A few months ago, a friend – who is a regular reader of this website – gave me a book: Smart Money (2024), by Alex Duff, is an account of the history of Brentford Football Club, and in particular their recent rise from the mediocrity of the lower divisions up into the top half of the most prestigious league in English football. It is a good story and well told, describing the club’s founding in a thriving West London suburb in 1889, and their gradual rise into Division One in the 1930s, when they finished in the top six for three successive seasons. In the post-war years, the local area fell into decline as wealth and industry moved elsewhere, and Brentford FC sank slowly into the oblivion of Division Four. However since 2005, when a boyhood fan, who was making himself wealthy running a gambling company, decided to start investing in the club, eventually becoming its owner, Brentford FC’s progress has been impressive. They were promoted into League One in 2009, into the Championship in 2014, and into the Premier League in 2021. In the season that has just ended they finished 10th, one place above West London rivals Fulham, and one place below their 2023 ranking, which was their best league performance for 85 years.
The book is not just about the connection between money and success in football, but also about the role of data. Brentford FC’s new owner – a physics graduate from Oxford – had worked in finance for a while, but then set up his own data analytics company, which gathers and organises vast amounts of information in order to make predictions about sports results. The company makes most of its income through placing large stakes in the Asian betting markets. Some of these profits have gone to fund the development of Brentford FC, but just as importantly, the data gathered and analysed is also used to help the club achieve more with less: staff at the betting firm advise staff at the football club on how to spend money wisely on players, and how to optimise the club’s style of play to achieve the best results possible for a team of modest financial resources. The club is both funded by data and managed through data.
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