Sarah Rudd: Arsenal’s analytics pioneer

Training Ground Guru Podcast

Our guest on Episode #55 of the TGG Podcast, in association with Hudl, is Sarah Rudd.

For almost a decade, Sarah was Vice President of Analytics for StatDNA and Arsenal, making her one of the most senior women in the whole of European football. She's now founded her own analytics company, SRC FTBL, along with husband Ravi Ramineni.

In this episode, Sarah told us about her work at Arsenal, her wider career and her thoughts on the future of analytics.

SHOW NOTES=>

01:40: New venture SRC FTBL along with husband Ravi Ramineni

06:25: Why it can be difficult to sustain a cutting-edge analytics department. Secrecy in the industry/ lack of sharing.

08:38: Arsenal acquisition of StatDNA in 2012. Arsene Wenger questioning but supportive. Scope of work increases post-acquisition. Work in performance sphere with Mikhail Zhilkin. Getting trust and buy-in.

17:36: Coaching change with Unai Emery. Getting the 'dosage' right. Liaison with coaching staff.

22:06: Data v human eyes in scouting/ recruitment at Arsenal. Ben Knapper and Mark Curtis moving into scouting/ recruitment roles.

25:16: Leaving StatDNA and Arsenal.

26:34: Did you feel like a pioneer for women in football? Were there ever any issues because of being a woman in a male-dominated world?

32:28: Which are the top clubs for data science in the Premier League? Importance of proprietary data.

33:50: How can clubs better leverage tracking data?

36:15: Data scientists getting a break in football through Twitter. Sarah's break into football/ advice from Mike Forde. Gap between social media and club analytics.

43:15: Future of analytics and artificial intelligence/ ChatGPT.