MX23RW : Wednesday, December 11 19:48:17| >> :600:95194:95194:

New Brentford boss Marinus Dijkhuizen to receive texts on team talk during game

New Brentford head coach Marinus Dijkhuizen will receive stats-based texts during games instructing him what to drill into his players in a half-time team talk.

Brentford's new head coach Marinus Dijkhuizen has been told that he will receive texts informing him what to include in his half-time team talk during matches in the Championship next season.

The Bees are taking statistical analysis to a new level by scrutinising games as they take place and feeding the most useful information to Dijkhuizen, who was confirmed as the West London club's new boss on Monday.

He said at a press conference on Thursday that he is "fully behind" the club's 'moneyball' approach and co-director of football Rasmus Ankersen believes that real-time stats can "move the needle" in the Bees' favour.

"Stats can reveal some things that the eyes and the ears can't," said Ankersen, who is also chairman of Danish club FC Midtjylland - a club also possessed by Brentford owner Matthew Benham.

"We need to decide what information will be useful at certain phases; pre-match, post-match and during the game.

"There's lots of inefficiencies in football and it's about trying to find the things that will move the needle for us. It's a process where we need to take some risks and hopefully find things that give us five or 10% extra."

Ankersen revealed that their stats-driven recruitment has worked well with Midtjylland, who won the Danish Superliga for the first time in their history this season, but admitted that it might seem "radical" to those watching on in England.

"I understand to a conservative culture it may seem a bit radical," he added. "Some of the ideas are a bit radical, but we believe that an idea always normalises itself in the process."

In their first season in the Championship for 21 years last term, Brentford finished fifth under manager Mark Warburton and were beaten in the playoff semi-finals by Middlesbrough.

ID:226497: cacheID:226497:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:3215:
Written by
Pascal Lemesre
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Jota of Brentford celebrates scoring his goal with Andre Gray during the Sky Bet Championship match between Brentford and Wigan Athletic at Griffin Park on May 2, 2015
Read Next:
Ankersen: 'Balance important to Brentford'
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!