Newcastle United sporting director Ross Wilson has hinted the Magpies are exploring the 'many opportunities' in football amid the 'growth in AI' in the sport.
Wilson was speaking at Training Ground Guru's Live event at Old Trafford, an annual two-day event held 'for the teams behind the teams in professional football'. Staff from clubs and federations across 10 countries came together for 22 sessions on sporting directors, recruitment, analytics, coaching, academies and performance.
Wilson on AI and data growth
Wilson was part of a sporting directors panel alongside Sheffield Wednesday's sporting director Simon Wilson and Derby County's talent acquisition lead Leigh Bromby. In a snippet of the event released on Training Ground Guru's social media channels, Wilson was seen talking about the growth in AI and data and how there are 'so many opportunities' for football clubs to improve when it comes to recruitment, scheduling, training programmes and more.
"The world is your oyster," Wilson said. "I genuinely believe that in football. There are so many opportunities. At the moment, there is such a growth in AI, such a growth in data, and that is a moment in time we are in now that I am sure will stay with us for a long time."
Hitzlsperger on data's importance
Former Aston Villa and Germany international midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger attended the event and also reiterated the importance of data in the modern game.
"Data analytics is so important," Hitzlsperger added. "As a former player, I still hope I can trust my gut a little bit and my experience. But the way everything is going and developing, I think data and analytics are so important. I want to learn more in order to make better decisions."
Newcastle's data-driven approach
Newcastle have made huge inroads in terms of data analytics since the appointment of Sudarshan Gopaladesikan as the club's technical director last summer. Gopaladesikan leads the club's football data operations, working closely with Matthias Jaissle and his coaching staff and the club's performance, medical, analysis, methodology and recruitment teams. His role is dedicated to implementing data-informed practices across all sporting departments throughout men's, women's and academy teams.
Insiders over the summer used the 'data' as a barometer in which to talk about their excitement ahead of the new season, with the likes of Lewis Miley, Yoane Wissa and Will Osula's results being spoken about in glowing terms. It was also a major driver in their recruitment as they pivoted towards a model of signing young, exciting players with high potential, with all eight first-team signings over the summer aged 24 and under.
