It's not Sherwood!

[bertlambshank]

So we are running the club just like Liverpool but without the money.Guys with computers are now running football clubs owned by American's.

There's nothing wrong with that approach to signing players - all clubs use computers and statistical analysis to sign players these days, and have done for a fair while now.

The Moneyball thing is really just a lazy cliche to throw in there.

Interesting that it says Sherwood wanted Townsend, Adebayor and Lennon. Looking at those three, and at who we got instead, I'll go with what we got every single time.

This season was not the time to use a system that quite plainly doesn't work.

[pauliewalnuts]

So we are running the club just like Liverpool but without the money.Guys with computers are now running football clubs owned by American's.

There's nothing wrong with that approach to signing players - all clubs use computers and statistical analysis to sign players these days, and have done for a fair while now.

The Moneyball thing is really just a lazy cliche to throw in there.

Interesting that it says Sherwood wanted Townsend, Adebayor and Lennon. Looking at those three, and at who we got instead, I'll go with what we got every single time.

This season was not the time to use a system that quite plainly doesn't work.

How does it plainly not work? The concept of using computers to identify players - as used by every club for years?

[passitsideways]

So we are running the club just like Liverpool but without the money.Guys with computers are now running football clubs owned by American's.

There's nothing wrong with that approach to signing players - all clubs use computers and statistical analysis to sign players these days, and have done for a fair while now.

The Moneyball thing is really just a lazy cliche to throw in there.

Interesting that it says Sherwood wanted Townsend, Adebayor and Lennon. Looking at those three, and at who we got instead, I'll go with what we got every single time.

This season was not the time to use a system that quite plainly doesn't work.

Yes, because signing a bunch of shit EPL players, which I assume is the traditional, non-computer system involved in signing players, would have been so much better.

[bertlambshank]

Look at Liverpool they are running the club the same way.What a massive success they have been lately.
Seems to me it is just another way for Randy to piss his money away.Randy will never learn.

[bertlambshank]

The companies selling all this football data shit must be killing themselves laughing at football club owners who know next to fuck all about the game.
Give me a proper manager over a computer nerd anyday.

[bertlambshank]

So we are running the club just like Liverpool but without the money.Guys with computers are now running football clubs owned by American's.

There's nothing wrong with that approach to signing players - all clubs use computers and statistical analysis to sign players these days, and have done for a fair while now.

The Moneyball thing is really just a lazy cliche to throw in there.

Interesting that it says Sherwood wanted Townsend, Adebayor and Lennon. Looking at those three, and at who we got instead, I'll go with what we got every single time.

This season was not the time to use a system that quite plainly doesn't work.

Yes, because signing a bunch of shit EPL players, which I assume is the traditional, non-computer system involved in signing players, would have been so much better.

You lost me at EPL.

[PeterWithesShin]

I'm with Paulie, the Moneyball reference is just lazy as it's a load of bollocks. You can't apply the Moneyball theory to football for starters.

[Villa in Denmark]

The companies selling all this football data shit must be killing themselves laughing at football club owners who know next to fuck all about the game.
Give me a proper manager over a computer nerd anyday.

And then you get the overpriced shite that MON and McLeish lumbered us with.

If (big if) it's done properly, it's people like Paddy Reilly using the databases to pick lists of potential players and then picking the one he and the manager think fits best.

If we used that system with Armavi as an example, there should have been a list of 10 or so left backs from around the world highlighted.
The 10 the databases would have highlighted for us would not necessarily have been the same as maybe Southampton who could have thrown a similar amount of money at it but could have been looking for different characteristics.
If a scout with local knowledge picks up someone "under the radar" great.

Ultimately it should just be a tool to allow the manager and anyone else involved in player purchases to keep tabs on just about every player in the game but sort out only those that may be of interest. 

The whole "moneyball" thing is a slightly different thing.  Still using the same dataset, but specifically looking for players from the "2nd shelf" who you think can make it to "top shelf" players so that you save yourself a fortune and potentially earn one as well (just think Benteke as example of what the moneyball theory would be trying to do).

EDIT - and as PWS says really doesn't work well in football

[bertlambshank]

OK I will use Spurs as the other example.Does anybody think they used the Bale money well?
And the players that came in was by using the same method,all scouting done by numbers.

[ozzjim]

Amavi, Gana, Vertout, Traore all look like bloody good players to me.

[PeterWithesShin]

Does anybody think sabermetrics are all a club uses when anyone with a basic grasp of it knows it has limited use in football compared to its use in baseball.

[bertlambshank]

Amavi, Gana, Vertout, Traore all look like bloody good players to me.

Sounds like the manager doesn't think so which is part of the problem and an easy get out for the club when it goes tits up.

[Ian.]

So it seems we have a decent scout in place and he has found some very good players but we have a manager without the tactical nous how to use them. The worrying thing is after the last few weeks results, performances and Sherwood's after match comments, I would be led to believe that artical in the Mail to be spot on to the truth.

Very worrying indeed but hopefully this might lead to his exit out the door sooner rather than later.

[bertlambshank]

Does anybody think sabermetrics are all a club uses when anyone with a basic grasp of it knows it has limited use in football compared to its use in baseball.

It's widely used in American sport no reason an American owner wouldn't think it would work over here.I can think of 2 football clubs with American owners who know so little about football they would probably give it a punt,and pay a wad of cash not only to use the system,but put the people in place to use it.
I would guess it comes in cheaper then having a worldwide scouting network which any top club should have.

[PeterWithesShin]

If someone can't work out how to make the most of talented players then that sounds like an issue with the manager more than the players. IMO any way.