Manchester City recruit video analyst from sister club NAC Breda
Cremers worked at Brentford for a year
Written by Simon Austin — January 11, 2018
MANCHESTER CITY have hired video analyst Piet Cremers after he impressed during an 18-month spell with partner club NAC Breda.
Cremers, who is only 22, joined the Dutch club after working at Brentford for a year.
This is where he learnt a lot about expected goals - first under Head of Performance Analysis Neil McIlhargey and then his successor Luke Stopforth. Indeed, Cremers is part of a new generation of video analysts who incorporate advanced statistical analysis into their work.
Interestingly, in an interview in July 2016, he said that Manchester City were “not yet that far with” the expected goals model. This was when the Blues had been under the charge of Roberto Mancini and then Manuel Pellegrini as manager.
Cremers explained: “We not only analyse the match footage, but we can work with the players on a daily basis.
“At NAC we work according to the expected goals model. That is a probability calculation program. By means of knowledge sharing, both clubs make each other stronger."
Cremers was taken to Brentford by head coach Marinus Dijkhuizen, with whom he had worked as a performance analyst at Excelsior in Holland.
