Inside the confines of Manchester City’s sophisticated data operation is a fundamental phrase its experts work towards: “What does it take to win?”
City’s devotion to data is at the heart of their efforts to close the gap on Arsenal and BBC Sport has been given unprecedent access to the inner workings of the club’s metrics machine as we uncover some of the secrets guiding their work – particularly regarding player recruitment and sales.
The starting point for any new signing is City’s database of 650,000 footballers from around the world.
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The next step is the brief: what sort of player is the club wanting to recruit.
Once the club’s data departments have the brief, filters that grade a player’s overall ability are applied to whittle down the 650,000-man database to 20-50 names.
The longlist of 20-50 names is cross-referenced with the scouting longlist. Generally there is a significant overlap between the players identified by data and the ones already on scouts’ radar.
From there, further, more refined metrics are applied to rank and prioritise the longlist.
Scouts will then complete further diligence on the players to reduce the list to a maximum of about six players.
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At this point, the club will complete deeper dives into the remaining players, including diligence on their injury record, athletic performance and behavioural habits.
The information is then collated into individual reports called acquisition packs which contain all the key metrics used to inform the decision on a player.
This includes a ‘radar chart’, which rates a range of specific on-field metrics.
Perhaps the most intriguing reading on the acquisition packs is a player’s “action value score”. This positions them in a league table that includes City players and ones from rival clubs who play in a similar role.
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Once the acquisition reports are evaluated, the list is further reduced to 2-3 players once City’s valuation of the player has been factored in.
Data contributes heavily to the price range City believe a player falls in, and the valuation is never a single number.
A decision is then made on which player is the priority, though all players on the shortlist are worked on simultaneously in the event of changing circumstances, for example if a player becomes unavailable.
Indeed, being able to move according to the market is something the data team feel they have become adept at.
Read more here on how the data led to the signing of Anderson
Read the full article here