60% of the possession. 30% of the shots

I’ll add my twopennyworth of one cause of the problem – and that’s stats.

Now I know Bobby isn’t the only one who uses them, Bruce was quite a believer. But stats should be used as indicators, not the be-all and end-all.

Bobby constantly talks of squad players (ie those not getting a game) by quoting that their performance is not yet at the right levels, their fitness isn’t ready etc. As they aren’t playing he is clearly only getting this information from figures from training. Which is OK to a point. But stats don’t show someone in training who may not be performing at the highest levels (because he just can’t) but is so eager to prove himself, who wants more than anything to wear the shirt, who would die to be on the pitch. I’m not saying that there are people like that, but maybe to some extent: PVA was so p***ed off because he wasn’t getting a game. He wanted to play and may well have done far better than those who did.

Then on matchday we have figures upon figures and analysis upon analysis. And I think he is placing a lot of decisions on that information. One is clearly “passes completed”, and that instils in the players a fear of making a misplaced pass, so they take the easy option and pass sideways and back. It doesn’t matter on the stats that there may have been more risky but potentially more probing options available. If you pass to a blue shirt then that’s a tick in the box for you.

You don’t hear Ferguson talking about pass completion rate, or fitness levels. And United play the unexpected long ball, cross field, or run at the defender.

The analogy is a call centre. They have masses and masses and masses of individual performance figures. One is call handling time. Get as many calls as you can, what is the average call handling time, and if you are quicker than the target time you get a tick in the performance box. It doesn’t matter how briefly you cut the caller off, it doesn’t matter if you didn’t actually resolve their query – the stats are all important.

The big mistake, in my humble opinion, is not that the tactics (as in 4-4-2/4-5-1 or whatever) are wrong, or that the players are second rate (individually and with other clubs they have been fine), it’s that the stats regime limits them in what they can do without having a big cross put in the box instead of a tick.

Stats should be used as an information tool, but then the manager (of a football team or of a call centre) has to use his skill and experience to identify what is really going on and make managerial decisions accordingly. Unfortunately (and I hate to say this) this is where Bobby’s inexperience has shown through – he’s read the manual, done the course or whatever – but what is needed is a sensible head with experience of occesionally throwing the book out, and going with a gut instinct.

I think you speak a lot of truth there G.

George, i completely agree with the analogy – lies, damm lies, & statistics and all that BUT my Mrs (who you know from Griffin House) won some gift vouchers for being one of the ‘top performers’ on her section last month (in what is now basically just a call centre);
it’s a braver man than me who would dare to suggest to her that she is doing anything other than a good job :(

That sounds very grand. Has he won the lottery over the weekend or something?

I can believe that. He does look that sort.

Then there is the Griffin public house that has some pretty good bands on !!