Andrew Findlay joins the club following working for Manchester United, Manchester City and Blackburn Rovers in similar roles in the past.
Wolves TV caught up with Andrew to find out more about him and what the role entails.
Q: What was it about the football club that attracted you to come and work here?
A: A few things really - the history and the passion of the club and also the ambition. Everybody’s looking at Wolves at the moment and thinking about what the club could achieve. Of course the first team have their target of ultimately getting to the Premier League but also the development of the academy. The club hasn’t really got an boundaries - it’s looking to keep expanding, keep achieving - it’s going places so why not come to Wolves.
Q: Tell us about where you’ve been so far?
A: I started off at Blackburn Rovers as an intern working with the first team but also the reserves - I was there for just over a year. Then I went to Man City and I was working with the Under 15s/16s at Manchester City just as they were starting to build and become what they are today. Scott Sellars was there during my time and he helped build the philosophy there. From there, I went across the road to Manchester United and was there for over four years. I worked with some great people and under some great managers. I learnt a lot about different playing styles and different ways of working.
Q: What does the job involve?
A: My role specifically is to lead the analysis across the whole club, whether that be the first team, the academy, linking with recruitment and linking it with other departments as well. It’s about making sure the Head Coach and his staff have access to all of the information they need and making sure that all the analysts have everything they need to provide as much information as possible.
Also, then linking that in with the academy - it’s almost a filtering process so that everything has access to what they need and building the awareness of players as they come through. Analysis is a great resource - it’s almost coaching but off the pitch because it’s on a screen and not on the grass. Players get the chance to review things and within the academy, that’s crucial for players to learn and understand about the game and what the coaches are asking from them. That links with the recruitment because if we have a best practice here of what we do and what we can achieve, we know what we’re looking for with people to come in and fit in at the club.
Q: Is this becoming for important?
A: It’s a case of providing all the information that they could possibly need to prepare the players as best possible going into a match day and then little details that go with that. The other analysts that working within the first team will then provide the Coach with the information regarding how he wants to work with the players. It provides a full circle and then links with the academy as well - it’s players having that preparation and that time to improve and to build as the season goes on.
Q: What will you gauge as success?
A: It’s in essence a service to the club, a service mainly to the coaching staff. The players can’t train all day, every day - where they can’t be outside on the pitch, learning about the game we want to be able to provide that opportunity off the pitch. The success of it will be that people that working within the club can come to the department, ask for things that they need off the pitch and that then helps them on it.
