Will Spearman is Liverpool's new director of research, replacing Dr Ian Graham, who had previously held the role since 2012.
Dr Graham has been a highly influential figure at Liverpool since his appointment. He announced his intention to leave Anfield back in November but agreed to continue to work until May to give the club time to find a successor.
With Graham having been important to the club’s transfer policy, as well as other forms of analysis, Spearman faces a challenging prospect of fulfilling such significant responsibilities.
As a matter of fact, a report in the New York Times explained how Dr Graham, using his research and statistics, recommended that Liverpool sign Naby Keita back in 2016. He also had a major say in the decision to move for Mohamed Salah from Roma in 2017.
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Nevertheless, it appears that Spearman is getting stuck into his new role, as he advertised a new vacancy in the Reds' first-team set-up, with his first tweet since May 2022.
The role is for a 'First Team Performance Analyst' and the advert states: "We are looking for an individual with a proven track record as a performance analyst within an elite football environment to join our Liverpool FC team as a First Team Performance Analyst. In this role, you will enhance the thoroughness of First Team Analysis provision to continually support our Manager, Coaching staff & Players with the most relevant, detailed information. You will satisfy the ever-evolving demands within our environment, supporting the coaching staff in terms of pre, live, post-match and training analysis: with the aim to improve on-field performance."
And in terms of the requirements for the job, Liverpool say: "To be successful in this role, you will have a proven track record working as a performance analyst within an elite football environment (First Team or Academy level) and will ideally have experience working within a first team environment at Premier League or Championship level. You will have detailed football knowledge and tactical understanding, with the ability to demonstrate how that can be applied in a practical setting. You will be able to demonstrate experience of combining an analytical skillset and tactical understanding to aid and support playing/coaching staff. Your proven experience will include analysing individual performance and analysing training sessions, aligning this within the team setting and wider club philosophy. You will have a detailed understanding of how to interpret and utilise data, providing relevance and substance to aid the coaching process.
"With your high level of computer competency, you will have used various analysis software & programmes including, Hudl Sportscode, Coach Paint, Keynote, iMovie and other presentation-based software. Having effective communication skills, you are confident communicating at all levels and can collaborate in varied group sizes.
"It is essential that you have a flexible and dedicated approach to work, enabling certain tasks/demands to be conducted during unsociable hours. Being self-motivated, you are comfortable working independently or within a team. You can work reliably under pressure meeting tight deadlines and adhere to strict processes whilst maintaining high standards and confidentiality."
According to Training Ground Guru, Spearman is "at the vanguard of a new breed of practitioners who have brought advanced mathematics and physics into English football." He previously helped launch HUDL, developing a model to quantify the control of space on the pitch in football, a role that brought him to the attention of Liverpool.
In an interview with the club last year, Spearman explained where his love for football came from.
“You’ve got 22 players on a large field,” he told Liverpoolfc.com last year. “There is a high degree of coherence to their interactions yet it is individual brilliance that is often decisive."
