Manchester United, a club with arguably the richest history in English football, has enjoyed a fair share of success and downtime but more successes. One factor responsible for United’s century-long relevance in top-flight football is their ability to adapt deftly to the demands of changing times. Keeping up with top-flight football for several decades is a tough call. Several clubs have fallen down the pecking order. However, consistently competing for major trophies for that long is even more difficult. Interestingly, the ‘Red Devils’ have turned both mountains into molehills.
No doubt, adaptation to the times has been influential on the club’s success. In this article, we will explore how the club has deployed technology to their advantage in this age where technology shapes modern beliefs and ways of life.
How Technology is Shaping Practice Metrics
Practice is an important part of any football team’s routine. The Trafford Training Centre is not shying away from deploying technology to improve how practice is measured and monitored. At the moment, Manchester United partners with Therabody to provide technologically powered products geared towards improving practice efficiency.
This device is designed to resemble a handheld gun and the nozzle is placed on a part of the body, where readings are observed. Another technology used by the club for improved performance during practice is pneumatic compression boots.
Transforming Performance Metrics at Manchester United
Playing top-flight football or managing a team at Manchester United demands the highest level of excellence. To achieve that, performance metrics are indispensable data for player and match analysis. The complicated nature of measuring performances has been made easy to analyze thanks to technology. The technology at Manchester United is used to assess players based on metrics such as their tactical, physiological, defensive technicality, attacking technicality, and psychological abilities.
The traits used to analyze these metrics differ from position to position. While tactical abilities for fullbacks can be deduced from traits such as the ability to force offside, those for attackers can be deduced from their ability to utilize space and anticipate passes. Players and coaches can prepare improvement strategies by assessing peculiar metrics for the different player positions.
One effective technology that aids in measuring performance metrics is the Geographical Position System (GPS). Originally used for navigation and military purposes, GPS has become a key technological component of performance analysis, providing data on player movement and workload patterns.
Monitoring Player Health and Fitness
Over the years, player injuries have become a nightmare for clubs like Manchester United. With key players missing in important matches, unpleasant results have often been the outcome. Also, such injuries have affected how bookmarkers and bet experts at BetZillion analyze odds on their home page. In light of this, several Premier League clubs have sought innovative ways to curb the frequency of player injuries and lack of fitness. By 2016, Manchester United had joined the league of clubs that subscribed to the services of STATSports.
The technology the Northern Ireland outfit provides is designed to be worn with a vest, with the device sitting on the spinal column between the shoulder blades. The device utilizes GPS technology to keep track of player workrate, distance covered, the balance of player steps and their heartbeat rate.
The device will collect vital information about a player's health and fitness and relay it to a special device beside the pitch. The relayed information will then guide the coaching staff on necessary decisions after it has been processed by the STATSports software. It is expected to reduce the number of injuries and improve players’ fitness, as the technology will reveal how hard or normal a training session or match was for a player.
Breaking Down Match Footage for Tactical Insights
Videos have been part of football for almost a century now. However, it has only become an integral part of player and team analysis in recent times. Thanks to video technology, obtaining tactical insights has evolved from dependence on the memory of match viewers and notes to a more sophisticated and reliable data source. At Manchester United, TeamViewer’s technological solutions are responsible for providing video-assisted analytics to aid player and management improvement. These analytics include the player's ball handling, dual approach, and how they run into space. The technology doesn’t only analyze the metrics of the home team; it also provides insights into the playing pattern of the opposing team. Bet experts believe this will impact the odds, as away teams may no longer enjoy a superior advantage over visiting teams using these technologies.
The process of breaking down match footage using technological innovations has provided solutions to the problem of assembling, storing, sorting, or collecting relevant video resources in preparation for some games.
The Future of Tech in Football: What’s Next for Manchester United?
Similar to the forward-thinking ideals of Betziliion , the Red Devils have demonstrated their resolve to utilize the resourcefulness of technology to improve several aspects of the club, like player performance and managerial decisions. The club hopes to achieve this without tampering with the round leather game's fundamental integrity.
Conclusion
As expected, some level of pessimism has been displayed by some stakeholders when it comes to the deployment of technology in football. Jose Mourinho’s spell as Manchester United coach saw the doors shut against any form of technology that provided player details such as speed, grounds covered, and technical display during matches.
Despite this pessimism from respected figures in the game, Manchester United is not slowing down from its alliance with technologies that improve performance. The club hopes to achieve this without tampering with the round leather game's fundamental integrity. We can only keep our fingers crossed as we observe how this affects the club and betting culture in general |
