Before he arrived at Liverpool in 2011, Michael Edwards' journey as a transfer and data analysing supremo began on the south coast.
After being released from Peterborough in March 1997, Edwards pursued a degree in business at Sheffield University. He taught IT at a high school before landing a role as a performance analyst with Portsmouth via Prozone - which was a data analyst start-up company.
This first gig saw Edwards operate as an all-rounder.
He was there to not only analyse the performances of Harry Redknapp's team as well as individuals such as David James and Peter Crouch, but act as technical scout and player confidant.
One such professional who received pointers and presentations from Liverpool's now-sporting director was Richard Hughes.
And speaking to Bleacher Report, the ex-Scotland international has provided a rare insight into the Reds' very own transfer and data guru in what was his formative role.
The Scotsman told: "On Mondays, he used to be the first port of call for myself and a good few of the other boys.
"We'd go into his office and have our stats read back to us on how we'd performed at the weekend.
"He'd played football himself, so he was used to that sort of camaraderie and those exchanges of banter with footballers."
Hughes continued: "A lot of people in those roles come from a non-footballing background and sometimes they find fitting into the atmosphere of a football club quite difficult.
"Michael was different because he had an opinion, and he let you know it. He's got a great sense of humour and he wasn't afraid to tell me or even my more illustrious team-mates that we'd been garbage at the weekend, statistically speaking.
"He was the first person with that job description that I'd come across as a player."
The former midfielder added: "If I was going into a game on a Friday afternoon, I'd ask him what he could tell me about whoever I was playing against and if there was an angle he could give me to help me the next day.
"It's probably more a question you'd ask a coach or a manager, but Michael had that respect from us.
"We treated him as someone whose input was not only worthwhile but desired."
