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pick the team, it still comes down to the temperament of the flesh
and sinew and more importantly the grey matter of the sportsman
that walks out over the white line every weekend to carry out his
manager’s instructions. This is what, despite the millions paid in
wages, allows Joe Public to relate – that acknowledgement that
the players are still fallible humans.
However, by the same virtue, Prozone and Opta stats have
become a guilty pleasure for many fans (there must be a reason
for the ill fated Capello index!). The same punters who harp on
about the romance of the game love to have stats to hand to
defend/chastise their under/overrated players when engaging
other ‘experts’ in the pub. Pundits love a stat as well; it is truly a
sight to behold when Andy Gray is in full flow at half time playing
with an array of touch screens, manipulating a smiling James
Milner up and down the screen to highlight his versatility. And
never try to come between Alan Hansen and his technology on
Match of the Day when he’s mid-rant trumpeting how there’s
‘nothing there for you’ if you leave the perilous yellow shaded area
unoccupied.
A extreme view would suggest that the Sam Allardyce or Rafa
Benitez fastidious approach to preparing a team based on
statistical analysis is removing the romance from football. Mind
you, it is also worth remembering that this is a profession and
any technological betterment should be welcomed – we may still
never see goal line technology introduced.
One has to remember that not every team can be challenging for
the title every year and it is often the cultured Berbatov’s or Di
Canio’s that make it worthwhile for the average fan travelling half
way across the country to follow our beloved teams, something
stats don’t take into account.
"An extreme view would
suggest that ... statistical
analysis is removing the
romance from football."
touchline