Why Starlizard could be game-changer for Hearts - and Scottish football

The past clip Hearts were searching for a caller manager, they sewage nary further than nan man they had called up from nan club's B squad to enactment arsenic interim boss.

Eighteen months on, nan communicative looks apt to beryllium very different - and it could beryllium nan first of nan decisions that could make Hearts superior rivals to Celtic and alteration nan scenery of Scottish football.

Hearts person been successful talks pinch Brighton & Hove Albion proprietor Tony Bloom astir becoming a number shareholder and investing a multi-million lb magnitude successful nan club.

While Bloom's finance would beryllium welcome, it is what nan 54-year-old would bring pinch him that would beryllium nan game-changer.

Starlizard is nan information study institution group up by Bloom that has turned Brighton from nan League One nine he bought successful 2009 into contenders for a Champions League spot small much than a decade later.

Bloom made his luck from betting, utilizing Starlizard to foretell nan adjacent likelihood for each marketplace and place discrepancies.

So erstwhile he bought nan Seagulls, he decided to employment nan statistical expertise that had made him a millionaire successful nan shot nine he had supported each his life.

The results person been extraordinary.

Brighton person go nan smartest recruitment cognition successful nan world game, buying chartless players for comparative pennies and trading them for up to £115m.

Moises Caceido (£100m rising to £115m), Marc Cucurella (£60m), Ben White (£50m), Alexis Mac Allister (£35m rising to £55m) and Yves Bissouma (£30m) each arrived successful Sussex unheralded and near arsenic immoderate of nan apical players successful nan Premier League.

It is an cognition that mightiness be, if anything, getting moreover better. If nan Seagulls put left-back Pervis Estupinan, protect midfielder Carlos Baleba, winger Kaoru Mitoma aliases guardant Joao Pedro for sale, Europe's elite clubs would beryllium queuing up.

Baleba, nan subordinate Starlizard's algorithms had identified arsenic nan cleanable replacement for Caicedo, is apt spell for a interest approaching that of nan £115m man.

Brighton's recruitment is an cognition truthful admired that caller Chelsea owners Clearlake wanted it for their own.

They hired head Graham Potter and 5 of his coaching staff. They lured Brighton's caput of recruitment Paul Winstanley. And past they brought successful Winstanley's replacement Sam Jewell.

But they did not person nan important cog successful Brighton's success; Starlizard's exertion of its data-driven study of players crossed nan world to pass clever recruitment.

So while Brighton proceed to prime up gems specified arsenic Newcastle United winger Yankuba Minteh - sent connected indebtedness to Feyenoord past play - and Turkish left-back Ferdi Kadıoglu, Chelsea proceed their haphazard approach.

A caller head alternatively than caller players is nan privilege for Hearts now, though, and nan Tynecastle nine person indicated Starlizard will beryllium progressive successful nan search.

They person a bully caller way grounds successful that section too, employing ex-Ostersunds and Swansea leader Potter, past out-of-work Roberto de Zerbi - who willing Liverpool and Bayern Munich this summertime earlier switching to Marseille - and seemingly striking golden pinch nan comparatively chartless Fabian Hurzeler.

It is simply a database of appointments that propose Hearts will prosecute good this clip around.

Cynics mightiness propose Bloom will connection a diluted type of Starlizard to Hearts and support each nan champion players nan patient unearths for his beloved Brighton.

Well, location are capable bully players successful nan world to spell around, but besides see nan communicative of Union Saint-Gilloise, successful whom Bloom bought a number liking successful 2018.

They had a glorious past pinch 11 convention titles but their past triumph was successful 1935 and they had spent much than 20 years successful nan little leagues.

It's a different communicative now. Last play they won nan Belgian Cup - their first trophy since that 1935 title - vanished apical of nan regular-season convention array [they mislaid successful nan play-offs], and played Liverpool successful nan Europa League.

Hearts fans mightiness besides invited nan beingness of erstwhile defender David Weir arsenic method head astatine Brighton arsenic an assurance they will beryllium looked after.

The ex-Scotland centre-back mightiness still person a soft spot for his aged club, but Brighton's occurrence is based connected cold, difficult stats, not gut instincts and aged pals acts. In fact, it is nan very other of old-style scouting.

If Hearts fans needed further grounds that nan information attack to recruitment could beryllium replicated successful Scotland, see that it was akin models that informed Liverpool's recruitment nether Jurgen Klopp.

It was head of investigation Ian Graham and his squad who pinpointed Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane and who advised Klopp to return a chance connected relegated Hull City's left-back Andrew Robertson.

Or look astatine different mini nine punching measurement supra its weight, Brentford.

During nan play he made his money successful gambling, Bloom employed Matthew Benham for Premier Bet.

Benham past made his ain luck - utilizing his institution Smartodds - to money nan acquisition of his ailing boyhood nine Brentford, and its statistical attack to recruitment has established nan Bees successful nan apical flight.

Data-driven decisions person worked successful shot astatine various levels and successful various countries. Hearts fans mightiness beryllium astir to get their sensation - and it could person far-reaching consequences for nan Scottish game.