Welcome to It Was What It Was, the football history podcast. This week co-hosts Jonathan Wilson and Rob Draper are joined by journalist, broadcaster and author of 'Expected Goals: The story of how data conquered football and changed the game' Rory Smith. In today’s episode we explore the fascinating journey of data analytics in football. From the early days of Charles Reep and Valeriy Lobanovskyi's basic data collection to the revolutionary 1990s that saw a surge in clubs like Liverpool using a data-driven approach under Ian Graham and Michael Edwards to lead to Premier League success. We also look at how clubs like Bolton Wanderers under Sam Allardyce leveraged data to gain a competitive edge and and the cultural shift towards data in football management. Tune in to understand how data played a crucial role in some of the greatest footballing successes of the modern era.

00:00 Introduction and Welcoming Rory Smith

00:42 The Evolution of Data in Football

01:29 The Role of Data Collectors

05:04 Prozone and Early Data Pioneers

11:17 The Culture War: Nerds vs. Scouts

12:17 Sam Allardyce: The Unlikely Data Advocate

23:32 Moneyball and Its Impact on Football

27:24 Decision Technology and Early Predictions

28:06 The Role of Data in Football Predictions

28:48 The Fink Tank Column and Its Impact

31:09 Spurs' Missed Opportunity with Data

32:56 Tottenham's Early Adoption of Data Analytics

41:11 Liverpool's Data-Driven Transformation

47:10 The Cultural Shift Towards Data in Football

58:44 The Importance of Communication in Data Utilisation

59:45 Conclusion

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