What Does the Analysis Structure at Anfield Look Like?

Liverpool has a comprehensive analysis structure with separate departments for Post-Match, Individual Player and Opposition Analysis for the first team, not to mention the various different analysis solutions for training sessions and academy level.

Although working separately, every analyst is working to the same goal, namely, to provide objective information to Klopp and the coaching staff which will help them win matches and competitions.

What other goal could there be?

The Opposition Analysis Department consists of the aforementioned Greg Mathieson, alongside his colleague James French.

On matchday, their job is a little different to all the other analysts at the club as, generally speaking, they will not be watching Liverpool’s game. No, they’ll be traversing no man’s land, into enemy territory to check out the NEXT team that Liverpool will face.

How Do Greg and James Analyse the Opposition?

Listen, the initial part of Greg and James’s analysis is done using Nacsport and, while we love them dearly, this article is about KlipDraw. There’s been plenty written about Nacsport in the past and I’m sure they won’t mind us taking a starring role this time.

It’s our blog, after all!

We've also already covered what a sports anlyst does in an earlier blog post.

That being said, for those of you that have never used sports video analysis software before, here’s a (very) quick rundown of the usual process of collecting data with Nacsport (although the process at Liverpool actually differs slightly).

Step 1. Create a button template with Categories. These are the main actions you want to observe e.g. corners, freekicks, high presses, etc.

Step 2. Create Descriptor buttons. These describe the Category, e.g. Good, Bad, player name, etc.

Step 3. Watch the match and click these buttons as they happen in the game. For example, you can click: 

Corner (Category) > John Smith (Descriptor) > Good (Descriptor) > 2nd Half (Descriptor)

This will add the video clips where John Smith took a good corner in the second half to a database. You can have many different combinations of searchable Categories and Descriptors, giving you a comprehensive view of the match.

Step 4. Analyse the collected data.

Step 5. Create a video Presentation of clips to present to coaching staff and players. The contents of this Presentation will depend on the needs of the team. It may focus on attack, defense or individual players or tactics. 

Needless to say, the analysis data collected with Nacsport is comprehensive and complete. If you want to read more about the process, click the links at the beginning of this article. All will be revealed!

Ok. So, How Is KlipDraw Used?

Ok, Step 5 above is where we’ll be focusing our attention for the rest of this article, as it’s in the Presentation phase where KlipDraw really adds value to the analysis process.

Obviously, Greg and James have KlipDraw fully integrated into their Nacsport programs. This makes it extremely easy to add illustrations to their video Presentations. It’s as simple as identifying the video clip they want to illustrate and clicking the “Add Drawing” option in Nacsport!

The full video presentation, ie. all the relevant collected clips, can then be exported with all illustrations included.

And, don’t get us wrong, the use of KlipDraw at Liverpool is all about effective communication.

According to James, KlipDraw is an essential part of their presentation process. Time is tight at a top-flight club and everyone is extremely busy and this means that the Opposition Analysis Department usually has a maximum of 15 minutes to present their work to the coaches.

Obviously, working to such a tight schedule means that messages must be clear and concise, and this is what KlipDraw allows them to do, showing movement, formations and errors in a completely visual manner which saves lots of time in explanations.

Greg also comments that KlipDraw provides a certain level of structure to presentations, acting like bullet points and giving them breathing space, time to think and recollect their thoughts during the presentation.

After this initial presentation, Greg exports the video clips and passes them on to the coaching staff who can then view them at their leisure or use them to bring up some points with players. Greg says he exports two sets of clips, one with KlipDrawing illustrations included and one without, depending on the coach’s preference.

The final presentation of the week will be to the full squad of players one day before matchday. This will be the full presentation with KlipDraw included. Players tend to be more visual and prefer this style to a lecture.

So, yes, the main purpose of KlipDraw at Liverpool is to deliver clear, powerful message to coaches and players.

But in order to do this, they need a plan…

KlipDraw Tools Used by Liverpool

The Opposition Analysis team uses the full gamut of tools at its disposal...but in a very ordered way.

According to Greg, they work with a standardised key in order to differentiate between the roles of players and areas of the field.

For example, KlipDraw has various styles of Spotlight which can be used to highlight different teams. How about a full spotlight with a base for the home team and a simple base without a spotlight for the opposition?

Apart from that, different colours can be used for different positions, e.g. red for defenders, blue for midfielders and green for forwards. Or how about a separate colour for every individual position, e.g. orange for keepers, pink for left wingers?

Whatever the colour scheme, we’re sure you can see how this type of key could aid communication, after everyone is accustomed to it, of course! 

Another tool that Greg specifically mentions is the Shaded Area tool. For example, if a team is pushing hard to overload a certain area of the field, Greg will use this tool to highlight the area and show exactly where the defence should be shored up.

Apart from this, animated arrows and lines, Objective Mover and Route Simulator, Animated Zoom, Vision Angle and Text Boxes can all be put to good use when presenting to coaches.

KlipDraw: A Top-Flight Telestrator

So, there you have it. A quick overview of KlipDraw’s place amongst football’s elite. Of course, Liverpool are not the only club using KlipDraw in this fashion and football isn’t the only sport.

Other examples of big clubs using KlipDraw in their everyday analysis work include current EFL champions, Leeds United and Spain’s Villarreal. In basketball, Annanya Raghavan of Golden State Warriors and Coach Kostas Kalogeropoulos at Olympiacos BC both use KlipDraw to breakdown games.

So, if you’d like to be in the same company as these huge sporting institutions, why not download a free no-obligation trial today. Click the link below (desktop only). You’ll be glad you did!

If you have any questions about KlipDraw or anything you’ve read in this article, don’t hesitate to get in contact with us through Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.

Until next time, thanks for reading!