Tony Bloom's version at Brighton
Brighton's chairman, Tony Bloom, followed a parallel path. A mathematics graduate from Manchester University and a former financial trader, Bloom founded the sports betting research firm Starlizard in 2006 before applying its analytical methods to Brighton's recruitment. The club's model, sometimes referred to internally by the codename Starlizard or Jamestown, is built to surface talent in regions traditional European scouting networks cover thinly, particularly South America and Eastern Europe.
The commitment to data went further than most rivals were willing to go. In November 2024, Brighton removed the majority of its traditional scouting staff, choosing to lean almost entirely on the analytics software to generate transfer targets rather than treat data as one input among several.
