Considering that John W Henry and the majority of his partners at NESV knew nearly nothing about Liverpool FC before they began looking to purchase the club a couple of months ago, it did strike me as slightly odd that they quickly moved to appoint Damien Comolli as Director of Football Strategy after barely a couple of weeks as owners. It didn’t take long to figure out though that the appointment was inspired by advice given to them by Billy Beane, the Oakland Athletics Baseball Coach who pioneered the use of Saber-metrics. As a person who knows Beane, and has utilised similar statistical tools that Beane has used to such a great effect in baseball, Damien Comolli was the first person that Beane thought of when talking to John W Henry about a potential “General Manager” for Liverpool Football Club. Henry had been a fan of Beane even before the release of the critically acclaimed book “Moneyball” which showcases Beane’s approach to sport.
Beane turned down the position of General Manager at the Boston Red Sox but the Baseball team’s second choice Theo Epstein, a 28 year old Yale graduate with no Baseball experience, utilised Beane’s methods to great success acquiring some excellent players released by other team’s who were less appreciative of their statistically impressive abilities. Liverpool Director of Football Strategy Damien Comolli was asked for the first time today about whether his supported the idea of using statistics as a method for buying players:
“Massively. I strongly believe in it. What I hate is to be in a position where you have to make a decision on a player, but being blind. At the level we’re at, with the amount of money we spend on players and wages etc, the more information you have the more data you can collect, the better it is. . . The more information we can gather, the more information and data we collect which will help us make the right decision, the better it is. It doesn’t mean we’ll always get it right but it means we have to have the right processes in place to make sure we get it right.”
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Lemmy and his band Motorhead at a French bar
CLICK ON THE IMAGE OR HERE TO SEE THE GALLERY OF LINDA PIZZUTI!
“Roy… is at the forefront for new training technique and tactics”???
Hoof-ball must be back in vogue this season then. Guess I need to get with the times…!
if they love stats so much, look at Hodgson’s managerial stats to date!!
What we’re seeing is abysmal by our standards but is remarkably similar to his typical standards. This is not a short term blip, this is just what Hodgson does!
Can anyone give me please the twitter address for John Henry and the twitter address for his wife Linda and the twitter address for Tom Werner? I need these addresses as I want to send these 3 people my criticism of our appalling manager Hodgson.
Here is fact for all Liverpool fans :: Roy has only won 17 away games out of 105 in league matches . What an achivement hats off to him tht these people dont knw soccer.
Judging by the way Roy is taking us “forward” I wish Comolli to get his way on the transfer deals. I mean I have lost all faith on Roy and now do not even want to trust him to bring new players to the club. Almost convinced that Comolli will choose better than Roy….it is sad to acknowledge my own desperation.
I wish for Comolli to get his way if we do sign any players in January. I mean the way Roy is going it is hard to have any confidence at all on him, Comolli is almost sure to make the better choices than him….it is sad to acknowledge my own desperation.
The only way to get NESV’s attention to get them to get rid of Roy is for the fans to stop going to support the team at Anfield. With no gate receipts coming in NESV would have to act.
call yourself a supporter, get lost
Roy Hodgson has won 6 away games in the last 3 1/2 years!
If you look further Hodgson won only 5 away games in 1 1/2 season in his first stint in the premier league with Blackburn.
Kenny!
Get a grip!!!!
What did that other great coach, Mark Twain, say about stats? “There are lies, damn lies and statistics.” Personally I’m not sure I like where this is all heading. BTW, you mentioned Theo Epstein, Boston Red Socks’s manager, read this very interesting profile of the current gaffer of Porto FC http://on.wsj.com/d0jxls
I read d profile n i thinks its interesting n revealling. As per NESV, comolli n Roy hope they get it right bcos if they don’t n we don’t qualify for champions league dis season, i forsee mass exodus of our stars.
I am afraid I was right all the long I said at the time no more yanks as they don’t have a clue about soccer. and I’ve been proved right. JH & co think Hodgson is a good coach, Put 4 wheels on him, an engine and 50 seats then he might make a coach, otherwise he’s even worse than Sammy Lee,
+1 mate
statistics or no stats, it’s dificult to believe that the new owners know LFC heritage (they know nothing about football) by the way they are backing Woy.
Even in championship, there are better young & capable English Managers.
Spurs fan here. I will watch with interest to see if the Dame destablises you as he did with Spurs. Things to watch for:
Buying unwanted players: Martin Jol wanted a DM to shore up our center. He got Darren Bent (16 million!) and a ton of right backs.
Overspending: Sure, English players cost more, but he spent 33 million on Bent and Bentley. Nuf Ced.
Stabbing the gaffer: He had the chairman’s ear and continually intrigued against Jol until Martin was sacked and replaced with Ramos, which was the Dame’s handpicked choice and a complete disaster.
Spotting talent: The Dame has blown his own horn by taking credit for Berbatov, Bale, Modric, etc. But these weren’t unknowns. All these players had suitors including ManU, Italian teams, etc. Yes, he did sign some good players but he wasn’t mining gold from the horse manure. We paid over the odds on many occasions for these good players.
He also bought some very ropey players. Gilberto, Gunter, Taraabt, Zokora.
Anyway, good luck, but keep your eye on him.
isnt bent the highest scoring english player in the league at the moment and proved his worth since leaving??? and bentley was in amazing form when you bought him but suddenly looks mediocre to this day, is that commolli’s fault even though hes left a long time??
My point above that bit was he bought unwanted, unneeded players. Bent will get you goals if everything goes through him. He could feast on balls over the top to run on to. The problem is Spurs don’t play that way. He was lost in a passing attack. He’s done well at the Mackems because they play to his strength.
Bentley was a big fish at Blackburn, wasn’t needed at the time and certainly not for 16 million. We had Lennon, whom most Spurs fans felt was going to do well. The move smacked of the Dame wanting to show his ‘genius’ at getting in players
No buying in jan for sure.