| Footballer data 13:54 - Feb 21 with 1889 views | KensalT |
We all know Christian Nourry talks a good data game.
And we also know he likes to play his cards close to his chest and not give away any information he doesn't have to.
So what's the craic with footballer data?
I can't find a sensible answer online to how tall Sam Field is. Soccerbase says he's 5ft 10in, and ESPN has him five inches taller:
https://www.soccerbase.com/players/player.sd?player_id=91434
https://www.espn.co.uk/football/team/squad/_/id/334/eng.qpr
But I have seen football programmes where broadcasters are able to pull up heatmaps showing exactly which parts of the pitch a player covered during a game. Not to mention in-game xG metrics.
At the last World Cup FIFA were even publishing how far players ran during games. Not much in Lionel Messi's case, but who's cares when you win the bloody thing!?
I'm guessing it's the governing body who owns the data and decides which commercial partners it's sold to.
But where do you draw the line?
I'm guessing clubs have no control over match data.
But what about training and physical conditioning? I'm sure the sports analytics companies would want to know that sort of thing. But would Need-to-Know Nourry willingly share that information?
There are strong data protection laws governing medical data so I guess that is out of bounds. Which is probably why I can't get a sensible answer to how tall Sam Field is. And besides, how are you going to sell your duds to Harry Redknapp if the whole world knows he has no cartilage in his knees!?
So if any data pros can shed light on what data is collected and how it's shared I would be curious to know. |  | | |  |
| Footballer data on 14:14 - Feb 21 with 1782 views | G_Ottershaw |
understand your frustration on how hard it can be just to access what you would think are the basics. unfortunately data is now a commodity, and who owns the commodity wields the power. if it's not happening already, then it's only a matter of time before we are being advised to buy shares in it. | | | |
| Footballer data on 14:21 - Feb 21 with 1735 views | slmrstid |
Sam Field is easily 6 foot 3 or 4 I'd say. I'm 6ft2 and I'd guess he's taller than me. |  | | |
| Footballer data on 14:24 - Feb 21 with 1720 views | KensalT |
| Footballer data on 14:14 - Feb 21 by G_Ottershaw |
understand your frustration on how hard it can be just to access what you would think are the basics. unfortunately data is now a commodity, and who owns the commodity wields the power. if it's not happening already, then it's only a matter of time before we are being advised to buy shares in it. |
I'm not laying awake at night wondering how tall Sam Field is.
Although the missus might be..........
It's just something I had noticed on social media with heated disagreements on how old/tall/heavy certain players were.
I chose height as the example because it doesn't change much once you reach a certain age, looked up a couple of websites that report player heights and picked Sam Field because a five inch difference in the two reports is a ridiculous disparity.
But you are right about data becoming a commodity, and the really interesting stuff will become harder to find unless we're willing to pay for it. | | | |
| Footballer data on 14:25 - Feb 21 with 1709 views | KensalT |
| Footballer data on 14:21 - Feb 21 by slmrstid |
Sam Field is easily 6 foot 3 or 4 I'd say. I'm 6ft2 and I'd guess he's taller than me. |
He's a big lad. Certainly not shorter than me. | | | |
| Footballer data on 14:53 - Feb 21 with 1589 views | nick_hammersmith |
I think its setup a bit like news.
You could get all your news for free on Social Media, but it might not be 100% accurate.
You could subscribe to something like Associated Press and get verified facts.
This is why Brentford and Brighton were doing better than others with transfers, as they leveraged the stats used by large betting companies.
It's why we are all guessing how much a player is on and how long his contract is I 'spose |  | | |
| Footballer data on 15:10 - Feb 21 with 1519 views | KensalT |
| Footballer data on 14:53 - Feb 21 by nick_hammersmith |
I think its setup a bit like news.
You could get all your news for free on Social Media, but it might not be 100% accurate.
You could subscribe to something like Associated Press and get verified facts.
This is why Brentford and Brighton were doing better than others with transfers, as they leveraged the stats used by large betting companies.
It's why we are all guessing how much a player is on and how long his contract is I 'spose |
I hear this a lot about Brentford and Brighton.
But what exactly does it mean?
Are they using data that no one else has access to?
Maybe. But what can gambling companies know about players that the clubs either don't know already or can't find out for themselves?
Brentford and Brighton might have data that other clubs don't. But I guess the real special sauce is the way they are using the data and that they have developed AI or machine learning models that get more from the data than other clubs have been able to.
But Brentford and Brighton don't have anywhere near the budget of the likes of Man City, Newcastle, etc. Surely their brightest talents will be picked off by the richer clubs sooner or later and all the big boys will know how the trick is done.
Brighton and Brentford will keep having to be brighter and more innovative than the rest if they want to keep that advantage. | | | |
| Footballer data on 15:25 - Feb 21 with 1449 views | Mick_S |
| Footballer data on 14:21 - Feb 21 by slmrstid |
Sam Field is easily 6 foot 3 or 4 I'd say. I'm 6ft2 and I'd guess he's taller than me. |
My youngest son is 6 foot one. He met Sam Field and called 6 foot 4.
I can do your data if you like? |  |
| Did I ever mention that I was in Minder? |
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| Footballer data on 15:27 - Feb 21 with 1443 views | KensalT |
| Footballer data on 15:25 - Feb 21 by Mick_S |
My youngest son is 6 foot one. He met Sam Field and called 6 foot 4.
I can do your data if you like? |
I'll pass that on to my missus - see above! | | | |
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| Footballer data on 15:35 - Feb 21 with 1418 views | Boston |
Sam Field is 38 -24- 36 | |
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| Footballer data on 15:37 - Feb 21 with 1407 views | KensalT |
| Footballer data on 15:35 - Feb 21 by Boston |
Sam Field is 38 -24- 36 |
Yeah, but flat-chested! | | | |
| Footballer data on 15:43 - Feb 21 with 1375 views | Wilkinswatercarrier |
I didn't realise that Andre Dozzell is near the bottom this season for stats regarding passes forward, creation, assists etc. Along with Field and Varane. | | | |
| Footballer data on 15:49 - Feb 21 with 1343 views | KensalT |
| Footballer data on 15:43 - Feb 21 by Wilkinswatercarrier |
I didn't realise that Andre Dozzell is near the bottom this season for stats regarding passes forward, creation, assists etc. Along with Field and Varane. |
I'm wondering how Chair can be leading the assists when he has missed so many games!
https://www.espn.co.uk/football/team/stats/_/id/334 | | | |
| Footballer data on 16:08 - Feb 21 with 1304 views | KensalT |
This is starting to look like one of Nourry's most jealously guarded secrets.
Everyone's just guessing how tall Sam Field is.
I took a quick look at fbref.com and there is a lot there, including players wages. I mean seriously, where could they be getting that from? Yes, I know people in the game talk and they probably have a rough idea what players are earning. But it's a big step to take a bit of gossip and turn it into a database with the full wage history for every player. I would take that with a pinch of salt. | | | |
| Footballer data on 17:49 - Feb 21 with 1122 views | Dorse |
Sam Field is 0.00115575 miles tall.
That should clarify things. |  |
| 'What do we want? We don't know! When do we want it? Now!' |
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| Footballer data on 17:50 - Feb 21 with 1120 views | Match82 |
| Footballer data on 15:10 - Feb 21 by KensalT |
I hear this a lot about Brentford and Brighton.
But what exactly does it mean?
Are they using data that no one else has access to?
Maybe. But what can gambling companies know about players that the clubs either don't know already or can't find out for themselves?
Brentford and Brighton might have data that other clubs don't. But I guess the real special sauce is the way they are using the data and that they have developed AI or machine learning models that get more from the data than other clubs have been able to.
But Brentford and Brighton don't have anywhere near the budget of the likes of Man City, Newcastle, etc. Surely their brightest talents will be picked off by the richer clubs sooner or later and all the big boys will know how the trick is done.
Brighton and Brentford will keep having to be brighter and more innovative than the rest if they want to keep that advantage. |
"Are they using data that no one else has access to?"
Yes. Football clubs, even the likes of Man City and Real Madrid, having a statistical edge can be worth tens of millions financially. For betting companies it can be worth billions and they invest accordingly in knowing this. They also have a significant vested interest in keeping that information to themselves unless they happen to have a personal interest outside of their betting company such as in the case of Brighton and Brentford |  | | |
| Footballer data on 18:16 - Feb 21 with 1038 views | Esox_Lucius |
From the back of the upper Loft he looks the same height as Koli Saito. |  |
| The grass is always greener. |
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| Footballer data on 18:37 - Feb 21 with 982 views | hoopedmonkey |
Although it doesn't seem to work for Stoke, thanks be. | | | |
| Footballer data on 01:20 - Feb 22 with 641 views | Boston |
| Footballer data on 18:16 - Feb 21 by Esox_Lucius |
From the back of the upper Loft he looks the same height as Koli Saito. |
I'd wondered who bought the restricted view seats. | |
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| Footballer data on 09:12 - Feb 22 with 429 views | 1BobbyHazell |
| Footballer data on 15:10 - Feb 21 by KensalT |
I hear this a lot about Brentford and Brighton.
But what exactly does it mean?
Are they using data that no one else has access to?
Maybe. But what can gambling companies know about players that the clubs either don't know already or can't find out for themselves?
Brentford and Brighton might have data that other clubs don't. But I guess the real special sauce is the way they are using the data and that they have developed AI or machine learning models that get more from the data than other clubs have been able to.
But Brentford and Brighton don't have anywhere near the budget of the likes of Man City, Newcastle, etc. Surely their brightest talents will be picked off by the richer clubs sooner or later and all the big boys will know how the trick is done.
Brighton and Brentford will keep having to be brighter and more innovative than the rest if they want to keep that advantage. |
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/feb/20/brentford-fc-public-money-for-r
Read this the other day. Quite amazing what they spend looking for data driven advantages even in fitness etc. This is separate from the player data analysis used by Bentham that gives them such an edge in the recruitment stakes.
'Brentford have spent about £16m on their research department over the past two years, leading to the publication of several academic papers on a range of subjects, including training loads, running intensity and positional play.'
'The club recruits about half a dozen PhD students every year to conduct research, with the results published and fed back to the football department.'
Fu*kin 'ell! [Post edited 22 Feb 9:14]
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| Footballer data on 09:35 - Feb 22 with 382 views | Hastings_Hoops |
| Footballer data on 14:24 - Feb 21 by KensalT |
I'm not laying awake at night wondering how tall Sam Field is.
Although the missus might be..........
It's just something I had noticed on social media with heated disagreements on how old/tall/heavy certain players were.
I chose height as the example because it doesn't change much once you reach a certain age, looked up a couple of websites that report player heights and picked Sam Field because a five inch difference in the two reports is a ridiculous disparity.
But you are right about data becoming a commodity, and the really interesting stuff will become harder to find unless we're willing to pay for it. |
Arguments breaking out on social media about height/weight of footballers now? How far have we fallen?! |  | | |
| Footballer data on 09:36 - Feb 22 with 380 views | Rsole |
I guess if you think that data is a commodity rather than an asset then you are probably looking at the same data as everyone else - it’s been commoditised.
Proprietary data (the data that drives trading, betting and many other industries) is a unique asset. Only you have it and that can provide a serious advantage if you know what to do with it.
It’s a much bigger business than football because it touches every industry and the people that know what they are doing with data are the guys running the largest companies in the world.
Why do we get FBook and Google for free ? Because our data is their product and we are their R&D departments.
Back to football, you can access a whole host of data for free. Data companies productise that data for professionals and charge for it. What we see and what the Pros see are a different level of detail and you can bet that the third party data they buy is being integrated with their prop data for a competitive edge.
An edge in each game as well and an edge in acquisition and retention, which is more or less the same for a bank that uses data and analytics to ensure they only find profitable new customers.
The more advanced banks even report on data as an addition to their annual report and accounts as they do with ESG.
Football is really just playing catch up but it’s advancing relatively quickly so it all appears to be complicated and relatively radical. |  |
| Those possessed by devils, try and keep them under control a bit, can't you ?
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| Footballer data on 09:38 - Feb 22 with 373 views | Rsole |
| Footballer data on 09:35 - Feb 22 by Hastings_Hoops |
Arguments breaking out on social media about height/weight of footballers now? How far have we fallen?! |
Sam’s mum reckons 6’3, in bare feet.
She also wants to know if anyone wants a cuppa and some biscuits ? | |
| Those possessed by devils, try and keep them under control a bit, can't you ?
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| Footballer data on 10:46 - Feb 22 with 298 views | KensalT |
| Footballer data on 09:12 - Feb 22 by 1BobbyHazell |
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2025/feb/20/brentford-fc-public-money-for-r
Read this the other day. Quite amazing what they spend looking for data driven advantages even in fitness etc. This is separate from the player data analysis used by Bentham that gives them such an edge in the recruitment stakes.
'Brentford have spent about £16m on their research department over the past two years, leading to the publication of several academic papers on a range of subjects, including training loads, running intensity and positional play.'
'The club recruits about half a dozen PhD students every year to conduct research, with the results published and fed back to the football department.'
Fu*kin 'ell! [Post edited 22 Feb 9:14]
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That is interesting.
So Brentford are spending more on data than we spend on player transfers.
And a couple more important details in there:
The government gives tax credits for this research with Brentford making £3.23m and Chelsea and Forest also benefitting. And at least Brentford share their findings, unlike the other two.
The other point I noticed is that the Brentford Performance Director has co-authored some of these reports.
I guess this raises the possibility that Ben Williams could be doing the same for us. [Post edited 22 Feb 11:56]
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