Billy Coulston has revealed that he has left Newcastle United after nearly a decade working as an analyst at a 'special football club'.
Coulston stepped up as a first-team analyst after the Magpies were promoted to the Premier League in 2017 and worked under Rafa Benitez, Steve Bruce and Eddie Howe. While Coulston operated behind the scenes, and away from the cameras, supporters may recognise the Northumbria University graduate from the team photographs taken in the dressing room after recent wins.
The role of first-team analyst was one of many titles Coulston held during his time at the club. After a spell as an academy performance analyst intern, Coulston became Newcastle's lead academy analyst in 2012 before taking up a position as the under-23s' development squad analyst. Coulston made the step up to the senior team as an opposition scout in 2016 and, then, finally, a first-team analyst in 2017.
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Coulston has witnessed a number of changes at the club in that time and the new owners have been keen to ensure the analysis department has adequate support. In fact, in the last few months alone, Newcastle have appointed Mark Leyland as the club's first ever coach analyst while the Magpies have also signed a multi-year deal with StatsBomb to serve as its data and analytics provider.
Coulston has certainly played his own small part in Newcastle's resurgence under Howe - hence why the head coach has been so keen to have all his match day staff front and centre in those dressing room pictures - but the analyst felt it was time for a new challenge.
"After nearly 10 years at Newcastle United, the time has come to move on," he said in a LinkedIn post. "What a privilege it’s been to work for such a special football club and work with so many great people along the way. I’ll be cheering on the team from afar!"
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