As Justin Fevrier continues to shape his backroom team at Corinthian-Casuals, we are delighted to welcome Sunny Rai to the club as our new Head of Analysis. We caught up with him earlier this week to find out more about his work and the role he has taken on at the club…
Sunny, welcome to the club. How pleased are you to be working with Corinthian-Casuals?
I am delighted to be working at Corinthian-Casuals as Head of Analysis. It is a proud moment for me personally. I want to say a big thank you to Justin for giving me this opportunity and for having belief in the methods we’re working hard to put into place. As a lad who grew up in Birmingham, I must admit that I first heard of Corinthian-Casuals while watching Football Focus on a Saturday afternoon years ago. The history of this club is so special and unique and how it is run now is a credit to everyone involved. It’s been great to attend a couple of home games already to watch the team perform and take in the special atmosphere at the club.
How would you describe your role?
My role is to contribute to and oversee the performance analysis of match videos, as well as the analysis of GPS tracking data. It is a very exciting opportunity to implement some systems of analysis that can be a part of this club’s future going forward and hopefully make a positive contribution. Bridging the gap between scouting and analysis will be a key part of this role, as will be getting the players to buy in and digest the information we are providing. Their feedback is going to be an important part of the process.
What is your background and how did you get involved in competitive football?
While I was studying for my MSc in Sport Analytics at University of East London, I worked as a data analyst with the men’s football team. Our coaching team helped the players win the league and gain promotion to the Premier Division of BUCS (British University & Colleges Sport). I’ve also worked in British Wheelchair Basketball with the East London Phoenix women’s team, my first taste of professional sport. I did my university work placement at Sevenoaks Town FC last year and learnt an immense amount working with the brilliant analysis team there.
I have a strong mathematical background and have always been interested in sport especially football, playing as well as watching. Before the career change into sports data analysis, I was a clinical audit data analyst in the NHS, analysing clinical outcomes data from every NHS trust in the UK. High performance teams don't just operate within sport, they can also be in the healthcare industry, as Mikel Arteta rightly highlighted in a team talk during the recent Arsenal: All Or Nothing series.
Will you be working with a team of analysts and what are your plans for the club's new analysis department?
I lead a small team of analysts from my data analytics consultancy, Sportekk. Having a performance analyst, sports scientist and data scientist on board is key to driving all analyses in the right direction. I want to implement effective and secure systems of analysis and data management. Thankfully the club has already invested well in the technologies we need to extract data from, so all credit to them for doing so.
How have you enjoyed working with Justin, his coaching staff, and the players so far, and how interested are they all in the work you are doing?
Justin, Rich, Glen, Thommo and the others have so much experience and knowledge that it’s impossible not to be like a sponge around them. It is a privilege to witness them all perform their roles on a matchday. I see all the hard work they do behind the scenes, and it is unbelievable! Their input is key into what we are doing, they know the players better than anyone and can provide that human context to player data, which is key to my approach. It has only been just over a month since I’ve been involved so once everything is fully up to speed, I will be speaking more regularly with all the coaching team.
