By Sam Preston

Dominic Jordan to Manchester United: Fans react to Director of Data Science hire

Manchester United have announced the appointment of its first Director of Data Science, Dominic Jordan.

Jordan has been tasked with helping United better connect and analyse the huge volume of football data generated.

He joins United from online retailer N Brown Group and has previously developed algorithms monitoring movement in transport systems.

This appears to be his first foray into the world of football and he has spoken to the club website after the announcement.

“I have seen first-hand how data used in the right way can transform organisations of all kinds. To get the opportunity to do exactly that for the football club I love – well, it was a no-brainer.

“My job will be to build a team of data scientists and analysts who will gather, clean and combine data from all kinds of sources to help the true experts make effective decisions with more confidence.

“There is so much potential for data science to benefit the club, from assisting with player recruitment, automatically analysing patterns of play to extracting information from video feeds in real time. 

“At first it’s a question of determining which problems are the most important for the club and tackling those to deliver quick but effective results.”

Reaction

From what Jordan said there, he has been given scope to shape United’s use of data, which can be so important in the modern game.

It’s not as if United won’t have been using data before his appointment, but it seems like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer wants to change what United get out of it.

Some fans took to Twitter to react to the appointment, largely pleased that United are further embracing modern practices.

Most supporters will welcome anything behind the scenes which takes United closer to winning title number 21…

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Sam Preston

Sam Preston is an NCTJ gold standard news and sports journalist who studied with the Press Association. He also has a 2:1 law with French law degree from the University of Birmingham, which included a year studying at Bordeaux Montaigne University. He is an FA Level 1 football coach who appeared on the BBC’s Victoria Derbyshire show in 2018 and has also written digital football content and match-day programme pieces for Colchester United, Mansfield Town and Stockport County.