A few years ago, I flew to London, terrified and uncertain. I had just left behind a steady career in finance as a data scientist to take a massive gamble on journalism — a considerably more unpredictable field.

For someone who prides themselves on analytical decision-making, moving country to work in such a volatile industry felt like a low Expected Career Value (xCV) decision. Yet, as with all football analysis, this was an informed choice based on the available data, not an ironclad guarantee. Sport captivates us because it thrives on defying those expectations, and we romanticise those unpredictable moments the most.

This week, as I join The Athletic as a Data and Tactics Writer, I’m thrilled to see how far this gamble has taken me.

My first task is to pen the now-traditional Why I Joined piece. And, like any self-respecting analyst, I wasn’t going to approach this without some body of evidence to guide me.

While my new colleagues have — through years of late nights and hard graft — honed their own distinctive voices and styles, I’ve taken it upon myself to callously reduce their collective efforts into a formulaic approach.

After gathering, reading, and analysing 25 of my new colleague’s introductory pieces, a broad Why I Joined structure emerged. Most begin with a formative, awe-inspiring childhood football memory that sparked an irrevocable love for the game. This naturally flows into a segment recounting their journey from wide-eyed football enthusiast to accomplished writer, with a light sprinkling of humblebrag. Finally, each piece concludes with a preview of what readers can expect, accompanied by a homage to The Athletic’s core values.

While no template can fully capture my excitement at starting this role (the data suggests I should write 842 words and maintain an average sentence length of 23.6 words), it can’t hurt to follow the format set down by the wise people who came before me.

My path to becoming a football data journalist began early, as I filled my mind with an endless stream of football trivia and facts. Unfortunately, this came at the cost of more practical life skills. Countless school lunches were left forgotten on the kitchen counter, yet I could name every Champions League winner in precise chronological order without hesitation.

The vagaries of genetics swiftly put paid to any playing ambitions. If I couldn’t be the best, I could at least try to know the most. I hoovered up football knowledge from a variety of sources; sticker books, Match of the Day, and newspaper reports all formed part of this peculiar football tapestry. Yet it was Football Manager that provided me with my first structured database to immerse myself in.

Back then, global football was a genuine mystery. Even watching teams outside the Premier League was limited to the occasional Champions League night. But now here was access to information of thousands of players across the globe. It was dizzying and overstimulating — and I was hooked. When called down for dinner, my sister would often quip that I was playing “the game with the moving dots again” (a gross simplification of my carefully constructed strategies).

This obsession with football knowledge only deepened over time, but I never imagined it could translate into a viable career. I was mathematically minded, and back then, this skill set didn’t seem an obvious fit for the creative, storytelling-driven world of journalism. That changed when I noticed newsrooms embracing data as a storytelling tool. Suddenly, there was an opportunity to combine my analytical mindset with my love for football.

Sky Sports News gave me that chance, and I am forever grateful for it. My time working there was wonderful, and it was a thrill to get stuck into analysing and presenting football data in a professional setting. From performance analytics to investigative pieces to visualising Sky’s deadline-day drama, my work ran the gamut of football data journalism.

But working as a football data journalist taught me that not everyone embraces football performance analytics — and that’s fine. Reducing the chaos and beauty of such a dynamic, deeply emotional sport to a series of X and Y coordinates, assigned cold, quantitative — and sometimes arcane — values, isn’t everyone’s bag. It’s also indifferent to our personal feelings and the reason why we watch the sport.

GO DEEPER

xG, xA and a battle for hearts and minds – a friendly debate between a fan and The Athletic’s data expert

Take my favourite Irish footballer, Wesley Hoolahan. Martin O’Neill reintroduced him into the national team during an era when Ireland’s style of play was pragmatic at best. The team’s ethos prioritised avoiding defeat over actively chasing victory, resulting in a drab, conservative approach.

Hoolahan, a diminutive midfielder with over 300 appearances for Norwich, broke this monotony with his deft skill, creativity, and willingness to take risks. His ingenuity shone in moments like his perfectly weighted cross to Robbie Brady against Italy in Euro 2016 — a pass that sealed Ireland’s place in the last 16 and created my most euphoric football memory.

Wes Hoolahan, world-class to some (Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Instinctively, I knew his credentials were not that of a world-class footballer. But he was world-class to me.

And that’s the beauty of football: it’s as much about our personal biases and connections as it is about cold, hard facts. Yet, these facts play a crucial role. They provide the objective foundation for the stories that evoke our strongest emotions. While performance data is the most visible application of numbers in football, it’s only one of many ways data can enhance our understanding of the game.

Football isn’t just about what happens on the pitch, it’s also about the stories we tell off it. Take the Premier League’s rapid transformation into a global corporate behemoth. This evolution has inevitably drawn investment from a variety of sources, not all of which have pure or honest intentions. Financial data helps us critically asses these ownership models and the broader implications they have on the sport.

I firmly believe that every football story can be enhanced through the thoughtful use of data. The Athletic clearly shares this philosophy, blending exceptional storytelling with distinctive, beautifully crafted data visuals.

As football analysis evolves at a dizzying pace, The Athletic remains at the forefront, embracing innovation without ever losing sight of clarity and accessibility. They have set the standard for sports data journalism. This balance between depth and simplicity is no small feat, yet The Athletic achieves it masterfully. It’s what makes their work resonate with such a broad and passionate audience.

It’s a privilege to join such a forward-thinking team, and I cannot wait to get started.

(Top photos: Getty Images/Football Manager)