So you have spoken to a club and they are interested in Performance Analysis, but they don’t currently have any Performance Analysis structure, what should you do? (Again if anyone has any points they wish to include from their own experiences, feel free to comment.)
Having worked with a few clubs that haven’t had an analysis department (or equipment) or a very small structure, I have once again returned to this scenario working with Barnton FC, alongside Andy Burgess. This is Andys’ first project in the men’s game and has always wanted things to be done as professionally as possible regardless of status or gender, so with that comes Performance Analysis. Not a big lover of stats, his main focus is getting the video footage to watch along with video clips to provide the players with. So far two pre-season games have been recorded and clipped, with nothing statistically being put in place due to time constraints.
What should you be considering when going into a club like Barnton FC?
Obviously at a club at this general level you will have to be conscious of funding. Does the club have a budget, and does it stretch to Performance Analysis, and do you expect to earn money from it? So consider your own goals and reasons behind doing it (1). If you are happy enough working at a club that cannot afford to pay you and you want the experience, then good, next you have to start considering their budget (2). You need to ask questions of what the club already has and what it needs. Does it have somewhere to film from? Does it have a camera, a tripod, shelter, power etc. These are all things that can eventually add up financially, although if you are considering something more freelance it is definitely worth investing in your own equipment. If they don’t have equipment are you in a position to borrow some decent equipment, maybe a university link, or you happen to know someone who owns equipment? Why should the club buy its own equipment? I think this is quite a valuable question, and one that I’ve been pushing at the minute. If the club owns their own equipment it is beneficial for everyone and provides some long-term thinking from both parties. What happens if the manager does well / doesn’t do well and has left the club by Christmas time, will it be a case of the Analysis department is then gone because of a small change in personnel? I have seen this at a club which I left, that everything just stopped, and their season went really downhill from there (not solely due to that reason), when they could have easily found someone to film games for them.
Part 2 will include other key factors to consider when going into a club, time, commitment, software, knowledge etc.
Part 2 to come tomorrow! Please contribute with your own experiences and comments! All welcome!
Life of a Performance Analyst 
2 thoughts on “Starting up at a Club – Part 1 – Performance Analysis”