‘There is no sole genius’: The unsung heroes of Liverpool’s data revolution

By the time Leicester were so comprehensively outplayed in and out of possession by Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, the transition game of the hosts still irresistible despite missing six starters, the club’s analytics department were being credited for a similarly impressive triumph in an altogether different sport.

At Twickenham a day prior, Jonny May’s wonder try for England against Ireland crowned a 18-7 victory, which head coach Eddie Jones revealed was inspired by the Premier League champions. Ireland had lost an attacking lineout and was rapidly weaponised into a successful offensive move.

England shifted the ball from right to left to May, who finished off a stunning solo effort from his own 22 in 15 seconds. This “flick the switch” approach, as Jones labelled it, was perfected with the help of the masters of it.

Ian Graham, Liverpool’s esteemed director of research, had explained to the man in charge of England’s rugby union team since 2015 how to measure and maximise work off the ball.

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“I’ve been reading, Believe Us which is the story of Liverpool and talks a bit about how they are using data analytics to improve their game,” Jones said. "We had a great meeting with the Liverpool analyst, that’s one area they’re in.

"So we’re starting to get some measurements, we’re in nursery school now whereas Liverpool are doing their PhD at Oxford.”

Steve Kerr, coach of the Golden State Warriors, has also revealed Jurgen Klopp’s side are “really a source of inspiration” given how they "create advantages, their ball movement,” also noting: “They’re constantly pressing forward and their front line is amazing.

“Just watching them take control right away, and if they get an early lead, it's like they just strangle you. How do you do anything against them?”

The addition of Diogo Jota to the attack has only enhanced that predicament for opponents.

Liverpool’s game-leading recruitment and their stylistic evolution has been informed by data, with the coaching staff along with pre-and-post-match analysts dipping into these insights.

The work of the research team also covers the academy as well as the sports science, medical and finance departments.

The book, Believe Us by Melissa Reddy, on how Klopp transformed the club into title winners written, takes a deep dive into the figures behind this revolution.

How it started

In March 2012, Fenway Sports Group president Mike Gordon officially assumed control of the day-to-day operations Liverpool, a move sparked by principal owner John W Henry the previous summer.

On his first day on the job, Gordon met Michael Edwards in Florida and they discussed finding the edges in a sport dominated by the wealth of oligarchs and Sheikhs.

The next month the duo combined for a masterstroke: Liverpool had been unsuccessfully trying to lure the services of Decision Technology from Tottenham since 2010, but changed tack and directly hired the stats company’s greatest mind - Graham - to become director of research.

Things had come full circle. It was actually Graham that recommended Edwards to Liverpool. When FSG bought the club, it was expected that they would implant a similar data-driven approach at Anfield that restored the Red Sox to glory. Football analytics, however, were not as expansive, trusted in the sport or easy to find experts in.

The owners recruited Damien Comolii to become the club’s director of football in November 2010 and while he didn’t last in the role, he made one of Liverpool’s most important hires a year after joining.

He brought in Edwards from Tottenham, who had a sharp understanding of data and could judge whether methodology was solid or not, to do the football interpretation and video analysis.

Comolli had gone to Graham for recommendations and he circled Edwards, who was intelligent, open to new methods, but also critical of them - always posing questions of a model to ensure it could be properly applied to football.

The key men

Ian Graham

A doctor in the field of theoretical physics - a status gained by completing a PhD at the University of Cambridge in early 2005 - he was brought in to collect, organise and analyse bespoke data for the football side of the business, which Liverpool didn’t have. Graham started from scratch, with recruitment the key area of his focus but he had the backing of the ownership group and Edwards.

Building the tools for surgical recruitment was his first major task. Working initially under the supervision of Edwards on his own, Graham now runs a team of six.

Will Spearman

The lead data scientist grew up in Texas and has a doctorate in high-energy physics at Harvard. He worked for the European Organisation for Nuclear Research and is in charge of long-term, on-pitch research at Liverpool.

His expertise is in pioneering new ways to analyse spatial models and developing pitch control. Spearman sparked Graham’s interest through an Opta Pro analytics forum, while employed by Hudl and studying player tracking data.

Tim Waskett

He holds a first-class honours degree in astrophysics and was Graham’s first hire.

Dafydd Steele

The former junior chess champion and energy industry professional completes the data science side of the team.

Mark Howlett and Mark Stevenson are responsible for the technology, maintaining the databases and building the research website.

Why it works

Many football clubs have an analytics department, but not all of them are empowered. There is still a high level of distrust in stats or a dismissive take on ‘laptop nerds.’ At Liverpool, traditional methods and a cutting edge have combined to powerful effect because as one source states “there’s a clear, strong decision-making process where the club wants to get as much information as possible from all the experts, rather than just wanting to check a box and say, ‘Oh, we have that’. There hasn’t been any turf guarding or fear of new approaches or new ways to look at things.”

David Sumpter, a Professor of Applied Maths and author of Soccermatics told The Independent: “What you need and what they have is a team with a full understanding the club, working towards the same goal through use of a variety of data and knowledge to make informed decisions.

“Liverpool are well run, properly structured and have a clear identity. Without this, it wouldn’t matter how brilliant Ian Graham's work is.

“Not only do they have the right platform for their data scientists to work, but they’ve empowered them and have great synergy in decision-making.

“There is no sole genius at Liverpool. It is not Graham or Klopp or Edwards - it is collection of all these superb minds coming together to meet objectives and generate success.”

Believe Us: How Jurgen Klopp transformed Liverpool into title winners is available to buy worldwide and from here in the UK

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