26th JANUARY,2021
The landscape of football has evolved significantly over the last decade or two. Many clubs are seeking to adopt a strategic recruitment policy, thus helping them to sign promising talents at a bargain; a term known as Moneyball. The advancement of data science has aided clubs in this regard.The top clubs go a step further and utilize data for more statistical, as well as analytical purposes. One club which has, quite surprisingly not employed such a field in the football side of the business, is Manchester United
Man Utd is one of the biggest clubs in world football, and has generated mass revenue despite an under-performing few years on the pitch. Normally, you would expect a big club like Utd to have a well-defined structure of technology to assist performances on the pitch. But United aren’t too intrigued by introducing the role of a data scientist. The club still has an extensive team devoted to video analysis, but haven’t invested in the strategic part using data just yet. Recruitment of players can be described as “hit and miss” since Sir Alex retired, with many big-money signings failing to contribute to the club’s expectations. Their rivals, Liverpool are one of the best users of data science over the past few years, and you can say it has significantly helped them win titles, the reason, being their use of technology has a direct impact on coaching and recruitment. Manchester City is also heavily investing in this sector, with a leading AI scientist appointed recently.
Despite all these benefits, United doesn’t have an exact role for it. Since Solksjaer’s appointment, there has been a long-term structure being planned and practiced, some of which we will discover in this piece.
SCOUTING NETWORK:
Man Utd boasts one of the best scouting networks in European football. Ever since Ole’s reign as a manager, many revelations about the club’s recruitment structure could be read of. Potential targets are under the club’s watchlist for more than just a year. Solksjaer and his backroom staff seem to carefully analyze a target long-term before pursuing to sign them. The recent acquisition of Amad Diallo justifies this fact. Diallo has been under the radar of the red devils since his U-16 days with Atalanta. Solksjaer is also keen on players who can pledge their long-term future to the club and not consider it as a stepping stone. That probably explains why United adopted a British-only transfer priority at Ole’s first summer transfer window.
ACADEMY DEVELOPMENT:
The class of 92 is one of the hallmarks of the club’s long history. The academy has always been the club’s pride; no club matches United’s record of naming an academy graduate in the squad; an astounding 4000 games and counting. Solksjaer appointed ex-legend and fellow academy graduate, Nicky Butt to take charge of major affairs of the academy, and he has done a fantastic job so far. Many promising youngsters, from England and across, are signed on a relatively high fee and every division in the academy plays in the same formation and tactics as the first team, so the personnel will have no problem in graduating forward. The average age of the first team has gone down significantly since 2019; an indication of the club’s faith in youngsters. It’s safe to say that Nicky Butt and Solksjaer are clear about interlinking the academy and the first-team to a prominent level; a philosophy that brought Sir Alex so much success in the past.
SO, WHAT’S NEXT?: Judging from the above methodologies, Utd’s need for a data scientist is not urgent, just yet. The head of football development of the club, Jon Murtough is reportedly working to improve the data science strategy. This may look like a PR spin from Ed Woodward, considering this news was briefed in March, but work behind the scenes is certainly expected, which tallies with Solksjaer’s long-term vision of the club. Man Utd’s hunt for a data scientist may not happen soon,but with many top clubs investing in that sector, it’s inevitable that such a structure will eventually establish in the near or late future
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