CheersGaffer: No More Guessing Who Your Best Players Are

A grassroots football club picked teams on gut feel and only looked back at the season once it was over. I built an app that records every match as it happens, so coaches can see who is actually performing and spot patterns while there's still time to act.

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The Problem

Lots of opinions, very little evidence.

Grassroots football · Live since April 2026 · Built solo

Picking the team on gut feel

Coaches at grassroots clubs are volunteers with full-time jobs. Nobody had time to keep proper match records, so selection came down to memory and whoever had a good game last week.

Finding out at the end of the season

Without records, the only review came at the end of the year, from memory. By then it was too late to spot a player quietly carrying the team, or one whose form had dropped off months ago.

Where it started

I'm on the committee at a grassroots club, and in December 2025 this was the first problem I wanted to fix. It's what CheersGaffer grew from.

CheersGaffer coach's report showing a player rating and development plan progress bars

What I Built

A real application with logins, not a website: designed, built and launched solo.

Match stats from the touchline

A coach records the match as it happens on a tablet or phone. Nothing to type up afterwards: the numbers are in the app before the players have left the pitch.

Development plans that update themselves

Each player has a development plan that updates from match data, so progress is measured rather than remembered.

Automatic coach and match reports

Reports build themselves from what was recorded, so patterns show up week by week instead of once a year.

The right view for each person

Eight user roles, so everyone sees what they need and nothing they shouldn't. Squad details stay readable when the touchline signal is patchy.

CheersGaffer tactics board showing a drag-and-drop football formation with player positions and passing arrows

What Changed

The stats were meant to help pick the team. The bigger change was how players behaved once they knew every match was being recorded.

"We look like a much more professional club now we're recording matches and stats. Players are turning up, behaving better and performing better, because they know they have to give it their all: there's no hiding. And other teams get the impression we mean business when one of the coaches is stood there with a tablet recording stats too."

Ben Miller, Team Manager, Bredhurst Veterans

Where it stands

  • Launched in April 2026
  • Two clubs using it today
  • First paying customer signed up inside the first month

Guessing at Something in Your Business?

Most businesses have a decision somewhere that's made on gut feel, because the numbers live in someone's head or a spreadsheet nobody updates.

I build the same kind of thing for businesses: an app that captures the information as the work happens, then turns it into a dashboard or report you can act on. A single automation or integration starts at £3,500, and dashboards or portals at £6,500. Fixed price, agreed before I start, with no VAT to add.

See web application pricing →

What are you guessing at?

Tell me the decision you'd make differently if you had the numbers, and I'll tell you honestly what it would take to get them.

Let's Talk