Here is David Hughes:
How did your first opportunity in football come about?
That’s not really a straightforward answer for me. Football has been a huge thing in my life since I can remember. I obviously dreamt about being a professional player when I was young but never had the talent to succeed beyond a certain level. So the next best thing in my eyes was to go into coaching.
I left school at 16 and enrolled on a course for school leavers to do both their FA Level 1 and Level 2. Around the time of obtaining the same, I was being advised by people - who I should have ignored - that roles within football were normally exclusive to former professionals, meaning I was unlikely to ever succeed long-term.
I was also only earning around £10 p/h for after school coaching sessions whilst friends around me had ‘real’ part-time jobs earning a lot more money. I, therefore, packed it in a went into a career in financial services and then law.
Early into my 20’s, I learnt that I had no interest whatsoever in spending the rest of my life working in such industries. So I started thinking about pursuing a career in football again. At the time, I was writing for a few fan sites and had a blog, but my writing had no ‘style’ to it and certainly lacked any real good analytical content beyond goals and assists.
I had though starting taking more of an interest in the growing data scene within the game. I started trying to combine the two and this led to me trying to identify any opportunities related to data and football. I eventually landed a role with Opta as an in-ground data collector. It wasn’t very detailed work but I got paid to attend a lot of football matches - mainly U18/U23 games initially - and study the game. I loved it and still do, only now after a fair few years, I cover more detailed higher level fixtures in the Premier League.
What attracted you to scouting/analytics? What’s more intriguing now names or numbers?
I have always preferred numbers to words. I was better at Maths than English - which seems bizarre given I am currently a ‘writer’.
I enjoy looking at data, which in football tends to flag top performers which then, in turn, creates a thirst to scout and find the ‘next’ generation of top performers.
Who/what is the first player/concept you "found"? What caught your eye?
I guess learning about the expected metrics was a watershed moment, particularly xA. But yeah, being able to quantity output without relying on goals alone was huge.
Who/what is the player/concept you "missed" on? What did you learn from it?
In terms of players, I miss big talents all the time when they are coming through, but I am not a scout at a club so that doesn’t prove to my detriment.
In terms of concepts missed, I think the biggest was not using context with data. When you first start using data, it’s all exciting and suddenly you feel like everything can be quantified. But as you improve your understanding of the game, you realise the numbers are only a snippet of the information and to which context you use them in is huge. I cringe at some of the work I have produced in the past, but I think it’s an ongoing learning curve.
If you could start over what skill would you build on first?
Good question. I would have spent more time reading and less time assuming I already knew what I was talking about just because I went to the football each weekend and watched it on the TV.
I also probably would have started with getting more familiar with the likes of Python and R - lots of people are into football analysis now and many have already started building these skills.
Do you see player development as more of an art or a science? Is development on the club or the player? Why?
There’s a science to it but for the very best it’s an art. You can rarely teach the human/psychological aspect that the truly great coaches possess.
I think a player has to have the drive because they are just a very small part of an extremely competitive environment, but clubs do need to create the best surroundings and put in place the best procedures for them to succeed.
What is your favourite sports moment? Why?
I would say Everton’s FA Cup semi-final win vs Manchester United in 2009. It was my first trip to the new Wembley and all very exciting.
United were reigning European Champions and heavy favourites, even though they were forced to rest a few players. The game finished 0-0 AET and Tim Cahill missed the first penalty for Everton… a defeat felt inevitable. But United missed their first spot-kick and then the one after and Everton went onto win the tie.
They had a really good side around then under Moyes. They finished top six each year and also reached a League Cup semi and the latter stages of the Europa League the year before. I felt like they deserved a trophy and just needed some luck. After winning that game, I thought the FA Cup would go on to be theirs - but it wasn’t meant to be and they lost 2-1 to Chelsea in the final.
What coach/player/team inspires you? Why?
I really like the Red Bull clubs. I find their model fascinating. They install a direct, intense and thrilling style of football with an extensive scouting network that regularly produces future stars.
Leipzig currently have Julian Nagelsmann in place too who is such an exciting coach. I hope to see him in England someday.
What advice would you give to someone wanting to get into media/analytics?
Read, learn and repeat. I have people messaging me on Twitter and Instagram asking what courses they should take to do what I do as a career and I tell them it’s largely self-taught.
Also, get your work out. Every person and their dog has a blog now, but they serve a purpose. It’s somewhere to post your work and will eventually become a portfolio. Furthermore, go and chase publications for opportunities.
You may well be knocked back, or ignored, but just keep plugging away - fortune tends to eventually repay hard work.
What is your favorite app/tool to use (for work or fun)?
Wyscout - I know it like the back of my hand after using it all day every day for a long time. I’ve learnt (the hard way) that the data can be a bit trash, but it’s still a really good scouting/analysis platform.
Also a fan of FBref who provide Statsbomb data and toolbox by Twenty3Sport.
What other sport/hobby/discipline do you feel improves your work as an analyst? Why?
I really don’t have one. My job is football, my evenings are normally reading up on the latest developments in football. My weekends are attending football matches and then somewhere in between, I have to see family and friends.
I often joke that I must be a proper bore to talk to for non-football fans. That being said, I have been over in the U.S a couple of times across the past few months and I thoroughly enjoyed catching some Basketball matches. If I was a resident there, I think I would watch more Basketball, and more American sport in general actually.
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