Moneyball. It is witchcraft.

[abelard]

You should try decaf mate

I'll switch to decaf if you start taking your ritalin

 

[mmmmsnouts]

Oh and I think this http://www.amazon.ca/The-Extra-2-Strategies-Baseball/dp/0345517652 is actually better than MoneyBall FWIW. The Rays did arguably more with less than Oakland did but Oakland came first and had a Brad Pitt movie so I get that's what people call it but it's far from the only case.

The Rays are Moneyball 2.0. They use statistical analysis to decide which players to sign, and it carries over to how they manage games. It tells them how to set their batting order, where to have their defense stand against a certain hitter, and which pitcher to use. I don't think that kind of dependency on statistical analysis would work in any sport besides baseball.

Besides, it doesn't take much analysis to say "Baines is boss on set pieces, he should take this free kick."

 

[Allezfan]

The Rays are Moneyball 2.0. They use statistical analysis to decide which players to sign, and it carries over to how they manage games. It tells them how to set their batting order, where to have their defense stand against a certain hitter, and which pitcher to use. I don't think that kind of dependency on statistical analysis would work in any sport besides baseball.

Besides, it doesn't take much analysis to say "Baines is boss on set pieces, he should take this free kick."

More analysis than Mirallas has.

 

[Philw]

The Rays are Moneyball 2.0. They use statistical analysis to decide which players to sign, and it carries over to how they manage games. It tells them how to set their batting order, where to have their defense stand against a certain hitter, and which pitcher to use. I don't think that kind of dependency on statistical analysis would work in any sport besides baseball.

Besides, it doesn't take much analysis to say "Baines is boss on set pieces, he should take this free kick."

Substitute 'hitter' for 'striker/forward/winger' etc and you would get exactly what every team in the world does when they can. Statistical analysis can definitely work in Football, but it will only work as a smaller factor alongside other more traditional factors (eg 'the eye test'). As for the Director of Football/Manager dual roles, Greg Popovitch, one of the best coaches in NBA history, has a large say in player trading/drafting, and there are plenty examples of Coaches/Front Offices (the Director of Football equivalent) not getting on due to conflicting views on players/ways of playing etc.