruitment is more of a public trial of your effectiveness. People (fans) can observe your moves in the transfer market and will judge you on them. It’s not quite so immediate and straightforward to judge improvement in players on the training ground, at least not overtly.

What is your favorite sports moment? Why?

My favourite sporting moments tend to come outside of football. Pick multiple London 2012 Olympic moments, Steve Redgrave winning his final Olympic Gold in the rowing and probably the moment that started my love affair with sport off, Chris Boardman winning track cycling gold in the 1992 Olympic Games. There’s also Andy Murray’s first Wimbledon win, David Beckham’s free-kick vs Greece in 2001 and Matt Jansen scoring the winner for Blackburn, once for promotion against Preston in 2001 and then the year after when winning the

Worthington Cup against Tottenham.

What coach/player/team inspires you? Why?

I think I am most inspired by Crewe’s philosophy of youth

development. I think it’s great that it is such an intrinsic part of

that club going back as long as I can remember. It is something that I have always bought into.

In terms of modern tactical approaches, the way that Julian

Nagelsmann gets his teams playing in Germany is enviable, I

appreciate the effectiveness of the Cowley’s approach and the no

stone unturned nature of their work, something that I think that Ian Evatt is beginning to demonstrate at Barrow as well.

Of course, the way that Guardiola and Klopp have come into the

English game and had such dominant success is inspirational and their ideas have had a massive impact.

What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into this space?

I’m probably still in the space of needing advice rather than giving it out! But if you really do want my opinion then my advice would be to get skilled up in the technological side of the game. Everything is moving towards the use of data and interpreting that onto the pitch. Unless you have some level of tech-literacy you may well get left behind.

Outside of this, my general life advice is to approach every new

challenge with a smile and optimism. Work hard and with honesty and integrity and you can’t go far wrong in life!

Who is your favorite athlete? Why?

I have had many through my life Michael Johnson, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Matthew Pinsent, David Beckham, Paolo Maldini, Pep Guardiola (as a player!), but I suppose my current favourite would be Michael Jordan.

If we ever needed more proof that Netflix actually controls our

lives it is the renaissance of Michael Jordan into the public

consciousness due to ‘The Last Dance’ series. But he was an

incredible talent as well as a magnificent physical specimen and

hugely driven and competitive. If I had one tenth of his drive I

would be so much more productive in life!

What is your favorite quote or saying?

It’s not a simple quote or saying per se but the poem “If” by

Rudyard Kipling is just a magnificent life lesson that I would be

proud to try and live by:

If you can keep your head when all about you   

    Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

    But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

    Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

    And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

    If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

    And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

    Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

    And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

    And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

    And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

    To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

    Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

    Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

    If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

    With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

    And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!