Tottenham to take a step in the right direction
Last season I began championing a change in our recruitment of players, that any purchase needed far greater analysis before we bought them and included in that should be a mental assessment.
Regardless of skill, if the player doesn't have a winning mentality he should not be purchased. We are seeing why now so it is with delight that I watch us recruit the Southampton Head of Recruitment, Paul Mitchell, if the Telegraph article by Jeremy Wilson is accurate.
We are told that the work of Mitchell will not tread on Baldini's toes but surely Baldini is currently responsible for player recruitment and if that responsibility is passed to someone else you are downgrading the director of football role, no member of management like to lose responsibility for something.
At Southampton we are informed Mitchell headed a whole department dedicated to the science of player assessment. That is not unique, most clubs have an analysis department, Liverpool even employed the guy who wrote the analytic programs Damien Comolli was recently talking about..
Wilson tells us there is a room with 10 computer screens being watched by full-time staff, who will of course be running analytic software. You can for instance, at the touch of a button, show everything an individual player did during a game or every execution of a particular skill. You just tell the software what you want and it delivers it.
It's how we see all the individual exerts on Match of the Day or Sky Sports. Southampton have designed their own software (which is referred to as if it has mystical black-box powers) to do this rather than purchase it from another source, thus their requirements can be tailored rather than show horned into the software. What isn't revealed is was that in place prior to Mitchell's appointment or did he instigate it, the former I presume.
Will Mitchell be bringing the knowledge of this software to Tottenham for us to replicate it or will he have to tailor his approach to the Tottenham way of doing things? That is the key question. It's alright appointing someone but if you don't give them the tools to do the job then they are not going to succeed.
Recent Articles
Is an over reliance on stats Spurs downfall?
Paulinho wants away from Spurs
Roma have no chance of signing Lloris
Stuck with another player we can't flog
Broomfield, Mitchell, Baldini, too many cooks?
The players are shirking their responsibility
Some players like to hide when the going gets tough
Tottenham are not going to succeed unless the analytic process is improved and the interpretation of the data enhanced. Buying a player is not simply a process of a scout watching a player and telling a chief scout to watch a player before a recommendation to buy, it's far more of a science now. Mitchell revealed a little of how it helps him recently.
What Mitchell then went on to explain begins to knit with what I have been championing, the Kaizen method, continually looking to make improvements, except we need it throughout the club, not just the analytic department. That and the news a player character and of-field habits are investigated. This all helps to build a mental profile, an aspect I maintain we must become world leaders at.
I do not know Paul Mitchell and can only judge on the quotes I read, he certainly talks the right game. Keep evolving and challenge ourselves every day, that's the key. That is exactly what I have been preaching our players should be doing, exactly what I have been saying we must ensure any new recruit has because that is a winning mentality, a mentality we lack in abundance at the moment.
His final paragraph reiterates my own words so if, and it's a big if, if he is given the licence and the backing to do his job properly then his appointment, assuming it happens, will be a step in the right direction.
He wants to be the best he can be, we need players who want to be the best they can be.
Regardless of skill, if the player doesn't have a winning mentality he should not be purchased. We are seeing why now so it is with delight that I watch us recruit the Southampton Head of Recruitment, Paul Mitchell, if the Telegraph article by Jeremy Wilson is accurate.
We are told that the work of Mitchell will not tread on Baldini's toes but surely Baldini is currently responsible for player recruitment and if that responsibility is passed to someone else you are downgrading the director of football role, no member of management like to lose responsibility for something.
At Southampton we are informed Mitchell headed a whole department dedicated to the science of player assessment. That is not unique, most clubs have an analysis department, Liverpool even employed the guy who wrote the analytic programs Damien Comolli was recently talking about..
Wilson tells us there is a room with 10 computer screens being watched by full-time staff, who will of course be running analytic software. You can for instance, at the touch of a button, show everything an individual player did during a game or every execution of a particular skill. You just tell the software what you want and it delivers it.
It's how we see all the individual exerts on Match of the Day or Sky Sports. Southampton have designed their own software (which is referred to as if it has mystical black-box powers) to do this rather than purchase it from another source, thus their requirements can be tailored rather than show horned into the software. What isn't revealed is was that in place prior to Mitchell's appointment or did he instigate it, the former I presume.
Will Mitchell be bringing the knowledge of this software to Tottenham for us to replicate it or will he have to tailor his approach to the Tottenham way of doing things? That is the key question. It's alright appointing someone but if you don't give them the tools to do the job then they are not going to succeed.
Recent Articles
Is an over reliance on stats Spurs downfall?
Paulinho wants away from Spurs
Roma have no chance of signing Lloris
Stuck with another player we can't flog
Broomfield, Mitchell, Baldini, too many cooks?
The players are shirking their responsibility
Some players like to hide when the going gets tough
Tottenham are not going to succeed unless the analytic process is improved and the interpretation of the data enhanced. Buying a player is not simply a process of a scout watching a player and telling a chief scout to watch a player before a recommendation to buy, it's far more of a science now. Mitchell revealed a little of how it helps him recently.
"Unless people have got a real black box underground, I've never heard of a training facility having something like that - having something designed and bespoke with that ability to deliver.
"It's not just recruitment. That's where the theory started, but I've seen the power of that room, to sit with Fraser Forster when Dave Watson (the goalkeeping coach) is going through the pre- and the post-match with him or to even deliver to a young player we potentially want to sign into the academy and have him sat there with mum and dad and go through a visual presentation to say why he should choose Southampton. It's just a very powerful platform."
What Mitchell then went on to explain begins to knit with what I have been championing, the Kaizen method, continually looking to make improvements, except we need it throughout the club, not just the analytic department. That and the news a player character and of-field habits are investigated. This all helps to build a mental profile, an aspect I maintain we must become world leaders at.
"We've seen before and heard quotes from managers that have probably perception-wise based their acquisition on the two games they've played against that player in the Premier League or the Football League. I work off a very simple theory of I had one good game once, but I think the 80 other times I played I wasn't so good.
"Part of the philosophy and the theory is to not waste time on things that are unachievable. What can we achieve? How can we achieve it? How can we be more efficient? Then how can we analyse that to make it even better the next window or the next time we debrief it, and constantly just keep evolving and challenging ourselves every day. That's the key.
"It's not proven science, but I think our philosophy and theory was always risk management. Let's try to offset as much of the risk as possible to make the best acquisition. You have a responsibility to your owner that invests a hell of a lot of money to work as hard as you possibly can to make the best acquisition for the football club, and that's what we're trying to do. We're investing in the processes and the strategies. I actually do feel within the industry there is a little shift. The transfer window is becoming box office, it's real intrigue. I think that will shift to people looking at best practice throughout the industry and then taking that as their own."
I do not know Paul Mitchell and can only judge on the quotes I read, he certainly talks the right game. Keep evolving and challenge ourselves every day, that's the key. That is exactly what I have been preaching our players should be doing, exactly what I have been saying we must ensure any new recruit has because that is a winning mentality, a mentality we lack in abundance at the moment.
His final paragraph reiterates my own words so if, and it's a big if, if he is given the licence and the backing to do his job properly then his appointment, assuming it happens, will be a step in the right direction.
He wants to be the best he can be, we need players who want to be the best they can be.
Post a Comment