Season › 2011-12 › News Everton lead in performance analytics Michael Kenrick , 2 May, 163comments | Jump to most recent Seeking the link between match data and winning performances Everton are currently one of the Premier League's most innovative and progressive teams when it comes to the use of performance analytics. The team has been using match data analysis ever since David Moyes first became manager at Goodison in 2002. "Moyes wanted something in place to provide him with extensive information because he's so detailed, thorough and methodical in his work," said Steve Brown, First Team Performance Analyst at Everton. The fundamental basis for Everton's pre and postmatch work is provided by the Prozone software which provides the eventing details, player tracking and physical data from which Brown and his team build their analysis. The climate of change when it comes to use of data for match analysis is probably best reflected in the transformation in players' attitudes. Today, at Everton it's commonly used and accepted at every level down from the senior squad to the youth academy. "I think initially some players were sceptical toward it," said Brown. "I've had past experiences where people have viewed it as a negative tool and if it's used wrongly it can be damaging in the coaching process." There's no question that some among the old guard of players within the professional ranks were initially apprehensive or resentful toward the data and questioned not only its application, but its usefulness. "That was where the main boundaries lay," said Brown. "Some of the older generation of players who weren't as familiar with working in a detailed analysis process — of which we do a large amount of at Everton. At Everton, they've had to buy into the process and if they don't buy into the process, they'll just get frustrated because of the way the manager works here." Quotes or other material sourced from Sports Illustrated Reader Comments (163) Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer Add Your Comments In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site. » Log in now Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site. About these ads