Ipswich got ahead of the crowd by using Goalkeeper.com data intelligence to recruit a goalkeeper best suited to their style of play upon their return to the Premier League.
Ipswich Town’s capture of new number one Arijanet Muric from Burnley was supported by advanced data intelligence from goalkeeper intelligence specialists Goalkeeper.com. Goalkeeper.com intelligence services elite-level football clubs and organisations, using a forensic approach to support goalkeeper recruitment, performance, and development.
Led by Dr John Harrison PhD, Goalkeeper.com’s data team worked with Head of Goalkeeping Rene Gilmartin and the recruitment team to identify a goalkeeper best suited to Ipswich’s style of play and the situations they most frequently face.
Following the Muric signing, Goalkeeper.com and Ipswich Town have agreed a multi-year agreement which will see Goalkeeper.com become the club’s goalkeeper intelligence partner. Ipswich will gain access to the Goalkeeper.com performance suite for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 seasons, as well as continued ongoing support for the goalkeeper department.
Access to Goalkeeper.com data intelligence puts Ipswich Town on the cutting edge of goalkeeper statistical analysis, receiving insights only a limited number of partner clubs receive. For a newly promoted Premier League side, the gains that can be found in Goalkeeper.com’s data are crucial both on and off the pitch.
Commenting on the deal, Head of Goalkeeping Rene Gilmartin explained that “Goalkeeper.com data is going to help us make more educated and informed decisions, especially at elite professional level. There’s going to be money involved at this level. There's going to be investment involved. You want to have as much of the information and knowledge to hand to make big decisions. That’s what Goalkeeper.com gave us.”
Newly-promoted clubs enter a competitive market that is dominated not only by the traditional ‘big six’ clubs, but also by the ever-increasing financial investment it takes to sustainably compete in the Premier League. Goalkeeper.com data allows clubs to make best-fit choices in their goalkeeper departments considering both immediate and long term performance-based impact, and the likelihood of return on investment.
“Being able to use Goalkeeper.com data to compare goalkeepers was hugely important”, Gilmartin continued, describing Ipswich's recruitment process to bring Muric to the club.
“Using Goalkeeper.com data, we began to learn more about goalkeepers that we didn’t already know of in different leagues. That was a really important cross-reference for me. Goalkeeper.com took the profile of the type of goalkeeper and the characteristics we wanted in our goalkeeper and were able to find options that might be best at those actions we often face.”
“We had Goalkeeper.com work on us first”, he explained, referring to the use of Goalkeeper.com’s ‘Goalkeeper Suitability Index’.
“They added detail as to understanding how we play the game, the importance of the actions our goalkeepers took last season. We were able to use that and create a clear profile of what we wanted for the coming season.”
“Then, from the analysis we did on the Premier League with Goalkeeper.com, we knew more about where shots and goals most frequently came from in the Premier League, what type of actions the goalkeepers take, and the importance of those actions.”
Gilmartin also highlighted the importance of the Goalkeeper.com ‘Overall Goalkeeper Value’ (OGV) metric in optimising the club’s decision making in the transfer process. This metric allows goalkeeper-specific data to be used more efficiently across different departments, as the club as a whole could make a decision with the same information but interpret it relative to their different departmental priorities.
Brendan Roslund, Goalkeeper.com COO, said of the deal: “Our partnership with Ipswich is very exciting for us. Working tightly with them to use the full power of our unique capabilities going forward is excellent to be a part of.
“Goalkeepers have a unique value on the pitch, and yet the majority of clubs do not understand how to support them past a certain level. Our efforts with Ipswich are not limited to the defensive side of the ball. We’ve already seen our work take shape for them on the offensive side of the game.”
Goalkeeper.com is looking forward to working with Ipswich over the coming seasons and supporting them in their new journey in the Premier League.
