What’s Included In A Game Analysis Report?

I was recently asked what I “actually did” when I was working as an Opposition and Game Analyst. I did this job with clubs that didn’t have ProZone or multiple cameras and multiple staff looking at every run and every pass of every player. This isn’t showing my age, by saying how it was done ‘in the good old days’, this is just how I did it with clubs who didn’t have that kind money to invest in this area.

The first time I took on this role was with Sydney Grammar School, doing post-match analysis for the school’s First XI (This gave me a solid foundation of SportCode software, and a great advantage when doing analysis in later years on UEFA Licences – Thank you Charlie Davidson). The first time I got to use this with senior players was with Western Sydney Wanderers W-League team during the club’s inaugural 2012 season. My main job for the team was looking at our own performance, and analysing the goals we conceded/ scored, where, when, and how we kept/ coughed up possession, and assessing the team shape during pivotal moments of play. I used SportCode Pro during my time with WSW, and of all the software packages I have used, this is the best - I have by no means used all that are on the market, this is purely my opinion.

When putting together presentations for players, the manager asked me for a very basic lay out: 3 pieces of good attacking play, any goals we scored, any goals we conceded, 3 instances of poor play or team shape, 1-2 pieces of good individual skill or something funny that happened during the match. The presentations lasted a maximum of 15 minutes, which I feel is a good general rule of thumb so players don’t start to lose focus. And, they always finished with a positive clip.

During the second season I was with Wanderers, my role expanded to included opposition analysis. This was down to one big change, ABC started showing a live game each week, and highlights of others. This allowed me to record games, capture clips on my phone and, include whatever I thought was relevant into my report for the manager.   

My structure for an opposition report included: a minimum of the previous 3 starting line ups (up to 5) with formations, substitutions, and tactical changes. The set up for defensive and attacking set pieces. Trends in the defence, midfield and attack from an attacking and defensive perspective. Specific points of weakness illustrated by diagrams or footage. A ‘True Shape’ diagram which showed where players normally positioned themselves in the formation i.e. Does the right winger hug the line or do they start 10 yards inside? Does the left back normally stay higher up the field than the right back leaving the defence lopsided? General statistics on possession, shots, fouls (if I recorded the game I would include a map of where fouls were committed, also which type of attack (long ball, patient possession, etc.) and where (left, right, centre) the team would attack. And, on the odd occasion I would add in anything else I felt was noteworthy. This only went to the manager, to be viewed by the coaching staff. Specific excerpts would be used in any pre-match presentation to the players, but again, these would last a maximum of 15 minutes.

I initially started adding an ‘L’ or ‘R’ under players names to indicate the dominate foot (rarely would a player be given ‘L+R’) of opposition players; this however, was removed because our own team knew more about their opponents than I could ever pick up from watching a few games. The player pool at that level in Australia was small, most of the players had crossed paths at club, state, or national level many times, across many years prior to my insight.

I recently read an interview on the Training Ground Guru (lots of great articles) website with Rene Meulensteen, that said during his time with Manchester United’s first team; Sir Alex Ferguson would focus 75% on what his team were doing and, 25% looking at the opposition. If your club doesn’t have access to televised games of opponents, you can still implement this ratio to your training time. Most clubs at sub-elite level I know, have people within their structure that do their scouting. Sometimes this is a dedicated scout who looks at opponents and potential signings, sometimes it is a board member, sometimes the manager and assistant will head out to watch upcoming opponents. Even if your scout can only see one or two games prior to playing them, that can still provide useful insight into the trends and set piece set up of that team.

During that second season at WSW, I also started doing individual player analysis for our squad. At the end of a game, the manager would ask me to look at a couple of players he felt had done particularly well, particularly poorly; or if he thought they were hiding during the game and wanted some concrete facts. On a couple of occasions, he asked me to go back over the last 2 or 3 games and watch a player he was thinking of removing from the starting line up (or adding to, if they had been coming on as a substitute). This individual analysis contained a breakdown of their attacking (passing, shots, crosses, 1v1s) stats, their defensive (tackles, headers, interceptions) stats, and a breakdown of their passing in diagram and numerical formats. These individual analysis presentations were often, but not always, shown to the player in question. I found the players most interested in seeing their stats were the ones who had the best drive and determination. I remember a particularly good sit down I had with a squad member on the bus to an away game. The player in question took everything on board, asked insightful questions, asked to watch video clips multiple times, and thanked me at the end of it. She has played professionally in Denmark, America, Germany, and has played in a World Cup, an Asian Cup, an Olympic Games, and recently helped Australia win the Tournament of Nations (That is a decent resume!). The players who disappointed me with their uptake of the information generally had poor seasons. Even a player who was veteran international, 100+ caps, viewed the stats with a certain amount of disdain, when being told, and shown how, she was underperforming. Excuses came from all angles about her performances, but it showed the difference between a young player with a growth mindset, compared to an older player who thought she just had to turn up.

I was on a coaching course in Australia when the instructor asked us as a group what our role as a coach included. One coach put his hand up and said that one of our jobs was to pass on our knowledge of the game to players; I interjected, and said that I believed he was slightly wrong. As coaches, I believe we are tasked with imparting wisdom to our players. I may not be quoting the Oxford English Dictionary here, but I like to think that wisdom is knowing how to use knowledge. If we can give our players the knowledge of how to counteract an opponent, and train this to become applied knowledge (wisdom), then we can see the benefits when our team steps out onto the pitch. By adding in a little opposition information into how we set up our training sessions, we can see players problem solve on the pitch in real time. By knowing how a team set themselves up, we as coaches, can consciously or subconsciously be prepared to change. Gone should be the days of hearing a post-match pub analysis from fans of, “They didn’t have a plan B.”, or even worse, a dreaded chant of, “You don’t know what you’re doing!”