Arsenal hire former Brighton boss as new head of analytics | OneFootball

Eagle-eyed Arsenal fans noticed a new addition to the Arsenal Women’s coaching staff in former Brighton boss, Melissa Phillips.

During the post-game press conference following the 2-1 Washington Spirit away win, I asked Jonas Eidevall what role had been assigned to the former Brighton manager who has now changed her name to Melissa Clarke-Reid after getting married this summer.

On the football side, the Arsenal manager confirmed: “She is our new Head of Analysis. I am so happy about getting her to join the team. With her coaching experience and her analyst experience, I think she is really going to get our programme to the next level. I am really happy to have her on board.”

Clarke-Reid has an extensive coaching background in the NWSL, WSL, and the Championship. She holds a UEFA A licence and is working towards her pro licence.

Back in January, she did a very interesting interview with the Coaches’ Voice which you might be interested in reading.

In a follow-up question from Jonathan Tannenwald, Eidevall explained further why she had been hired in the role: “I have had the privilege of following her work when she was at London City, then Angel City, and then Brighton. I think she combines the coaching background with an analytical background. She has some really strong points in her leadership and how she can lead a department.”

As previously mentioned, she was assistant manager and then manager in the Championship. She then moved to be first assistant manager to English coach Becki Tweed in Los Angeles before coming back to England to be the number one at Brighton.

She will bring a lot to her new role.

“That is not only going to make her contribution to our product better, but she will also develop and improve our processes around analysis and how that fits into our technical team,” Eidevall said. “If I would take two qualities that really make her stand out, it would be her leadership skills and her football knowledge.”

Combining analytics with her previous knowledge of football management will make her a great asset for the team.