Lucy Rushton

Last updated

Lucy Rushton (born 12 July 1988) [1] is an English football manager and sports analyst who serves as general manager of National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) expansion team Bay FC. She previously served as general manager of Major League Soccer (MLS) team D.C. United, where she was the league's second-ever woman to hold the title, [2] and as head of technical recruitment and sports analysis for MLS team Atlanta United FC, [3] first-team analyst and head of technical scouting for EFL Championship and Premier League club Reading F.C., and a player recruitment analyst Premier League club Watford F.C. [4]

Contents

Early life

Rushton grew up in Reading, Berkshire, England, and attended Waingels College in Woodley. She had been a season-ticket holder of Reading F.C. [4] She earned a bachelor's degree in sports leadership from University of Reading [5] on a dissertation about the notational analysis of football matches, [6] and a master's degree in sports performance analysis from the University of Wales Institute. [3] [5]

Analyst career

Rushton worked as a player recruitment analyst for Watford during its time in the Premier League in 2007, [2] where she worked alongside scout Mick Court, later chief technical scout of Manchester United. [7] She also worked as a part-time team analyst for The FA. [4] [3]

Reading, 2008–2016

Rushton moved to Reading to serve as a first-team sports analyst in 2008, providing analysis of match actions and player performances by both Reading and its opponents to the club's players, coaches, and managers. [4] She also provided video analysis to players [8] and assumed scouting duties. [9] The team won the 2011–12 Football League Championship and earned promotion to the Premier League, but were relegated after the 2012–13 Premier League season. [3] She later became head of technical scouting at the club. [5]

While at Reading, Rushton worked alongside Nick Hammond, who was later appointed head of football operations at Celtic F.C. [7]

Atlanta United, 2016–2020

MLS club Atlanta United FC hired Rushton in January 2016 as the team's head of technical recruitment and analysis, in order to prepare for its inaugural season as an expansion team. She reported to team president Darren Eales and technical director Carlos Bocanegra. [6] Her analysis contributed to the club signing Hector Villalba as its first Designated Player [10] and also credited with scouting Miguel Almirón. [11] She was also credited with recruiting players Emerson Hyndman and Brad Guzan. [7] Atlanta became the third expansion side to reach the MLS Cup Playoffs in its first season, and won the MLS Cup in its second season. [3] She also provided analysis before and after matches for both the first-team and academy. [6]

She was the only woman on the team's 20-person technical staff as of 2020. Initially also tasked with scouting, by 2020 Atlanta had narrowed Rushton's focus to data analysis, including creating player recruitment profiles by performance on club targets, contract status, and transfer value. [12]

Management career

D.C. United, 2021–2022

In 2021, MLS team D.C. United hired Rushton as its general manager. The hiring was the second of a woman to the role in league history, and considered the first such hiring in the league on football management merit; [2] Lynne Meterparel, the first woman hired as a MLS general manager for San Jose Clash in 1999, was primarily tasked with the club's business responsibilities. Rushton was hired to work alongside club sporting director Dave Kasper, who had served as the team's general manager since 2007. [13]

D.C. United fired Rushton in October 2022 after the team finished in last place. [13]

Bay FC, 2023–

On 15 June 2023, NWSL expansion club Bay FC hired Rushton as its first general manager. [14] [15]

Style of management

Rushton adapts her analysis to align with club or manager priorities, including designing systems based on statistical data and video analysis that weigh player performances according to their styles and coaches' preferences. [6] [16] As a general manager, her MLS clubs adopted aggressively attacking football. [2] Atlanta's team included Josef Martinez, who won the MLS Golden Boot as top goalscorer in 2018. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D.C. United</span> American football team

D.C. United is an American professional men's soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS), the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups, four Supporters Shields, three U.S. Open Cups and six Eastern Conference championships. In international competitions, the club has one CONCACAF Champions League title and one Copa Interamericana, being the only American team to win the latter. In terms of trophies won, it is the joint-most successful overall club in American soccer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Jose Earthquakes</span> Soccer team in the United States

The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer club based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise began play in 1996 as one of the charter members of the league. The Earthquakes took part in the first game in MLS history, defeating D.C. United 1–0. The Earthquakes have won two MLS Cup titles and two Supporters' Shields. In 2002, the team played in its first CONCACAF Champions Cup, making it to the quarterfinals. The team holds a fierce rivalry with the LA Galaxy known as the California Clásico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Fire FC</span> American soccer team

Chicago Fire Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in Chicago. The team competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference, having moved to the conference in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eric Wynalda</span> American soccer player

Eric Boswell Wynalda is an American soccer coach, television commentator, and retired player. He was formerly an analyst and color commentator for soccer coverage on Fox Sports 1 and ESPN. Previously, he served as head coach and technical director of Las Vegas Lights FC in the USL Championship and he was previously the host of WTF: Wynalda Talks Football on SiriusXM FC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pat Onstad</span> Canadian soccer player (born 1968)

Patrick Stewart Onstad is a Canadian former professional soccer goalkeeper who serves as the General Manager of the Houston Dynamo. During his career, Onstad played with a variety of clubs in Canada and the United States and was a three-time winner of MLS Cup. He was inducted into the Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame in November 2015.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto FC</span> Professional soccer club in Canada

Toronto Football Club is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO Field, located at Exhibition Place on Toronto's shoreline west of Downtown Toronto. Toronto FC joined MLS in 2007 as an expansion team and was the first Canadian-based franchise in the league.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerardo Martino</span> Argentine footballer and manager

Gerardo Daniel "Tata" Martino is an Argentine professional football coach and former player who currently serves as the head coach for Inter Miami of Major League Soccer.

Omar Jarun is a Palestinian former footballer who is the assistant coach of Huntsville City in MLS Next Pro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rob Valentino</span> American soccer player

Rob Valentino is a former American soccer player who is an assistant coach at Major League Soccer side Atlanta United FC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garth Lagerwey</span> American soccer executive and former player

Garth Lagerwey is a retired American soccer player who played five seasons in Major League Soccer as a goalkeeper. He became the general manager of Real Salt Lake in 2007 and stayed with the club before departing in 2015 for Seattle Sounders FC, where he served as general manager and president of soccer for seven years. Lagerwey joined Atlanta United FC as its president and CEO in November 2022.

Dave Kasper is an American retired soccer player and the sporting director for D.C. United.

Dane Murphy is a retired American soccer player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlanta United FC</span> American professional soccer team

Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference.

The 2018 Philadelphia Union season was the club's ninth season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. The team was managed by Jim Curtin, his fifth season with the club. The Union reached the MLS Cup Playoffs as the bottom seed in the MLS Eastern Conference. The club also reached the 2018 U.S. Open Cup final for the third time in club history, but finished runners-up to Houston Dynamo. The 2018 season was the Union's most successful to date, earning the highest points total (50) and most wins (15). Additionally, the 2018 season transitioned Sporting Directors with Earnie Stewart accepting a general manager position with the United States Soccer Federation, and the Union hiring Ernst Tanner; former academy manager for Red Bull Salzburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Austin FC</span> American soccer club based in Austin, Texas

Austin FC is an American professional men's soccer club based in Austin, Texas. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 2018, the club began play in the 2021 season. Their home stadium is Q2 Stadium in north Austin. They are the first major professional sports league team to play in Texas' capital, which prior to 2021 was the largest city in the United States without such a team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FC Cincinnati</span> American professional soccer team

FC Cincinnati is an American professional soccer club based in Cincinnati. The club plays in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The team was first announced on August 12, 2015 as a United Soccer League (USL) franchise which played from 2016 to 2018. On May 29, 2018, the club's ownership was awarded an MLS franchise, and the team began MLS play on March 2, 2019. The club's ownership group is led by Carl H. Lindner III with Jeff Berding serving as Co-CEO. Currently, the role of general manager is held by Chris Albright.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlotte FC</span> Major League Soccer team in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.

Charlotte FC is an American professional men's soccer club based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the expansion franchise on December 17, 2019. It began play in the 2022 MLS season as the league's 28th franchise. Charlotte FC plays at Bank of America Stadium, which it shares with the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League, a team also owned by Tepper; the stadium capacity is reduced to 38,000 for most matches. Their inaugural match had 74,479 spectators and set the MLS record for standalone match attendance.

Preston Popp is a Canadian soccer player who plays for North Carolina FC in USL League One.

The 2023 season will be D.C. United's 28th in existence and their 28th consecutive season in the top division of American soccer, Major League Soccer. In addition to MLS, D.C. United will participate in the 2023 U.S. Open Cup and 2023 Leagues Cup, their first international club tournament since 2016. The season will be the first full season with Wayne Rooney as manager. The season covers the period from 1 November 2022 to 31 October 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay FC</span> Future National Womens Soccer League team

Bay Football Club is an American professional women's soccer team based in the San Francisco Bay Area of California. They are set to begin play in the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) as an expansion team in the 2024 season.

References

  1. ↑ Veth, Manuel (12 April 2021). "Lucy Rushton new D.C. United general manager - Second female in key MLS role". Transfermarkt . Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Svrluga, Barry (16 April 2021). "Hires such as United's Lucy Rushton are called progressive. Soon they will be recognized as smart". The Washington Post . Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 West, Amy; Bechtold, Taylor. "Women in Sports: Rushton helps build Atlanta United into a winner". Stats Perform . Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Fordham, Jonny (27 May 2010). "Royals' first lady is queen of the stats". Reading Post . Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  5. 1 2 3 Bogert, Tom (16 April 2020). "Meet the pros who handle analytics at each MLS club". Major League Soccer (Press release). Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Roberson, Doug (21 April 2016). "Meet the woman behind Atlanta United's data". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 "Atlanta United's head of technical recruitment Lucy Rushton tells Sky Sports what it's like to be a female scout". Sky Sports . 14 January 2021. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  8. ↑ Fordham, Jonny (19 November 2010). "Antonio: Throw me in from the off". Reading Post . Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  9. 1 2 Ruthven, Graham (27 September 2018). "Meet Lucy Rushton: the English analytics expert masterminding Atlanta United's success in MLS". i . Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  10. ↑ Usry, Rob (22 July 2016). "WATCH: Behind the scenes look at Atlanta United scouting Hector Villalba". Dirty South Soccer. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  11. ↑ Rushton, Lucy (15 April 2021). "New D.C. United GM Lucy Rushton: 'It really does feel like there's an appetite for change'". The Athletic (Interview). Interviewed by Felipe Cardenas and Pablo Maurer. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  12. ↑ "Lucy Rushton, Atlanta United's unsung hero". FIFA. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  13. 1 2 Goff, Steven (19 October 2022). "D.C. United fires general manager Lucy Rushton". The Washington Post . Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  14. ↑ "Bay FC Announces Lucy Rushton as General Manager" (Press release). Bay FC. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  15. ↑ Rushton, Lucy (20 June 2023). "Lucy Rushton on becoming Bay FC's first general manager: 'This is an incredibly ambitious group'". The Athletic (Interview). Interviewed by Pablo Maurer. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
  16. ↑ Rushton, Lucy (14 February 2017). "Lucy Rushton Q&A: The role of analytics in building Atlanta United FC". ESPN (Interview). Interviewed by Juan Figueira. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.