When Opta brought their stats to the world, a new era was born; an era in which expertsâ precise analysis replaced grizzled old pros complaining about players falling over, and pub arguments were based on fact for a change.
But who were, and who are, these mysterious, magical masters of the stat? Do they live in spaceships? Are they plugged into a giant mainframe? Do they have spies in headsets watching every game on the planet?
No. Three men sit around a computer and point and click. And somehow, itâÂÂs actually more impressive this way.
âÂÂWe have a home team analyst and an away team analyst,â explains Paul Every, Product Manager at Opta. âÂÂWhen the home team have the ball the away team analyst is not doing anything, but when possession changes he obviously comes into play. Then the central screen, where all the events actually appear, is checked by a third analyst.âÂÂ
Right. It all sounds a bit easy, to be honest: identify the players and trace where the ball goes. Simple, no?
âÂÂItâÂÂs important to point out our analysts go through six weeks of training before theyâÂÂre let loose on a live game,â says Paul, âÂÂand even then itâÂÂll be a more low-profile game.âÂÂ
Ah.
OptaâÂÂs analysts have to record every 'event' - be it a pass, shot, tackle or save - with incredible precision. âÂÂAnd itâÂÂs liveâ (with apologies to Martin Tyler). All the stats come in real time, so the data is available in literally just a second or two, including on your phone with FourFourTwoâÂÂs new Stats Zone app.
And thereâÂÂs more.
âÂÂAlongside all the basic events like pass, shot, save, there are a lot of detailed qualifiers,â Paul reminds us. âÂÂThe system will identify a short pass or a long pass, based on the pitch co-ordinates, and the analyst can add âÂÂchipped passâ and things like that.â Hence the third analyst: heâÂÂs not only there to provide a general overview, but add extra detail when the home and away team analysts are frantically keeping up with the play.
Look at the detail for passing alone. âÂÂCross along the groundâÂÂ, âÂÂpull backâ and âÂÂswitch of playâ are all qualifiers, plus âÂÂkick from handsâÂÂ, âÂÂthrowâ or â brilliantly â âÂÂhoofâ for goalkeepers.
âÂÂEach analyst usually has a specialist team,â continues Paul. âÂÂOne analyst will specialise in Arsenal, and know that team inside out. Because itâÂÂs all happening so quickly, they use recognition techniques to identify players: shirt numbers, what type of boots they wear, their latest haircut, even whether their shirt is untucked!âÂÂ
So how can someone get involved in all this?
âÂÂAt interviews we look for anyone thatâÂÂs got an interest in football, and get them in for a quick quiz,â Paul Pettitt, Senior Data Collection Executive and former analyst. âÂÂThen itâÂÂs all about hand-eye co-ordination.âÂÂ
âÂÂWe find people into computer games and with a good knowledge of football often make the best analysts,â adds Paul Every.
This must destroy the analystsâ fun though. No more enjoying a game at the weekend â for them it must be all numbers and diagrams, the poor sods.
âÂÂOnce you start training itâÂÂs pretty intense,â acknowledges Paul Pettitt, âÂÂbut you can still enjoy the games. And some people end up supporting the team they analyse.
âÂÂTheyâÂÂll have to analyse a French or German team all season, then they pick them up as their favourite team. A few people start buying their kits and supporting them.âÂÂ
Well, itâÂÂs good to know the people tirelessly providing us with stats are having a good time too. Now you can enjoy FourFourTwoâÂÂs Stats Zone even more.
STATS ZONE: Young, Downing, Gervinho⦠and Stats Zone
STATS ZONE: More screenshots from FFT's new Stats Zone app
