Performance Analyst Diary

Performance Analyst Diary

A big thanks to Lee Dunn from Bristol Rovers for doing this guest blog for me. I know Lee for about 12 months now and I can say that he is one committed guy to the whole area of Performance Analysis. He left no stone unturned in trying to get a job in the area – something I’m sure loads of you know can be very difficult.

I aksed him to give readers a brief outline of what a typical week would look like for him as an analyst. So over to him…

Diary of a Performance Analyst – Lee Dunn, Bristol Rovers

Match Day

A typical match day will involve showing players any clips they want to review during the pre-match match build up, for example the goalkeeper may want to see the opposition’s penalty kicks during the season. My primary responsibility during a match day is to capture the wide angle match footage for our post match analysis and provide live analysis. The live analysis is fairly simple, just key stats from the game e.g number of crosses/shots/ attacking set plays. At both Half time and Full time I create a stats sheet which is presented to the management, along with any key incidents they wish to review.

Post Match Analysis

The post-match analysis is probably the most time consuming part of the week. This is usually carried out on the eve of a match day and the day after the match day using Dartfish video analysis software. This process can take anything up to 6 hours depending on the game. The post-match analysis provides us with technical & tactical statistics for both teams and individual players. Once the coding has been completed the raw data is exported to our pre-defined match report templates.

Example of Stats from Match Report

I then review the technical match report for any tendencies or key themes that relate to our pre match analysis and game plan and review the video for further analysis. The post-match report is then distributed to the management team so they have the statistical feedback from the match. After discussions with the management team, I will then put together a presentation for early mid week to review with the players & management.

Mid week

Player Pass Received Zones

During the early part of the week my time will be spent finalising and presenting our post-match debrief to the team. Individual players will also want to see certain aspects of the game on an individual basis.

The mid-week period is essential in terms of adhoc jobs. For example coding opposition matches, collating video of goals scored within the league, organising match footage and dealing with other clubs DVD requests. This time is also used to look at our in house trend analysis to see if any trends are developing with regards to both individual player & team performance.

Towards the middle/end of the week my attention turns to the forthcoming opponent. Depending on the footage availability this may require coding games during the week or reviewing games I have already coded on the opposition. In tandem with the management & scouting reports I start to pick out key themes that we would like to present to the team. We try to summarise their key themes into a 10 minute package, therefore a lot of time is spent selecting the most relevant clips that paint the best picture of the forthcoming opponent. I also provide the management team with key statistical information on the opponents where I feel necessary, for example if a team scores a lot of goals from set plays etc. A DVD is also given to the management containing all the opponents goals scored and goals against.

Once this process is complete the management will present the information during our pre match meeting. The game plan will be outlined. I will then adjust my coding template according to our game plan in preparation for the forthcoming fixture.

Latest Analysis Jobs

Jobs in Analysis 2023 Online Conference

Jobs in Analysis 2023 – December 7th. Hosted online via Zoom, Jobs in Analysis 2023 will deliver a number of presentations and discussions centered around all things related to employment as an analyst in football. 

Read More »