“It’s a bit of a weird transition!” admits William Spearman, and it’s hard to disagree.
After all, how – and indeed why – do you go from earning a PhD in physics from Harvard and working at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN) to being part of Liverpool FC’s research department?
“Unlike many people working in football, I grew up being really bad at most team sports… I still am, and that’s probably not a surprise given that I am one of the nerds of the place!” Spearman, the club’s lead data scientist, explains.