The fine line between success and failure has football managers and clubs turning to technology to gain any possible competitive advantage. Statistics are in greater use now more than ever, with football trying to adapt ‘The Moneyball Approach’ that worked so well in baseball, to combat the Moneybags approach of Chelsea, Man city et al.
"Liverpool uses advanced technological methods and a heavy reliance on data to prepare a group of players to play as many as 65 matches between July and May. GPS tracking and heart-rate monitors provide the data points for on-field conditions. The club also monitors off-field factors such as sleeping and eating habits to ensure players remain at their peak physical condition." - NESN.
GPS technology is the latest to be adapted to produce detailed statistics on players including:
Distance - Knowing how much distance is covered in any training session, training week, or training cycle is important to fully understand the total volume being placed upon the athlete to maximise training adaptation and avoid overtraining.
Speed - products have been specifically designed to be able to easily and accurately track an athlete’s speed profile during any skill, drill, or training session. It is the ongoing monitoring of this key metric (and associated flagging of risk) that will maximize player performance whilst minimizing soft tissue injury.
Acceleration - units are capable of measuring an athlete’s rate of acceleration (from standing still or from a running start) as well as their deceleration ability (an important factor in agility and change of direction activities).
With a high sensitivity GPS receiver, it would also be possible to map player's movements on a football field and review with the individual after the game.
Questions that GPS in football can answer:
- The whereabouts of Fernando Torres on a football pitch in 2011?
- The whereabouts of Carlos Tevez full stop
- GPS chipped footballs to retrieve Emile Heskeys shots from outside of Villa Park
- The whereabouts of Wayne Rooney /John Terry / Ryan Giggs / (Insert cheating footballer here) on a Saturday night
