MK Dons Manager Lindsey Attributes Team’s Success to Data Analysis

Scott Lindsey, who led Crawley Town to promotion from League Two last season, expressed his contentment with being labeled a ‘statistics nerd’ as long as MK Dons’ strong performance in League Two persists. Since his appointment on 25 September to succeed Mike Williamson, the former Crawley manager has elevated the team from 19th to sixth position in the league standings. The Dons have secured victories in their last four league matches and have suffered only one defeat in eight games under his leadership. Lindsey informed BBC Three Counties Radio, “I probably look at it (match data) more than anyone else in the building, you get a measure of how you’ve performed by looking at the stats.” He continued, “Of course, it’s not all always about stats, (but) xG differential is important, that we have a really high xG for, but also a low one against.” He further stated, “Since I’ve been here, in the league games certainly, our xG differential’s been good, it’s only been in the negative twice. I always look at that and possession stats I’m always big on.” Last weekend, the club ranked among the top 10 nationally for possession, alongside teams such as Liverpool, Man City, and Fulham. MK Dons, scheduled to host Cheltenham Town on Saturday, have not allowed more than one goal in any league fixture since Lindsey took charge. Their total of 24 goals scored is surpassed solely by Chesterfield and Walsall. Lindsey acknowledged that certain data points can be misleading; for instance, their crossing accuracy is very high, but the volume of crosses delivered is not among the highest. “We don’t pepper crosses in. We pick moments to cross and areas to cross as well, we won’t just sling it in from anywhere,” he explained. He added, “We’re quite patient with the play, we’ll wait until we’re in a really good position before that happens. We work the ball in order to get good quality in. It’s more about quality than quantity.” When questioned about being perceived as a football nerd, he responded, “I’ve been called worse.” Lindsey’s arrival at Stadium MK occurred mere weeks after former chairman Pete Winkelman divested his majority stake in the club to a Kuwaiti consortium, led by businessman and entrepreneur Fahad Al Ghanim. Beyond enhancing the team’s performance on the field, Lindsey has also cultivated a robust working relationship with the new ownership. He stated, “Every two or three days I speak to the owner Fahad, we have phone calls, text messages, about where we’re going to go moving forward or about the games, how we see team selection.” “I think it’s important we have that relationship. He understands why I’m doing whatever I’m doing and I think it’s healthy that we have these conversations,” he remarked. He further added, “We look at what’s happening in the present, what’s happening in next week and what we want to do in the long-term future. We always speak about different aspects.”