The national team’s head of analysis Andrew Findlay hunts for revelations on social media
He has complete control over Norway’s opponents, who like to dribble to the right or left.
Andrew Findlay is the man who has spent time studying the top division in Gibraltar.
The Englishman is also the man who sees it as his duty to follow the opponent on social media – simply because it can give Ståle Solbakken and the Norwegian national team a tiny advantage.
Tiny details in a picture in a newspaper or on social media, Findlay believes, can give Norway an advantage.
– The simplest way to explain who I am is to say that I am a football nerd, says Findlay himself.
The 33-year-old has worked as an analyst at, among others, Manchester United under personalities such as David Moyes, Louis van Gaal and José Mourinho.
Saturday from 17: Slovenia – Norway
Tv2 play
In the summer of 2020, Ståle Solbakken recruited the Englishman to FC Copenhagen as head of analysis. When Solbakken took over Norway a few months later, the national team boss was clear that he wanted the Briton with him.
Well, Findlay is the man who has to take on Solbakken’s men, prepared for all the unexpected.
He won’t go into specifics about how geeky he really is for fear that Norway’s future opponents will read this article and be aware of his working methods.
– I read everything I can find about our opponents, he reveals, however.
FOLLOWING LIVE: During the international matches, Andrew FIndlay sits high up in the stands with his PC. During the break, he can go down and show the players clips from the first half. Photo: Vegard Wivestad Grøtt / BILDBYRÅN
But above all, it is on his own PC and with the help of advanced analysis tools that work is really done.
– In short, I love details. What is the body position of a player on the court, does he use short or long touch, does he tend to shoot from short range or from distance? I try to get as good an overview of all these details as possible, so that I can answer all the questions Ståle and the players ask me, says Findlay.
Workaholic
Av Ståle Solbakken describes Findlay as a workaholic. Someone who works almost around the clock so that Norway wins football matches.
– After a meeting like the one that awaits us now, he is completely exhausted. He takes the PC with him everywhere and works around the clock. If he calls the players for small details on tactical things, he will find it right away, says Ståle Solbakken.
But it is not just during the ongoing assembly that Findlay is on the job. While the players play matches outside the club, Findlay is permanently employed at Ullevaal in order to be as well prepared as possible.
Ståle Solbakken has previously described him as the heart that binds together the support apparatus.
– Since the Slovenia match that is coming up now is completely focused, it is us in the end. I have become well acquainted with them; we probably saw the previous match against Slovenia seven or eight times, says Findlay.
In addition, all the club matches he watches.
– I can pick up something new in every match I watch. One time I can focus on just us, in the next match I can focus on what the opponent is trying to do. Another time I can focus on individual players, he says.
These are the nerds
Regardless, there is little doubt that Norway has a head of analysis who has been sought after and used in some of England’s biggest clubs.
He himself is clear that it requires a lot from him – among other things because Norway is in the process of getting players in the very biggest clubs where the level is sky high on all levels.
– We try to bring club life into the national team, he says.
This means that players follow up to one – when they want to. Left-back Birger Meling, for example, is known to want to see through previous involvements to his opponent on the wing.
– Birger has a reputation for wanting a lot, but there are more like him. At the same time, I think it’s about not giving the players too much to think about. Before, I think the players saw the analysis as a chore: that’s why I think it’s important to be specific about what we do, he says.
Haaland wants clear messages
In addition to Meling, Findlay mentions three national team players who are particularly geeky on the analysis front.
– Stefan is someone who likes details. In addition, Mats Møller Dæhli, Kristian Thorstvedt and Morten Thorsby are probably types who like details, he says.
He says that Erling Braut Haaland prefers clear and distinct messages, while Martin Ødegaard puts a lot of effort into understanding the whole.
Findlay has allowed himself to be impressed by the football brain of the national team captain.
– Martin as captain is so invested in the plan that he wants to understand the whole. On the plane back from Slovenia now, he can quickly sit next to me to go through things, says Findlay.
The entire support apparatus together
Findlay – brought up in English clubs such as Blackburn, Manchester City, Manchester United and Wolverhampton – has allowed himself to be fascinated by the Scandinavian way of working.
– One of Ståle’s greatest strengths is that he trusts people. He gives a lot of responsibility to those around him, says Findlay.
It also makes very much included in his work. Because it is not just Martin Ødegaard, Erling Braut Haaland and the coaching team who are integrated into his thorough tactical analyses.
– When we go through what we expect from the next opponent, or go through how we should present ourselves, then everyone in the support apparatus is involved. Whether it’s the chef Christian, Ståle, the team manager, Thomas (Ødegaard, physiotherapist) or someone else, they are there. It is because everyone must have a common understanding of what we do when we are at a meeting, he says.
Findlay explains:
– During a session, a player can spend a lot of time with a physiotherapist for a massage or something like that. Then you talk a lot together. When everyone understands what we want and has been in meetings about it, we believe that the players can open up and talk about what they need to a much greater extent with people who are “invested” in what we want. I think this trust makes the team stronger, says Findlay.
He has been fascinated by the Scandinavian way of working.
Ståle Solbakken summarizes it as follows:
– He is a little fascinated by the Scandinavian culture. He has probably worked in a slightly tougher environment in the past. I think he is very round and fine around the edges, and that perhaps says everything about where he has been before, he says.
PRAISES THE CHIEF OF ANALYSIS: National team manager Ståle Solbakken places great trust in his support apparatus. Photo: Michael Erichsen / BILDBYRÅN