As part of a new series, we look at the roles of those working inside the game we love.

The aim of these interviews are to allow people a window into what the support roles in football actual involve and whether they are something worth pursuing for the many fans who are considering a career in football.

We start this series by interviewing Jack Wilson, the first-team performance analyst at National League side Dagenham & Redbridge.

Did you always want to be an analyst? How did you decide it was something you wanted to do?

The simple answer to this is no! I’ve always wanted to work in football or sport in general, but it wasn’t until we did a performance analysis module as part of my undergraduate degree course that I really took an interest in analysis at all. Before this I had always kept an open mind to a number of different roles in sport including physiotherapy and psychology however after completing that module, I choose to pursue and commit to a career in analysis.

What did you have to study and how did you get your first role in the professional game?

I actually got my first role as an analyst while studying for my undergraduate degree. My old University in Southend had good links with Southend United Football Club, and one of my lecturers had a contact for the then first-team analyst at Southend – Ben Cirne who was coincidently advertising for volunteers to help out in the academy at the time. I applied for the role and soon after I had an interview and that’s really where my career started as a volunteer filming Academy games from Under 9’s to U15’s on a Sunday morning and analysing the footage post-match from home and sending over the reports to coaches and players. I volunteered with the academy at Southend for a season and was then offered a part-time role working in the Academy with all age groups from U9’s – U18’s. I again had this role for another season before I was moved up again to work primarily with the U23’s whilst overseeing the rest of the Academy analysis department. This role really suited me at the time as I was still completing my degree and therefore, I was able to gain some valuable experience whilst still focusing on my studies.

On the completion of my degree, I was fully aware that I’d now need to start looking towards full-time work rather than part-time. Unfortunately, at the time Southend United didn’t have any full-time roles available so I had to start looking elsewhere which is when I discovered another fairly local club in Dagenham & Redbridge were also looking for an analyst. The club was then managed by the vastly experienced manager Peter Taylor and had just acquired new owners who were looking to rebuild the club and push towards getting the club back into the football league. This was something I was very keen to be involved with and after a successful interview process, I had secured my first role in first-team football in the professional game. In my first year in the role, I also completed my master’s degree in Sports Performance Analysis with Middlesex University which is something more and more clubs are now starting to look for when advertising roles in performance analysis.

What’s the main difference when working in a first-team environment compared to an academy set-up?

For me, the main difference is the focus on performance and development vs the focus on winning. In the academy set up, of course, the main aim was to develop the players and mould so they could one day make it into the first-team squad. In the first-team environment, of course, performances are important, but ultimately it’s results that you will be judged on as a team. In academy football, if you have a bad run of results it’s unlikely that someone will lose their job over it, however, in first-team football job security depends on results so for me that would definitely be the main difference.

What are your key responsibilities as an analyst at Dagenham & Redbridge?

I always break my role and responsibilities down into three areas: pre-match, live during a game & post-match.

Pre-Match: This is mainly focused on our upcoming opponents. My main responsibilities here are to watch and analyse our upcoming opponents’ recent fixtures. From this, I provide the manager and coaching team with both a written and video report. The written report is more detailed and goes in-depth into the opponent’s recent formations and style of play and the video is there to support the document and show examples of their style of play in and out of possession along with how they set up at set plays. The video is of course usually presented to the players the day before a game so they are aware of what they will be coming up against on the Saturday.

Live: During a game, I’m responsible for filming the game usually from the TV gantry at a stadium in wide-angle. The wide-angle allows us to see the whole picture and makes it easier to analyse and assess our shape and formation during a game.

The North Stand at Victoria Road complete with filming gantry

Post-Match: After a game, I break the game down and clip any areas of the game that the manager wants to see or look back at. This can be different every week but always includes the basics, Goals, Shots, Set Plays etc… This is then sent to the manager to watch and then presented to the players on a Monday morning during the team meeting. Alongside this, every player gets their individual clips so that they can watch back and assess their own performance without having to sit and watch the full 90 minutes. Moving away from the video side of things, it’s also my responsibility to produce a full statistical report on the game and maintain a database of these stats so we can compare past performances.

There are other additional duties that are also included in the role. Recruitment for example. If a player is recommended to the manager or coaching team and they want to know more about that player, it’s my responsibility to produce a full dossier on them along with a video highlights reel.

Working in football is seen by many as a dream job, however, all work has good and bad points. What are the main advantages and disadvantages of working as an analyst?

Indeed, working in football does have its pros and cons. The main advantages are that I’m working in a job that I do genuinely enjoy and love doing! I’ve always been a massive football fan so to have a career in an industry that I’m actually interested in and enjoy is a massive plus. You also have the team spirit and camaraderie which I believe is quite a unique aspect compared to other industries. In addition to this you get to travel and visit parts of the country which I’m sure I’d never ordinarily have visited. Of course, this does come with its disadvantages – the unsociable working hours being the main drawback for me, working over Christmas, bank holidays and weekends can be hard at times. Also, as an analyst it can be hard to switch off at times, it’s not like a normal 9-5 job, where when you leave the office your work is done. When I go home, I’m often still working, even on days off and although often people link football with being a highly paid job, I can assure you the role of analyst doesn’t fall into that bracket at all!

Now you have made it as a first-team analyst, what are your personal hopes and ambitions for the future?

Although I’ve made it as a first-team analyst and that is something, I’m very proud of, I still feel like I have a lot to accomplish. I want to be successful and work at the highest level possible. I’d like to make it into the football league soon and get out of the National League hopefully with Dagenham & Redbridge.

What advice would you give others who hope to choose a similar career path and become analysts themselves?

My advice for any aspiring analyst is to be prepared that you may have to start out at the bottom as a volunteer and really commit a lot of time and hard work for little in return financially but to never underestimate the importance of the experience you are gaining. I’ve always said that for anybody starting out with little experience in analysis that you may want to look at academy roles first so that you have the time to develop and learn the role of an analyst whilst gaining valuable experience working in a professional football environment. With first-team roles you will be expected to hit the ground running and start producing straight away because as I stated before you will be judged on results so, often, there isn’t that grace period while you learn the role. I’d also recommend that you focus on both the academic side of things as most clubs now require a degree of some sort but also make sure you do not neglect the football side of things. A lot of clubs now look for people with coaching badges as well as a degree so also look into that side of things as well if you can!

words Jack Wilson.

Dagenham & Redbridge 1st Team Performance Analyst.