Irish sports website Balls.ie hosted it’s first live event on Thursday night when packing out the Science Gallery in Trinity College for a talk about sport and data.
Host Ger Gilroy, an original investor in the website was joined on stage by Tom Markham of Football Manager and FT journalist and writer Simon Kuper.
They covered a range of subjects from the marginal gains that smart use of big data can deliver through to the potential danger to the heart and soul of sport if it becomes too analytical.
Perhaps the most enlightening area was a discussion about how Matthew Benham, a former hedge fund manager and professional football bettor was transforming the fortunes of two clubs, in two different leagues through the use of data.
When asked when Brentford, then playing in the third tier of English football would be promoted he answered that they had a 42.3% chance of going up. They did and the model they are using in coaching and player acquisition is based as much on a number crunching model than the crunching tackles that might once have been the defining characteristic of a team coming up through the ranks.
The team are currently one point and one place off the play off zone for promotion to the Premier League. With four of their remaining five games against sides in the bottom half of the League Benham would likely rate their chances high of making it to a shot at the high spot of the game, and the untold riches that would bring.
If anyone had said that this was a realistic ambition for Brentford as little as three years ago they would have been laughed at.
Bonham’s other investment in soccer is in Denmark where FC Midtjylland are currently sitting eleven points clear at the top of the Premier League and heading serenely for the Champions’ League. The team has never won a major honour in the sport.
It now texts the coaching staff with key performance metrics before they meet the players at half time, providing precise info on how they are doing in a game and what they need to do better.
Speaking at the Science Gallery event Simon Kuper spoke of the traditional credit given to motivation of players by managers, and roundly dismissed it as being massively overrated in terms of enhancing performance.
It was provocative at times and would likely be dismissed by some involved in sport as being too clinical and not sustainable in the long term.
The panel accepted that data will not win matches but that it does lead to the marginal improvements in tactics, preparation, player development and management that will deliver better results. The proof is happening in soccer across Europe and is coming to a sport near you perhaps sooner than you think.
Data Analytics will be one of the themes at Sport for Business’ Digital Sport 2015 event taking place in October. Click here if you would like to know more about the event.
